A conversation with Selvaggia VeloFestival Director; ‘River to River’ Florence Indian Film FestivalWendy DentSV: How did it begin? In ’98 I organised an exhibition of Bollywood movie banners. Still Bollywood was not fashion in Europe. And so this was done, and then in ’99 we invited those same painters, artists, to have a live show during the Florentine summer. There are a lot of events during the summer here in Florence, the start of Fiorentina. And so those painters were coming and ...

Jorgen Leth interview by Wendy Dent Festival dei Popoli, Florence 7 December 2005WD: This festival was very unique in that it expanded my definitions of what documentary is and this is what stunned me about your films, is they were staged and it really broadened my idea of what documentary is but made me wonder where is the line, where is the definition? Once you start to have actors and you make a comment about society, but even drama is a comment on humanity so I am wondering what you feel abo...

What a superb stage for a film festival. In spectacular Florence, perhaps the world's most renowned city of art, the art of documentaries has been on show.Attending this week's Festival dei Popoli, the oldest documentary film festival in Europe, I have been stunned by both the tragedy and joy of human existence and constantly reminded of the ironic title of Roberto Benigni's Italian drama 'Life is Beautiful'. For looking through the window of the world presented by most documentary film festival...