RIVER TO RIVER, FLORENCE CHITTAGONG vs CHITTAGONG, AND THE WINDS OF CHANGE  by Alex Deleon    Bedabrata Pain (Bengali: বেদব্রত পাইন; born 27 March 1963, West Bengal, India) is a new Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Bedabrata Pain is also inventor of the CMOS image sensor.   One of the most interesting things about Chittagong, the film, is that it is the debut feature of a 49 year old dir...

by Alex Deleon for <filmfestivals.com>   Take that you bloody muthe$&£$%*er!   The main Indian features seen this year at Florence, "The Gangs of Wasseypur" and "Chittagong", are Bollywood productions in the sense that both are made in Hindi (rather than one of India's other 21 official languages) with professional Bombay performers and staff, but the content, style, and conception of these films seems t...


by Alex Deleon  for<filmfestivals.com>   Amitabh Bachchan accepting the key to the city of Florence as Selvaggia Velo looks on. PHOTO: BY FRANCESCA MANOLINO  

The appearance of 70 year old Indian Megastar Amitabh Bachchan at the River to River Festival of Indian Film in Florence gave rise to a feverish outpouring of adulation from local Indians while serving as an unoffical certification for this festival as the foremost showcase of Indian film in the West. In Ind...

  Bollywood in Cannes at Director's Fortnight, 2012! For the first time ever, commercial Bollywood comes to Cannes Director's Fortnight with the Bollywood film GANGS OF WASSEYPUR (2012). The film will be released on June 22nd and being compared to this year's SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.     GOW PRESS The Indian cinematic masterpiece Gangs Of Wasseypur, is set to make film history as the first commerical Bollywood film to be part of the 65th Cannes Film Fes...

With what promises to be its most ambitious slate yet, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (http://indianfilmfestival.org) has announced its impressive 2012 lineup. 33 features, documentaries, and short films will be screened from filmmakers throughout the world including Canada, Italy, India, Germany, South Africa, UK, and the U.S. Among the offerings are three world premieres, nine U.S. premieres and twelve Los Angeles premieres. This is a banner year for the festival as it celebrates its ...

German director Fatih Akin will be the major attraction at the Film Bazaar 2010, the market section of the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa (Nov 22-Dec2, 2010). He will participate in the Masterclass programme of the market that is organized by the Government of India agency, the National Film Development Corporation Ltd (NFDC) This the 4th time that NFDC is organizing the Film Bazaar at the highly-popular beachfront tourist destination that became the permanen...

The first IFFLA Film Fund Development Grant has been awarded to writer/director Kranti Kanade. Kanade will receive a grant of $10,000 as well as Final Draft and Sony Creative software. His work will be showcased at a staged reading during the eighth annual IFFLA that will take place April 20-25 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles. Kanade's script AGAINST ITSELF centers on a secular expatriate American schoolmaster in India who struggles against a tide of anti-Christian sentiment that threaten...

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) AWARDSGRAND JURY AWARDS- BEST FEATURE FILM: BLACK FRIDAY Directed by Anurag Kashyap- BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM: WHOSE CHILDREN ARE THESE? directed by Theresa Thanjan- BEST SHORT FILM: AMAL directed by Richie MehtaAUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS- BEST FEATURE FILM: HARI OM directed by Bharatbala- BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM: THE NEW HEROES: INDIA, WITH ROBERT REDFORD directed by Carl Byker and Mitch Wilson- BEST SHORT FILM: RAJU AND I directed by Gayatri Rao1ST ANNUAL CIN...

TOP AUDIENCE AWARD GOES TO HARI OM JURY GRAND PRIZE WINNER IS BLACK FRIDAYThe Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles concluded Sunday night with HARI OM, director Bharatbala was in attendance, at ArcLight Hollywood with a Gala reception at SIR that included performances by Taal Dance Company, international renowned world music artist Girish, and an eclectic DJ set by Tej Gill, one of LA's emerging South Asian artists.Although official attendance figures are still being tabulated, festival organizer...