Editor

The Calgary International Film Festival is proud to honor the vast cinematic contributions of India in its "Spotlight on India" series for this year's seventh annual Festival. The five films featured in this Spotlight series are productions created in the last year, with three international premieres, a Canadian premiere, and one Albertan premiere.

"The five Indian films selected this year cover all four corners of the vast Indian landscape and perfectly blend both commercial and independent filmmaking techniques. We are extremely thrilled that Calgary will host the first international screening of Dosar, a gem from acclaimed filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh and the central highlight of this year's Indian spotlight," says spotlight co-curator Sachin Gandhi.

The series kicks off on Sunday, September 24, with Riding Solo to the Top of the World, by Gaurav Jani, and the one documentary of the group. This award-winning film is about Jani’s brave journey on his motorcycle from Mumbai and throughout the remote Changthang Plateau along the Indian border with China.

Khosla Ka Ghosla, the first feature by Dibakar Banerjee, is a comedy surrounding the issues of land and housing in New Delhi.

Dosar (The Companion), is the latest film by Rituparno Ghosh, and tackles the cross-cultural issue of marital infidelity, from a distinctly Bengali point of view. This masterpiece, shot in black and white, proves that not everything in relationships is so easily discernible

Making the festival circuit is director Joel Palombo's poetic film Doodh aur Apheem (Milk and Opium). The film follows a young Sufi musician who leaves his remote village with his uncle in search of other work opportunities, but ends up alone in a huge, urban city.

Rounding out the series is Chandranilekkoru Vazhi (A Way to Chandra), by Biju Varkey. This Malayalam-language film also espouses the themes of lost innocence in an increasingly globalized world. Dosar (The Companion) and Chandranilekkoru Vazhi (A Way to Chandra) are also being encored on Sunday, October 1, as part of the "Best of Fest" day.

CIFF is proud to offer this wide range of contemporary films from India, showcasing for Calgary audiences the diversity of stories and cinematic genres being produced there.

The 2006 Calgary International Film Festival will run from September 22 – October 1, 2006, at select theatres. A complete list of titles will be available online at www.calgaryfilm.com and in the CIFF 2006 Program Guide. The Program Guide will be sold for $5.00 each and can be purchased at the Main CIFF Box Office at Eau Claire Market (422-CIFF) and participating Calgary Starbucks locations.

For more information visit www.calgaryfilm.com.