IFFI 51, 26-24 January, 40: Mehrunisa is an Austrian film on feudal India and a rebellious old actress Mehrunisa screams loud against the male-dominated Indian film industry. In the film, the Umrao Jaan fame actress Farrukh Jaffar has played the role of an 80-year-old actress, who boldly tells the audience to follow their dreams, and that age doesn't matter 'Mehrunisa', the Austrian film in Hindi (Urdu really) language and the Mid-Fest Film at the 51st International Film Festival...

Omerta, Review: Omer talk Alright, Omar, if you insist. His full name is Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh. If you see the film, you will discover that he is a hardcore terrorist who indulged in at least one act of barbaric butchery as well. With a name like that, he has to be a Pakistani or Pakistani sympathiser. Omerta spans the canvas from Bosnia to the hijacking of an Indian Airlines’ plane to the Mumbai terror attacks. The film derives its title from the Italian term for a criminal code of ...

Siraj Syed reviews The Queen of Katwe: Chess champion comes from Ugandan slums Madina Nalwanga, the Ugandan teenager who plays the titular role in The Queen of Katwe, was asked after the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) what she would like to do next. She replied, “I want to go back to school. And I want to continue with acting and also dancing.” Madina’s native tongue is Luganda, and she had to work very hard to speak the English required for the...

by Marla Lewin Photo credit Jerry Schatzberg The French filmmaker Pierre Rissient appears in Todd McCarthy's documentary 'Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema.' Pierre Rissient was originally a publicist. He has gone on to produce and direct films. He is most known for his auteur discoveries, and he has shared with me, his joy most recently, about spending time at a film festival in Lyon, France, where he has so many fond memories from his youth. It was there that he supporte...

By Maria Esteves - January 12, 2007 The Fifth Annual New York AIDS Film Festival 2007 press coverage is dedicated in Loving Memory of Mel Cheren (January 21, 1933 - December 7, 2007).   The Fifth Annual New York AIDS Film Festival (NYAFF) 2007 Opening Night Jack Valenti Humanitarian Awards Ceremony was held at the United Nations Dag Hammarkjold Auditorium, Thursday, November 29, 2007, 8:00 PM. The Red Ball Awards Ceremony was held at The Riverhouse on World AIDS Day, Saturday, Dece...

By Maria Esteves - January 8, 2008 The Fifth Annual New York AIDS Film Festival 2007 press coverage is dedicated in Loving Memory of Mel Cheren (January 21, 1933 - December 7, 2007).   The Fifth Annual New York AIDS Film Festival (NYAFF) 2007 Opening Night Premiere short film MIGRATION directed by Mira Nair, segment of AIDS JAAGO, and documentary film INDIA'S HIDDEN PLAGUE, directed by Ashley Judd, Global Ambassador, YouthAIDS was held at the United Nations Dag Hammarkjold Auditorium...

Thursday, July 19------In yet another sign of Brooklyn's growing cache as a cultural destination, the Gotham Awards, one of the stellar events on the New York film industry calendar, is moving from its current site in Manhattan to Brooklyn's Steiner Studios, the largest studio facility in the city, located on the Brooklyn waterfront. The 17th Annual Gotham Awards, produced and presented by the Independent Feature Project (IFP), a national producers organization, will be presented at the ...

No one seems better suited to transform Jhumpa Lahiri’s touching prose into film than Mira Nair. Both the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of INTERPRETER OF MALADIES and the director of SALAAM BOMBAY and MONSOON WEDDING know firsthand about the Indian-American immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, and the search for identity that informs their art. Adapted from Lahiri’s eponymous first novel, published in 2003, the deeply felt family drama doesn’t disappoint.The narrative unfolds diffe...