IFFI-2008 - International Film Festival of India

IFFI-2008
COMPETITION
JURY
Niki Karimi
(Member)
Born on November 10, 1971, Niki Karimi
is Iran's internationally-hailed actress,
filmmaker, writer who lives in London and
Tehran. She participated in theatrical work
while she was in elementary school and her
hobby of reading and watching movies
from an early age inspired her to become an
actress. Her talent as an actress was noticed
by the famous Iranian actor Jamshid
Gorgin, while she was playing a role in a
school play. She loves translating and in
1999 she released her first translation work,
Marlon Brando's biography Songs My
Mother Taught Me to Persian. Niki has won
several awards both at home and
internationally, and recently been in the jury
for such festivals as the Locarno
International Film Festival, the
Thessaloniki International Film Festival,
Berlin film festival and also the 60th
Cannes Film Festival. In 2001, with Abbas
Kiarostami as the producer she directed To
have or not to have, a documentary about
infertility. Her efforts won her first award as
a director in "The Rain" festival in Iran. She
has starred in over 20 movies in Iran and
directed two features till now. Niki has won
the best actress awards at the Fajr film
Festival for One flew over cuckoo's nest in
2002, at Cairo film festival for Hidden Half
in 2001, at Taormina film festival for Two
women in 1999, at San Sebastian film
festival and Nantes Film Festival for Sara in
1995. Her first feature as a director, One
Night, was part of the Un Certain Regard
section at the Cannes Film Festival.
Tabu
(Member)
Tabassum Hashmi Khan, better known as
Tabu, is a leading actor from India who have
successfully straddled the two worlds of
mainstream and art house cinema. Her
international breakthrough came in Mira
Nair's The Namesake. Born in 1970 in
Hyderabad, India, she has acted in Tamil,
Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and American
films, and has won the National Film Award
for Best Actress twice. Her work in films
like Maqbool (2003), Meenaxi: A Tale of
Three Cities (2004) or The Namesake
(2007) have been highly appreciated. In
Maachis, she was critically acclaimed for
depicting a Punjabi woman caught in the
rise of Sikh insurgency and she won her first
National Film Award for Best Actress for
her performance. Tabu began her career in
the film Hum Naujawan (1985) at the age of
15, playing evergreen stat Dev Anand's
daughter. Her first role as an actress was in
the Telugu film Coolie No. 1, and her first
release in Hindi as a leading lady was Pehla
Pehla Pyar which went un-noticed. She
came into prominence with her role in
Vijaypath (1994). Some of the other films in
Hindi she has acted in are Saajan Chale
Sasural, Jeet (both 1996), Border (1997),
Biwi No.1, Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999),
Hera Pheri, Astitva (2000), Chandni Bar
(2001). Her Telugu films Coolie No. 1 and
Ninne Pelladutha were big hits.
Lav Diaz
(Member)
Lav Diaz or Lavrente Indico Diaz is a
Filipino independent filmmaker, born in
Datu Paglas, Maguindanao, Mindanao,
Philippines, on December 30, 1958. A
leading filmmaker from not only his
country but also the whole of Asia, his films
have regularly won international awards.
Film. Batang West Side won the Best
Picture award at the Singapore
International Film Festival, the
Independent Film Festival of Brussels,
Gawad Urian in 2002 and Netpac Jury Prize
and Best Acting Ensemble at the 2001
Cinemanila International Film Festival.
Another film, Ebolusyon ng Isang
Pamilyang Pilipino (Evolution of a Filipino
Family) won a string of awards including
the Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best
Actor awards at Gawad Urian in 2005. In
2006, he won the Special Jury Prize at the
Fribourg International Film Festival for
Heremias, Book One. His films often tackle
the issues regarding the current social and
political state of the Philippines. His
Kagadanan sa banwaan ning mga
engkanto (Death in the Land of Encantos)
was the closing film of the orizzonti section
of the Venice Film Festival 2007, and was
awarded with a Golden Lion Special
Mention. The film was also in competition
at the Artistic Innovation Award (Visions)
of the Toronto International Film Festival
2007. He received several awards at the
Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature.
His film, Melancholia, won the Orizzonti
Grand Prize of Mostra in Venice Film
Festival, 2008.
7