IFFI 2017 Handbook

HANDBOOK
INTERNATIONAL
CINEMA
IFFI 2017
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48th International Film Festival of India, Goa
uoEcj 20&28] 2017
November 20―28, 2017
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Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
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Òkjr dk 48ok¡ vUrjkZ’Vªh; fQYe lekj¨g] x¨ok
48th International Film Festival of India, Goa
uoEcj 20&28] 2017
November 20-28, 2017
Festival Director Sunit Tandon
Published by
IFFI Secretariat
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Government of India
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FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
48 TH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA
MESSAGE
Over the years, the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has created a firm place for itself in the global
Film Festival calendar. Organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government
of India, IFFI has become one of the most important Film Festivals in the Asian region. In this 48th edition of
the Festival, we are delighted to be presenting a strong International and Indian film programme.
The IFFI 2017 Film Programme is showcasing a total of 195 films from across 82 countries, thus, vouching
for the diversity of cinematic endeavours from around the globe and their representation at the Festival.
The Cinema of the World section showcases 82 films of several national, international and transnational
productions and co-productions of exceptional mainstream, independent and art cinema.
The Indian Panorama section – introduced in 1978 and devoted to showcasing the best new Indian films of
the year – showcases about 26 feature and non-feature films in 24 languages selected by our eminent jury
from a total of 178 features and 161 non-features entries. The features have films by accomplished directors,
as well as those by young, debut filmmakers. The non-feature films selected represent the cultural and
aesthetic flavors of different parts of the country, making every film special.
The Festival is also delighted to open this year’s edition with renowned filmmaker Majid Majidi’s ‘Beyond The
Clouds’ and close with the well-regarded filmmaker, Pablo Cesar’s ‘Thinking of Him’. Both the films reflect
true Indo-International collaborations and the Make in India outlook.
The Country Focus on Canada has been taken forward in association with Telefilm Canada and with
collaboration from the TIFF. We also have a selection of films from the “Biennale College” of the Venice
International Film Festival.
We are confident that all of you will enjoy the carefully curated programme of the best of international and
Indian films, many of which are being presented in the country for the first time, including some cinematic
landmarks in the Restored Classics.
We have curated a Bond Retrospective package that includes 9 impressionable films from the vastly
popular cult of the British spy who has influenced local film icons and cultures across the world. Our Indian
Retrospective this year focusses on the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2016), K. Viswanath, a
man who turned from being an audiographer to becoming a director, screenwriter and character actor who
has made invaluable contributions in Hindi, Tamil and Telegu Cinema. His films not only have strong content,
endearing narratives, honest handling, but also cultural authenticity, which has great appeal for the masses.
This year our film fraternity has lost some eminent personalities, and IFFI pays homage and tribute to them
and to their work, which lives on. We pay tribute to Om Puri, Abdul Majid, Vinod Khanna, Tom Alter, Reema
Lagoo, Kundan Shah, J. Jayalalithaa, Dasari Narayan Rao & Ramananda Sen Gupta for their contributions
to the film industry.
IFFI is also continuing with its effort to support the Accessible India Programme of the Government of India
by making films accessible for the visually impaired and hearing impaired.
Additionally, the Panel Discussions and Master Classes with industry and thought leaders form one of the
core pillars of this year’s Festival.
We also urge all of you to experience the Mixed Reality Sidebar which includes a special VR package put
together for you, in addition to the various other new initiatives in this edition, aimed at “Celebrating the
Future of Cinema”.
I welcome you to the 48th International Film Festival of India and I hope that it proves to be an enjoyable and
enriching experience for you.
(Sunit Tandon)
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Contents
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA
IFFI Awards 7
Lifetime Achievements Award 9
Atom Egoyan Retrosprective 13
Exotica 14
The Sweet Hereafter 15
Remember 16
Indian Film Personality Of The Year 17
International Competition Jury 20
Muzaffar Ali (Jury Chairman) 20
Maxine Williamson 21
Roger Christian 21
Tzahi Grad 21
Vladislav Opelyants 21
ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal 22
Opening Film 25
Beyond The Clouds 26
Closing Film 27
Thinking Of Him 28
International Competition 29
Ana, Mon Amour 30
Angels Wear White 30
Beats Per Minute 30
Blank 13 30
Dark Skull 30
Freedom 30
The Great Buddha+ 31
Kachcha Limbu 31
A Man of Integrity 31
Marionette 31
Racer and the Jailbird 31
Shuttle Life 31
Still Night, Still Light 32
Take Off 32
Village Rockstars 32
ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal Films 33
Amok 34
Khibula 34
Kshitij – A Horizon 34
The Last Painting 34
Manusangada 34
Poorna 34
Railway Children 35
Women of the Weeping River 35
Cinema of the World 37
3/4 (Three Quarters) 38
9 Fingers 38
Barrage 38
Birds Without Names 38
Black Level 38
Bloody Milk 38
The Boy with the Topknot 39
The Breadwinner 39
Breath 39
The Cakemaker 39
Candelaria 39
Children Of The Night 39
A Ciambra 40
Close-Knit 40
Closeness 40
Daybreak 40
Disappearance 40
El Inca 40
Elon Doesn’t Believe In Death 41
Euthanizer 41
A Fantastic Woman 41
Father And Son 41
Félicité 41
Final Portrait 41
Frost 42
A Gentle Creature 42
Her Love Boils Bathwater 42
High Noon Story 42
Hostages 42
The House by the Sea 42
I Dream in Another Language 43
In Blue 43
Insyriated 43
The Journey 43
Let the Sunshine In 43
Life Beyond Me 43
Light Up! 44
Love Me Not 44
Loveless 44
M 44
Mrs. Hyde 44
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts 44
Men Don’t Cry 45
The Midwife 45
Montparnasse Bienvenue 45
Mother! 45
Murder on the Orient Express 45
The Nile Hilton Incident 45
No Bed of Roses 46
No Date No Sign 46
On Body And Soul 46
Once Upon A Time 46
The Other Side of Hope 46
Park 46
The Party 47
Pomegranate Orchard 47
Pop Aye 47
Radiance 47
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Razzia 47
The Reconciliation 47
Redoubtable 48
Requiem For Mrs. J 48
Scaffolding 48
Scary Mother 48
The Secret Ingredient 48
Shelter 48
A Sort of Family 49
Spoor 49
The Square 49
The Strange Ones 49
Summer 1993 49
Sweet Country 49
Uma 50
Union Leader 50
Until the Birds Return 50
Unwanted 50
Wajib 50
Western 50
Wonderstruck 50
The Wound 50
The Young Karl Marx 50
Zer 50
Country Focus - Canada 53
Allure 54
Closet Monster 54
Don’t Talk to Irene 54
Eye on Juliet 54
Meditation Park 54
Old Stone 54
Ravenous 55
The Stairs 55
BRICS Film Festival Award Winners 57
Ayanda 58
Nise: The Heart of Madness 58
Panfilov’s 28 58
The Second Mother 58
Soulmate 58
Turtle 58
Where Has Time Gone? 59
James Bond Retrospective 61
Dr. No 62
Golden Eye 62
Goldfinger 62
Licence to Kill 62
Octopussy 62
On her Majesty’s Secret Service 62
Skyfall 63
The Spy who Loved Me 63
The World is not Enough 63
Restored Classics 65
Beauty of the Day 66
Flavour of Green Tea over Rice 66
The Ruins 66
The Lodger 66
Metropolis 66
The Old Dark House 66
The Sacrifice 67
Two or Three Things I Know about Her 67
New Initiative 69
Ears 76
Hotel Salvation 76
The Solitude 76
One Sister 76
Master Class and Panel Discussion 77
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INDIAN CINEMA
Indian Panorama - Feature Jury 95
Sujoy Ghosh (Jury Chairnan) 96
Apurva Asrani 97
Gopi Desai 97
Gyan Correa 97
Hari Viswanath 98
Merlvin Mukhim 98
Nikhil Advani 98
Nishant Kamat 99
Rahul Rawail 99
Ruchi Narain 99
Sachin Chatte 100
Satarupa Sanyal 100
Suresh Heblikar 100
Indian Panorama - Feature Films 101
Bahubaali 2 - The Conclusion 102
Bisorjon 102
Idak 102
Jolly LLB 2 102
Juze 102
Kaasav 102
Kachcha Limbu 103
Kadvi Hawa 103
Khynikaa 103
Kshitij –A Horizon 103
Maacher Jhol 103
Manusangada 103
Maza Bhirbhira 104
Meghnadbod Rohosyo 104
Muramba 104
Newton 104
Pihu 104
Pimpal 104
Poorna 105
Railway Children 105
Redu 105
Rukh 105
Take Off 105
Ventilator 105
Village Rockstars 106
Xhoixobote Dhemalite 106
Indian Panorama - Non Feature Jury 107
Sudhir Mishra (Jury Chairman) 108
K G Suresh 109
Mithundhandra Chaudhari 109
Shankhajeet De 109
Shiny Jacob Benjamin 110
Tinni Mitra 110
Tuhinabha Majumdar 110
Indian Panorama - Non Feature Films 111
81/2 Intercuts- Life And Films of K G George 112
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings 112
Aaba 112
Amma Meri 112
Baluta 112
Chutney 112
Dugga 113
Epil 113
Fireflies in the Abyss 113
Gi 113
Khidkee 113
Name|Place|Animal|Thing 113
Our Grandparents’ Home 114
Palash 114
Pushkar Puran 114
The Waterfall 114
Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2017 115
Retrospective - Kasinathuni Vishwanath 116
Sagara Sangamam 117
Shankarabharanam 117
Swathi Kiranam 117
Homages 119
Abdul Majid - Chameli Memsaab 120
J. Jayalalithaa - Ayirathil Oruvan 121
Kundan Shah - Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro 122
Dasari Narayana Rao - Osey Ramulamma 123
Om Puri - Ardh Satya 124
Ramanand Sengupta - Nagarik 125
Reema Lagoo - Savalee 126
Tom Alter - Ocean of an Old Man 127
Vinod Khanna - Achanak 128
Accessible India, Accessible Films 129
Hindi Medium 130
Secret Superstar 130
Acknowledgements 131
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48th IFFI Awards
Best Film
The award carries a cash prize of `40,00,000/- to be shared equally between the
Director and the Producer. The Director is to be given the Golden Peacock Award and a
Certificate in addition to the cash component. The Producer is to be given a Certificate
in addition to the cash component.
Best Director
The award carries a Silver Peacock, a Certificate and a cash prize of `15,00,000/-
Best Actor (Male)
The award carries a Silver Peacock, a Certificate and a cash prize of `10,00,000/-
Best Actor (Female)
The award carries a Silver Peacock, a Certificate and a cash prize of `10,00,000/-
Special Jury Award
The award carries a Silver Peacock, a Certificate and a cash prize of `15,00,000/- given
to a film (for any aspect of the film which the jury wishes to award/acknowledge) or an
individual (for his/her artistic contribution to a film). The award, if given, will be given to
the Director.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The prestigious award consisting of a cash prize of `10,00,000/-, Certificate, shawl and
a scroll is conferred upon a master filmmaker for his/her outstanding contribution to
cinema.
Indian Film Personality of the Year Award
The prestigious award consisting of a cash prize of `10,00,000/-, Certificate, shawl
and Medal (Silver Peacock) is conferred upon an Indian Film Personality for his/her
outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.
Award for the Best Debut Feature Film of a Director
Silver Peacock, a Certificate and a cash prize of `10,00,000/-, (To be given to a director
for his/her feature film to recognize and encourage the most promising new directorial
talent in world cinema.)
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Atom Egoyan
Lifetime Achievement Award

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Lifetime Achievement Award
Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan is one of Canada’s most celebrated arthouse directors. Exotica, which won the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes’94, was his
international breakthrough film. The Sweet Hereafter, his most critically acclaimed film, received two Academy Award nominations.
Ararat, about the Armenian genocide in the Turkish Ottoman Empire, centred on child survivor Arshile Gorky, who went on to become
the pioneer of American abstract expressionism. Where the Truth Lies, Adoration and The Captive have all competed for the Palme
d’Or in Cannes. Egoyan has also directed theatre and opera, including an adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s Eh Joe, winner of The Irish
Times/ESB Award for Best Direction. He has directed award-winning opera productions for the Canadian Opera Company and the
Lincoln Center Festival, New York. Egoyan’s art installations have been presented at the Venice Biennale. His work, Steenbeckett,
commissioned by the UK’s Artangel, is part of the permanent collection of the Tate. His films have been presented in several
retrospectives across the globe, with complete career overviews in Paris, Madrid, New York and Brussels. Egoyan was knighted by
the French government and is a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest honour.
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Atom Egoyan
Retrospective
A presentation of some of
Atom Egoyan’s
most iconic works

Exotica
1994 | Canada | English | Colour | 103 minutes
Director Atom Egoyan
Producer Atom Egoyan,
Camelia Frieberg
Screenplay Atom Egoyan
Cinematographer Paul Sarossy
Editor Susan Shipton
Cast Bruce Greenwood, Mia Kirshner, Don McKellar, Arsinée Khanjian,
Elias Koteas
In the upscale Canadian strip club Exotica, Christina (Mia
Kirshner) is the most popular dancer, and she’s visited nightly
by the obsessive Francis (Bruce Greenwood), a depressed tax
auditor. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend, the club’s MC, Eric (Elias
Koreas), still jealously pines for her, even as he introduces her
onstage. Eric is having his own relationship problems with
the club’s owner, Zoe (Arsinée Khanjian), who is intent on
becoming pregnant with his child.
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The Sweet Hereafter
1997 | Canada | English | Colour | 112 minutes
Director Atom Egoyan
Producer Atom Egoyan, Camelia Frieberg
Screenplay Atom Egoyan
Cinematographer Paul Sarossy
Editor Susan Shipton
Cast Maury Chaykin, Peter Donaldson, Bruce Greenwood, David
Hemblem, Brooke Johnson, Arsinée Khanjian, Sarah Polley, Gabrielle
Rose, Alberta Watson
In The Sweet Hereafter, tragedy unites the residents of a
small town. Soon after, a big-city lawyer, driven by his own
demons, stirs up the anger of the townspeople. In the ensuing
atmosphere of suspicion and doubt, a teenager manages to
regain her dignity and re-unite the community. Because of her
courage, the townspeople are led to the sweet hereafter, a realm
reserved for those who are at peace with their fate.
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Remember
2015 | Canada | English, German | Colour | 94 minutes
Director Atom Egoyan
Producer Robert Lantos, Ari Lantos
Screenplay Benjamin August
Cinematographer Paul Sarossy
Editor Christopher Donaldson
Cast Christopher Plummer, Bruno Ganz, Jürgen Prochnow, Heinz Lieven,
Henry Czerny, Dean Norris, Martin Landau
Remember is the contemporary story of Zev, who discovers
that the Nazi guard who murdered his family some 70 years
ago is living in America under an assumed identity. Despite the
obvious challenges, Zev sets out on a mission to find the guilty
man and deliver long-delayed justice with his own trembling
hand. What follows is a remarkable cross-continent road-trip
with surprising consequences.
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indian film personality of the year
Amitabh Bachchan
Indian Film Personality
of the Year Award
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Indian Film Personality of the Year
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is one of India’s most luminous movie stars. In a career that is now well into its fifth decade, he has achieved
numerous milestones. For his early roles in Mumbai films, in which he assumed the brooding persona of a rebel at odds with the
system, he earned the sobriquet ‘angry young man’. He was the pivot around whom the Mumbai moviedom orbited all through the
1970s and 1980s. It wasn’t without reason that Bachchan was referred to as a one-man industry. He began his film career in 1969
with Saat Hindustani. In 1973, Zanjeer, in which he played a revenge-seeking policeman, catapulted him to the big league. He went
on to deliver hits such as Anand and Namak Haram. He top-lined several major hits, including Deewaar, Trishul, Don, Mr. Natwarlal,
Suhaag, The Great Gambler, Kaalia, Silsila and Shakti. In 1984, he joined politics and was elected to Parliament from Allahabad. He
did not complete his tenure and resigned from his seat. Bachchan won the National Award for his role in Agneepath. After a brief
hiatus in the 1990s, he bounced back into the limelight when he hosted the popular quiz programme Kaun Banega Crorepati. He also
acted in the Hollywood movie The Great Gatsby. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015.
Cheeni Kum, Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkar Raj and Piku are among a long list of his more recent hits.
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International Competition Jury
MUZAFFAR ALI (JURY CHAIRMAN)
Filmmaker, India
Muzaffar Ali is an Indian filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, music lover and social worker. He belongs to the royal house of
Kotwara in India. He has had a successful career as a film producer and director. He made his debut in 1978 with Gaman. It was
followed by his most successful film to date, Umrao Jaan, which fetched Rekha the National Award for best actress. Ali’s other
directorial credits are Aagaman and Jaanisaar, in which he also acted. Ali spearheads the international couture brand Kotwara, which
he set up with his architect wife Meera Ali in 1990 to revive the traditional craft of the region of Awadh.
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Festival Director, Australia
MAXINE WILLIAMSON
Maxine has done significant work with APSA-Asia Pacific Screen Awards, where
she established the rules and regulations, governance of the film competition and
filmmaker network in 2007 and ran the competition for its 10 editions. Maxine
became Artistic Director in 2011 and then Film Director after delivering its 10th
anniversary edition in November 2016. During her time at APSA, Maxine worked
with such luminary Jury Presidents as Lord David Puttnam, Asghar Fahardi, Shyam
Benegal, Kim Dong-ho, Shabana Azmi and Nansun Shi. She was creative content
producer on the documentary series Scene by Scene broadcast from 2007-2009 on
CNN International and on ABC network during showcasing films and filmmakers
of Asia Pacific to a global audience. She now consults to the APSA Academy and
is Director of the Brisbane International Film Festival, the city’s premiere festival,
delivering its 23rd edition this year. Maxine had previously directed the Brisbane
Asia Pacific Film Festival. Maxine is Asia Pacific Consultant for the Antalya Film
Forum, Turkey - a position she has held for four years.
Director and Production Designer, UK
Roger Christian has had an extensive career as a production designer and film
director. He won an Academy Award for set decoration on the original Star Wars,
which began a long working collaboration with filmmaker George Lucas. Lucas
subsequently tapped Christian to direct the second unit on Return of the Jedi and
chose him to helm alongside him on Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace.
It was through Lucas that Christian got his first opportunity to direct a short film
that he wrote, Black Angel, which accompanied the release of The Empire Strikes
Back. Christian won an Oscar nomination for art direction in Ridley Scott’s Alien.
ROGER CHRISTIAN
His directing credits include The Sender, nominated for Best Film by the Academy
of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films; Nostradamus starring Julia Ormond,
Tcheky Karyo, F Murray Abraham, Rutger Hauer and Amanda Plummer; Final Cut,
The HBO premier movie, starring Sam Elliot, and more.
Actor, Director and Writer, Israel
A well regarded Actor, Director and Writer, Tzahi Grad was born in Jerusalem.
A graduate from the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio, he has participated in many plays,
films and television series since 1991, gaining popularity as a widely popular actor
in Israel. In addition to acting in numerous feature films, he has also directed a few
theatre productions.
Grad’s film The Cousin premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and
bagged nominations from the Israeli Academy, and also won him the Best actor
award at the Haifa international Film Festival.
TZAHI GRAD
His film Foul Gesture also won major nominations from the Israeli Academy and
top honors at the Haifa International Film Festival. His film Giraffes also garnered
14 nominations from the Israeli Academy.
Director of Photography, Russia
VLADISLAV OPELYANTS
Vladislav Opelyants is one of Russia’s most celebrated Directors of Photography.
Born in January 1968 in Moscow, he graduated from the Department of
Cinematography at the Russian State University of Cinematography (workshop of
Vladimir Yusov) in 1992. He has shot over 100 commercial videos, with Coca-
Cola, Pepsi and Nescafé, among others, as well as music videos for top Russian
pop and rock singers like Alla Pugacheva, Zemphira and Mumy Troll. He made his
wide screen debut with Garik Sukachev’s Middle Life Crisis. He worked as Director
of Photography on the Nikita Mikhalkov films Burnt by the Sun, Exodus, Burnt
by the Sun-2: Citadel and Sunstroke. Most recently, he shot Rezo Gigieneshvili’s
Hostages, which premiered at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival and is also being
screened in IFFI as part of the Cinema of the World section. Opelyants also shot
Kirill Serebrennikov’s The Student, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
in 2016.
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ICFT-UNESCO
Gandhi Medal
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2017 in collaboration with the International
Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT), Paris, will
present a special ICFT prize consisting of the UNESCO Gandhi Medal awarded to a
film which reflects the ideals promoted by UNESCO.
Broad guidelines for the selection of the films are -
• Have a strong ethical component
• High aesthetic value
• Exhibit artistic excellence in screenplay, in film technique and music
• Attract a wide audience, especially among youth, whose view of media is
distorted by violent imagery and showy techniques which are devoid of
intelligent and critical discernment
• Additionally include an educational component to cope with the flood of
inappropriate imagery commonly marketed
• Awareness of the role of the filmmaker confronting a declining society; because
it is recognized that cinematographic and video images are much more powerful
than any other means of communication
About the UNESCO Gandhi Medal
In 1994, UNESCO issued a commemorative medal marking the 125th anniversary
of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, India’s “Father of the Nation” and the world’s
advocate of non-violence, peace and tolerance. The General Conference of one
of the previous years had adopted a resolution calling for a series of activities
around the “great world personality whose thought and creative modes of
non-violent action have shaped socio-economic and political currents in the 20th
century”.
The medal bears a portrait of Gandhi engraved by the French artist Pierre-Yves Tremois.
Etched underneath is the Mahatma’s message of hope: “In the midst of darkness light
prevails”. The reverse side carries the UNESCO Logo.
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Films competing for this prestigious award
S. N. Film Country Director
1 Amok Poland Kasia Adamik
2 Khibula Georgia, Germany, France George Ovashvili
3 Kshitij - A Horizon India Manoj Kadam
4 The Last Painting Taiwan Hung-i Chen
5 Manusangada India Amshan Kumar
6 Poorna India Rahul Bose
7 Railway Children India Prithvi Konanur
8 Take-Off India Mahesh Narayanan
9 Women of the Weeping River UK, USA Sheron Dayoc
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The ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal Jury
Ambassador, Inoussa
OUSSEINI and
President of ICFT
A film director and scenarist
At present he is an Ambassador, Permanent
Delegate of the Republic of Niger to UNESCO and
President of the International Council for Film,
Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT),
official partner of UNESCO.
A film director, producer and scenarist.
Costa GAVRAS,
President of the
French Cinémathèque
President of the French National Cinematheque
Awards: Oscars, Golden Bear (Berlin), Cesar
(France), and Palme D’or (Cannes)
Founder of film clubs, journalist and film critic.
Jean ROY, former
President of FIPRESCI
Former President of FIPRESCI (International
Federation of the Film Press).
Founder of film clubs, filmmaker.
Serge MICHEL,
Vice-President of ICFT
Vice-President of ICFT representing Unica - Union
Internationale Du Cinema - (International Cinema
Union)
Lola POGGI GOUJON,
Secretary-General of
ICFT
Engineer by training
Former international Civil Servant at UNESCO,
teacher.
Secretary-General of ICFT
Georges DUPONT,
Luxembourg National
Commission for
UNESCO
Former research engineer (audiovisual) at the
French Public Broadcasting Service, International
civil servant at UNESCO, and a teacher
Member of the Luxembourg National Commission
for UNESCO, representing the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) at UNESCO and
Director General of ICFT
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Opening
Film
An Iranian master’s first Indian foray is an
extension on his cinematic beliefs, the roots of
which lie in human values, love, friendship and
family bonding.
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BEYOND THE CLOUDS
India | 2017 | Hindi | 120 min | Colour
Director Majid Majidi
Producer Shareen Mantri Kedia,
Kishor Arora, Zee Studios
Screenplay Majid Majidi,
Mehran Kashani
Cinematographer Anil Mehta
Editor Hassan Hassandoost
Music AR Rahman
Cast Ishaan Khattar, Malavika Mohanan, Goutam Ghose, GV Sharada,
Dhwani Rajesh, Amruta Santosh Thakur, Shivam Pujari
Beyond The Clouds is a story of a brother and sister like
Children of Heaven, with the difference being that the siblings
are grown-ups and tackle greater conflicts against the backdrop
of the bustling city of Mumbai. The film is a vindication of
Majid Majid’s firm view that human emotions have no barriers
of language and geography.
The paths of two siblings collide, when on the run from the
cops after a drug bust, Amir a 19 year old peddler from Mumbai
finds solitude in his past - his estranged sister Tara, who in a
bid to protect her brother lands up in jail herself. However, this
catastrophic incident turns into a serendipitous one for Tara and
Aamir, whose entire lives have been clouded by despair and
disappointment, as unexpectedly the light shines on them, from
beyond the clouds. The film highlights beautifully the many
facets of India intertwined with a heartfelt celebration of love
and family !
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Closing
Film
Argentinian director Pablo Cesar’s
exploration of a chapter in the life of
Rabindranath Tagore
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Thinking Of Him
Argentina, India | 2017 | Bengali, Spanish, English | 110 min | Colour, B & W
Director Pablo César
Producer Pablo Ballester, Debendra Jagadala, Suraj Kumar
Screenplay Jernimo Toubes
Cinematographer Carlos Essmann
Editor Liliana Nadal
Cast Victor Banerjee, Eleonora Wexler, Hector Bordoni, Raima Sen
Two stories intertwine over time. In the present, Felix, who
teaches Geography in a detention centre, stumbles upon
a book that dazzles him. In the past, Rabindranath Tagore,
Bengali poet and author of the book that has come to Felix,
arrives in Argentina and is hosted by writer Victoria Ocampo. A
deep, platonic bond develops between the two cultural figures
and Victoria becomes Tagore’s distant muse. While Felix is
increasingly obsessed with the story of the Indian poet and
the Argentinian writer, he gains an insight into the intellectual
and spiritual notions on which Tagore’s revolutionary school in
India was founded. Felix decides to visit India and experience
for himself the teaching methods that Tagore dreamed of for
all mankind.
28 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

International
Competition
15 films from across the globe compete for the
prestigious Golden and Silver Peacocks
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
29

Ana, Mon Amour
Toma meets Ana while they
are both studying literature
at a university. Ana has a
neurotic disorder Toma
follows her to every dark
corner she ends up in, he
fights his parents when they
reject her he accepts being a
father and marries her. . When
Ana overcomes her fears,
Toma remains alone.
Angels Wear White
In a small seaside town, two
schoolgirls are assaulted by a
middle-aged man in a motel.
Mia, a teenager is the only
witness. For fear of losing
her job, she says nothing.
Trapped in a world that offers
them no safety, Mia and Wen
will have to find their own way
out.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Romania, Germany, France | 2016 | Romanian | 130 min | Colour
Director Cãlin Peter Netzer
Producer Cãlin Peter Netzer, Oana Iancu
Screenplay Cãlin Peter Netzer, Cezar Paul-Badescu, Iulia Lumânare
Cinematographer Andrei Butica
Editor Dana Bunescu
Cast Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti, Adrian Titieni
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
China | 2017 | Mandarin | 107 min | Colour
Director Vivian Qu
Producer Sean Chen
Screenplay Vivian Qu
Cinematographer Benoit Dervaux
Editor Yang Hongyu
Cast Wen Qi, Zhou Meijun, Shi Ke, Geng Le
Beats Per Minute
In Paris in the early 1990s,
a group of activists goes to
battle taking on sluggish
government agencies and
major pharmaceutical
companies. Amid rallies,
protests newcomer Nathan
falls in love with Sean. Their
passion sparks as the activists
fight for a breakthrough.
Blank 13
Koji’s absent father of 13
years is found with cancer and
given three months to live.
When the inevitable day of
their father’s funeral arrives,
the siblings must confront the
void left by his abandonment
as well as a collection of
odd acquaintances who
have come to pay their last
respects.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
France | 2017 | French | 144 min | Colour
Director Robin Campillo
Producer Hugues Charbonneau, Marie-Ange Luciani
Screenplay Philippe Mangeot, Robin Campillo
Cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie
Editor Robin Campillo, Anita Roth, Stephanie Leger
Cast Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, Adèle Haenel
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Japan | 2017 | Japanese | 70 min | Colour
Director Takumi Saitô
Producer Yuiko Kobayashi
Screenplay Mitsutoshi Saijô
Cast Takahashi Issey, Lily Franky, Kanno Misuzu, Takumi Saitô
Dark Skull
Broken by the recent death
of his father, a troubled
young man tears through a
small, indigenous town until
his godfather gets him a
job in the mines. With jawdropping,
dreamlike visuals,
Russo’s debut offers a darkly
beautiful subterranean study
in atmosphere and mourning.
Freedom
A woman leaves her husband
and children without saying
goodbye. The radical nature
of her departure appears to
be an opportunity as well as
a trauma. Their days are still
dominated by her mysterious
leaving.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Bolivia, Qatar | 2016 | Spanish | 80 min | Colour
Director Kiro Russo
Producer Pablo Paniagua, Kiro Russo
Screenplay Kiro Russo, Gilmar Gonzales
Cinematographer Pablo Paniagua
Editor Pablo Paniagua, Kiro Russo
Cast Narciso Choquecallata, Anastasia Daza López, Felix Espejo
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Germany, Slovakia | 2017 | German, Slovak | 100 min | Colour
Director Jan Speckenbach
Producer Sol Bondy, Jamila Wenske
Screenplay Andreas Deinert, Jan Speckenbach
Cinematographer Tilo Hauke
Editor Matthias Albrecht, Henning Stöve
Cast Johanna Wokalek, Georg Arms, Hans-Jochen Wagner
30 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

The Great Buddha+
Pickle is a night security
guard at a bronze statue
factory. His colleague, Belly
Bottom, works as a recycling
collector, Pickle’s biggest
pleasure in life is flicking
through porn magazines,
Television is an integral part
of their lives. One day when
the television is broken, their
lives are changed forever.
Kachcha Limbu
Kachcha Limbu, slang for
underdog, is the poignant
tale of a couple and their
everyday trials in nurturing
their mentally challenged
child, Bachchu. The story
takes us through Mr. and
Mrs. Katdare’s dilemmas and
their attempt at sanity and
togetherness despite teeming
odds.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Taiwan | 2017 | Minnan | 102 min | Colour
Director Hsin-yao Huang
Producer Mong-Hong Chung, Ju Feng Yeh
Screenplay Hsin-yao Huang
Cinematographer Mong-Hong Chung
Editor Hsiu-hsiung Lai
Cast Cres Chuang, Bamboo Chen, Leon Dai, Na-Dou Lin
India | 2017 | Marathi | 116 min | Colour and B/W
Director Prasad Oak
Producer Mandar Bhaskar Devasthali
Screenplay Chinmay Mandlekar
Cinematographer Amalendu Choudhary
Editor Jayant Jathar
Cast Sachin Khedekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Ravi Jadhav, Manmeet Pem,
Ananth Mahadevan, Uday Sabnis, Ajit Kelkar
A Man of Integrity
Reza leads a simple life along
with his wife and child in a
remote village in Northern
Iran. A private company
controls nearly every aspect
of regional life. Under their
pressure many villagers have
themselves become part of
the exisitng corruption. Reza
strives to resist coercion and
preserve his farm.
Marionette
A high school teacher
named Seo-Rin encounters
a mysterious person called
Master through instant
messaging. This figure
reminds her of the past
that she has always wanted
to forget. As her students,
boyfriend and acquaintances
get involved in this incident,
the situation turns grave
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Iran | 2017 | Farsi | 117 min | Colour
Director Mohammad Rasoulof
Producer Mohammad Rasoulof, Kaveh Farnam, Rozita Hendijanian,
Michal Krecek
Screenplay Mohammad Rasoulof
Cinematographer Ashkan Ashkani
Editor Meysam Muini, Mohammedreza Muini
Cast Reza Akhlaghirad, Soudabeh Beizaee, Nasim Adabi, Missagh Zareh,
Zeinab Shabani, Zhila Shahi
South Korea | 2017 | Korean | 116 min | Colour
Director Lee Hanuk
Producer Lee Gun Woo
Screenplay Lee Hanuk
Cinematographer Park Kyung Kun
Editor Won Chang Jae
Cast Kim Hie Won, Lee You-young
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
Racer and the
Jailbird
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
France, Belgium | 2017 | French | 130 min | Colour
When Gino meets Bénédicte,
it is love at first sight,
passionate, unconditional
and fiery.Gino hides a secret
that can endanger his and the
lives of those around him.
Gino and Bénédicte will have
to fight against fate, reason
and their own weaknesses to
save their love.
Director Michaël R. Roskam
Producer Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, Bart Van Langendonck
Screenplay Thomas Bidegain, Noé Debré, Michaël R. Roskam
Cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis
Editor Alain Desssauvage
Cast Matthias Schoenaerts, Adèle Exarchopoulos
Shuttle Life
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Malaysia | 2017 | Mandarin | 91 min | Colour
Director Tan Seng Kiat
Producer Roland Lee, Jin Ong
Screenplay Tan Seng Kiat, Chris Leong Siew Hong
Cinematographer Chen Ko Chin
Editor Chen Hsiao Tung, Yue Ba Ren Zi
Cast Sylvia Chang, Jack Tan, Angel Chan
Qiang struggles to take care of
his mentally unstable mother
and a five-year-old sister,
Hui Shan. When a speeding
car kills Hui Shan, Qiang is
desperate to claim his sister’s
body. Qiang’s mother is of no
help given her condition, so
Qiang is forced to face this
predicament on his own.
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
31

Still Night, Still
Light
Eliane, Romes and his
father Pablo decide to take
action whatever the risks, for
their dreams to take flight.
Implicitly trusting that inner
voice dwelling inside us all,
the film beckons us on a
sensory journey where travel,
art, dream, and memory serve
as mileposts.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Canada, China, Mexico | 2016 | Spanish, French, English, Mandarin
| 98 min | Colour
Director Sophie Goyette
Producer Sophie Goyette
Screenplay Sophie Goyette
Cinematographer Léna Mill-Reuillard
Editor Sophie Goyette
Cast Éliane Prèfontaine, Gerardo Trejoluna
Take Off
India | 2017 | Malayalam | 139 min | Colour
Sameera, a nurse and mother
to 8 year old Ibru.,Recently
takes up a job in war-torn
Iraq to overcome financial
liabilities. Appallingly the
hospital she works at is
captured soon after.
Director Mahesh Narayanan
Producer Shebin Backer, Anto Joseph
Screenplay Mahesh Narayanan, P V Shaji Kumar
Cinematographer Sanu Jose Varghese
Editor Abhilash Balachandran
Cast Parvathy, Fahad Faasil, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali,
Prakash Belawadi
Village Rockstars
Dhunu (10) lives in remote
Assam amidst crushing
deprivation. A free spirit, she
firmly believes in the power
of her grand dreams. Dhunu
is determined to form a rock
band with the boys in her
village and wants to be the
proud owner of a guitar. She
remains undeterred in the
face of gender discrimination.
India | 2017 | Assamese | 87 min | Colour
Director Rima Das
Producer Rima Das
Story Rima Das
Screenplay Rima Das
Cinematographer Rima Das
Editor Rima Das
Cast Banita Das, Basanti Das
32 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

ICFT UNESCO
Gandhi Medal
A competitive section for films that explore the
themes of peace, harmony and unity
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
33

Amok
A man is murdered, but the
person responsible avoids
being discovered and
arrested. A few years later,
a police inspector suspects
he has found evidence in
a newly-published book
entitled Amok.
Khibula
A man, elected by his people
to become the head of a
newly independent country,
gets ousted by a coup d´état
shortly after. He flees into
the mountains, where loyal
troops are rumoured to be
waiting for him. He plans
to come back from exile to
regain his power.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Poland | 2017 | Polish | 108 min | Colour
Director Kasia Adamik
Producer Beata Pisula
Screenplay Richard Karpala
Cinematographer Tomasz Naumiuk
Editor Michal Czarnecki
Cast Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Lukasz Simlat, Zofia Wichlacz,
Zbigniew Stryj, Miroslaw Haniszewski, Jan Peszek
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
Georgia, Germany, France | 2017 | Georgian | 98 min | Colour
Director George Ovashvili
Producer George Ovashvili, Eike Goreczka, Christoph Kukula,
Guillaume de Seille
Screenplay Roelof-Jan Minneboo
Cinematographer Enrico Lucidi
Editor Sun-Min Kim
Cast Hossein Mahjoob, Kishvard Manvelishvili, Nodar Dzidziguri,
Zurab Antelava
Kshitij – A Horizon
Vacchi is 12 and wants to
study Poverty-ridden, her
family leaves their village to
find livelihood as labourers
in sugarcane fields. Her
unwavering determination
however, helps her combat
problems and brings her
closer to the inevitable
showdown with her father.
The Last Painting
A student and political activist
becomes the new housemate
of a solitary painter. He is
brusque and disillusioned,
she is filled with hope.
Outside, Taiwan is heading
towards new presidential
elections. A thriller about
politics, art and murder.
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
India | 2017 | Marathi | 95 min | Colour
Director Manouj Kadaamh
Producer Navroz Prasla, Karishma Mhadolkar
Screenplay Manouj Kadaamh
Cinematographer Yogesh Rajguru
Editor Neeraj Voraliya
Cast Upendra Limaye, Kanchan Jadhav, Vaishnavi Tangde,
Arnav Mandrubkar, Rajkumar Tangde, Manoj Joshi, Vidyadhar Joshi,
Sanjay Mone, Prakash Dhotre, Akansha Pingale,
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Taiwan | 2017 | Mandarin | 108 min | Colour
Director Hung-i Chen
Producer Ying-chuan Wei, Gene Yao
Screenplay Hung-i Chen, Ying-chuan Wei
Cinematographer Jing-Pin Yu
Editor Hung-i Chen
Cast J.C. Lin, Ning Chang, Wei-Yi Lin
Manusangada
Beyond the grief that his
father’s demise causes,
Kolappan dreads the
prospect of the burial that
requires a low caste Dalit,
to carry the body through
a thorny, unformed route
to an uncertain graveyard.
Deeply disturbed with the
inequalities, Kolappan begins
a protest.
Poorna
A 13-year-old Adivasi girl
from Telangana becomes the
youngest girl in history to
climb Mount Everest. The film
follows her incredible journey
to the pinnacle.
India | 2016 | Tamil | 93 min | Colour
Director Amshan Kumar
Producer Ganan Natkunan, Thara
Screenplay Amshan Kumar
Cinematographer P.S. Dharan
Editor Dhanasekar
Cast Rajeev Anand, A.S. Sasi Kumar, Sheela Rajkumar, Manimegalai
India | 2017 | Hindi | 100 min | Colour
Director Rahul Bose
Producer Rahul Bose
Screenplay Prashant Pandey, Shreya Dev Verma
Cinematographer Subhransu
Editor Manan Mehta
Cast Aditi Inamdar, Rahul Bose, S. Mariya
Sales agent Rahul Bose Productions
34 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

Railway Children
India | 2017 | Kannada | 155 min | Colour
Raju, a 12-year-old runaway
kid, discovers the sordid
aspects of living life on
a railway platform. Soon,
falling prey to a gang dealing
in illegal platform businesses,
he finds a friend in Jollu who
helps him learn the ropes of
the job at hand. Unable to see
the dangers, they attempt to
start a venture on their own.
Director Prithvi Konanur
Producer Tin Drum Beats
Screenplay Prithvi Konanur
Cinematographer Eswaran Thangavel
Editor Shivkumar Swamy
Cast Manohara, Yash Shetty, Srikanth, Hanumant Raju, Narasappa
Women of the
Weeping River
Farida and Satra, both bound
by a tragedy and the turmoil
of a bloody feud, cross paths
amidst escalating violence
rooted in a land of disputes.
They get involved in hopes
to undo a conflict stretching
back to past generations.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
UK, USA | 2016 | English, Spanish | 133 min | Colour
Director Sheron Dayoc
Producer Sheron Dayoc
Screenplay Sheron Dayoc
Cinematographer Rommel Sales
Editor Carlo Francisco Manatad
Cast Laila Ulao, Sharifa Pearlsia Ali-Dans, Taha G. Daranda Tan,
Miriam Zimadar-Raper
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
35

Cinema of the
World
A section that celebrates the
notable films of the past year from
across the world
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
37

3/4 (Three Quarters)
Young pianist Mila prepares
for an audition abroad. Her
brother Niki distracts her with
his unwanted talent for the
absurd. Their astrophysicist
father Todor seems incapable
of dealing with his children’s
anxieties. A portrait of a
family during their last
summer together.
9 Fingers
In the middle of the night,
Magloire smokes a cigarette
in an abandoned train station
when the police show up for
an identity check. He starts
running with no luggage
and no future until he meets
a dying man from whom he
inherits a fortune.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Bulgaria, Germany | 2017 | Bulgarian | 82 min | Colour
Director Ilian Metev
Producer Ingmar Trost, Ilian Metev
Screenplay Betina Ip, Ilian Metev
Cinematographer Julian Atanassov
Editor Ilian Metev
Cast Mila Mikhova, Niki Mashalov, Todor Veltchev
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
France, Portugal | 2017 | French | 99 min | B&W, Colour
Director F.J. Ossang
Producer Sbastien Haguenauer, Bruce Satarenko, Lus Urbano
Screenplay F.J. Ossang
Cinematographer Simon Roca
Editor Walter Mauriot
Cast Damien Bonnard, Diogo Dria
Barrage
Catherine returns to
Luxembourg to catch up
with her daughter Alba, who
has been looked after by
Catherine's mother all these
years. Elisabeth, however
doesn't want to let go of her
protigé. Frustrated Catherine
kidnaps Alba and leaves.
Luxembourg, Belgium, France | 2017 | French | 112 min | Colour
Director Laura Schroeder
Producer Pol Cruchten, Sébastien Delloye, Jeanne Geiben,
Sebastian Schelenz
Screenplay Marie Nimier, Laura Schroeder
Cinematographer Hélène Louvart
Editor Damien Keyeux
Cast Lolita Chammah, Themis Pauwels, Isabelle Huppert
Birds Without
Names
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Japan | 2017 | Japanese | 123 min | Colour
Towako switches between two
modes – having sex with her
new beau, and craving it from
her missing ex-lover. Jinji her
unlikely roommate begins to
lurk in everywhere she goes.
Her ex-lover's mysterious
disappearance, has her
reconsidering whether his
disappearance is really such
a mystery after all.
Director Kazuya Shiraishi
Producer Kazumi Fukase
Screenplay Taeko Asano
Cinematographer Takahiro Haibara
Editor Hitomi Kato
Cast Yu Aoi, Sadawo Abe, Tori Matsuzaka, Yutaka Takenouchi
Black Level
Loneliness dwells in a big
city; Kostya, the wedding
photographer, dwells there
too. He is surrounded by
happy people celebrating
special moments in their
lives. Kostya is turning 50,
and is drastically losing
everything he used to cherish.
Will he cope with his despair
and regain the joy of life?
Bloody Milk
Pierre is a 30-year-old dairy
farmer. His life revolves
around the family farm he
took over, when the first cases
of an epidemic disease break
out in France, Pierre finds
out that one of his animals is
infected. He will do whatever
it takes to save them.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Ukraine | 2017 | No Dialogues | 91 min | Colour
Director Valentyn Vasyanovych
Producer Valentyn Vasyanovych, Iya Myslytska, Dennis Ivanov
Screenplay Valentyn Vasyanovych
Cinematographer Valentyn Vasyanovych
Cast Kostyantyn Mokhnach, Kateryna Molchanova
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
France | 2017 | French | 90 min | Colour
Director Hubert Charuel
Producer Stéphanie Bermann, Alexis Dulguerian
Screenplay Claude le Pape, Hubert Charuel
Cinematographer Sebastien Goepfert
Editor Julie Lena, Lilian Corbeille, Grégoire Pontécaille
Cast Swann Arlaud, Sara Giraudeau, Bouli Lanners, Isabelle Candelier,
Jean-Paul Charuel, Marc Barb
38 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

The Boy with the
Topknot
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
UK | 2017 | English | 90 min | Colour
For Sathnam Sanghera,
growing up in Wolverhampton
in the 1980s was a confusing
business. And then there was
his family, whose strange and
often difficult behaviour he
took for granted until, at the
age of twenty-four, Sathnam
made a discovery that
changed everything he ever
thought he knew about them.
Director Lynsey Miller
Producer Nisha Parti
Screenplay Mick Ford, Sathnam Sanghera
Cinematographer Adam Etherington
Editor Sarah Brewerton
Cast Sacha Dhawan, Anupam Kher, Deepti Naval, Joanna Vanderham,
Kiran Sonia Sawar and Sam Otto.
The Breadwinner
Eleven-year-old Parvana
lives in war-torn Kabul,
Afghanistan. One day,
her father is arrested, and
Parvana’s life is changed
forever. Parvana decides to
disguise herself as a boy,
Although in danger of being
discovered, she resolves to
find a way to rescue her father.
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg | 2017 | English | 93 min | Colour
Director Nora Twomey
Producer Anthony Leo, Paul Young, Angelina Jolie, Andrew Rosen,
Tomm Moore, Stephan Roelants
Screenplay Anita Doron, Deborah Ellis
Editor Darragh Byrne
Cast Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq, Shaista Latif,
Ali Badshah, Kawa Ada, Noorin Gulamgaus
Breath
A little Iranian girl named
Bahar lives a life spun from
folklore and stories, always
with her head in a book. She
is at the centre of a country in
turmoil. Over the years, Bahar
finds that daydreaming is the
only way that she can cope
with the pain and suffering
that warring humans inflict on
one another.
The Cakemaker
Tomas, a Berlin pastry chef,
who learns that Oren, his
Israeli lover, has died in a
car accident in Jerusalem.
Unmoored by his loss,
Thomas journeys to Israel to
begin the process of healing.
Desiring to better know his
lost love, he inserts himself
into the life of Oren’s wife and
young son.
Iran | 2017 | Persian | 112 min | Colour
Director Narges Abyar
Producer Mohammad Hossein Ghasemi, Abouzar Pour Mohammadi
Screenplay Narges Abyar
Cinematographer Saed Nikzat
Editor Sajjad Pahlavanzadeh
Cast Gelare Abasi, Mehran Ahmadi, Jamshid Hashempur
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Germany, Israel | 2017 | English, German, Hebrew | 104 min | Colour
Director Ofir Raul Graizer
Producer Itai Tamir, Mathias Schwerbrock
Screenplay Ofir Raul Graizer
Cinematographer Omri Aloni
Editor Michal Oppenheim
Cast Tim Kalkhof, Sarah Adler, Zohar Shtrauss
Candelaria
With embargo at its peak,
the Cold War comes to an
end and the Soviet Union
disintegrates. But for
Candelaria and Victor Hugo
life continues at a slow pace.
One day, the monotony is
broken when Candelaria finds
a video camera hidden in the
dirty sheets of the hotel where
she works.
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
Colombia, Germany, Norway, Argentina, Cuba | 2017 | Spanish | 88
min | Colour
Director Jhonny Hendrix
Producer Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza, Juan Diego Villegas,
Federico Eibuszyc, Barbara Sarasola-Day, Claudia Calviño
Screenplay Mara Camila Arias, Jhonny Hendrix, Abel Arcosoto,
Carlos Quintela
Cinematographer Soledad Rodrguez
Editor Anita Remn, Mauricio Leiva, Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza
Cast Manuel Viveros, Alden Knigth
Children Of The
Night
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Italy, Belgium | 2016 | Italian | 85 min | Colour
Giulio, a 17-year old, is sent
to a boarding school in an
isolated place in the Alps.
Where iron-clad rules limit all
contact with the outside. He
makes friends with Edoardo
and begin to frequent a
nightclub. Suddenly, they
discover that the escapades
are part of the school’s
educational programme.
Director Andrea De Sica
Producer Marta Donzelli, Gregorio Paonessa, Joseph Rouschop
Screenplay Andrea De Sica, Mariano Di Nardo, Gloria Malatesta
Cinematographer Stefano Falivene
Editor Alberto Masi
Cast Vicenzo Crea, Ludovico Succio, Fabrizio Rongione, Yuliia Sobol,
Luigi Bignone, Petro Monfreda
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
39

A Ciambra
Pio Amato at 14, drinks,
smokes and is one of the few
to easily slide between the
region’s factions. Pio follows
his older brother Cosimo
everywhere. When Cosimo
disappears, Pio sets out to
prove he’s ready to step into
his big brother’s shoes but
finds himself faced with an
impossible decision.
Close-Knit
One spring, Hiromi, mother
of an 11-year-old girl
Tomo, leaves home for the
umpteenth time. Tomo goes
to Makio’s place, who lives
with a transwoman Rinko.
They start to live a life
together. One day, Rinko
teaches Tomo to knit in order
to control her temper, just like
her mother did.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Italy, Germany, France, USA | 2017 | Italian | 120 min | Colour
Director Jonas Carpignano
Producer Paolo Carpignano, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Rodrigo
Teixeira, Ryan Zacarias, Gwyn Sannia
Screenplay Jonas Carpignano
Cinematographer Tim Curtin
Editor Affonso Gonçalves
Cast Pio Amato, Koudous Seihon, Damiano Amato
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Japan | 2017 | Japanese | 127 min | Colour
Director Naoko Ogigami
Producer Kenzô Ishiguro, Noriaki Takagi, Masashi Igarashi
Screenplay Naoko Ogigami
Cinematographer Kozo Shibasaki
Editor Shinichi Fujima
Cast Tôma Ikuta, Kenta Kiritani, Eiko Koike
Closeness
24-year-old Ilana works
in her father’s garage to
help him make ends meet.
One evening, her extended
family and friends gather to
celebrate the engagement of
her younger brother David.
Later that night, the young
couple is kidnapped, and a
ransom demand delivered.
Daybreak
Leta has not been able to pay
her rent for several months.
When she and her one-yearold
son are thrown out of
their apartment, they move in
with Sophie, an old woman
confined to bed. In order to
keep her job and a roof over
their head, Leta has to keep
Sophie alive at any cost.
Russia | 2017 | Russian | 118 min | Colour
Director Kantemir Balagov
Producer Eduard Pichugin, Aleksandr Sokurov, Nikolay Yankin
Screenplay Kantemir Balagov, Anton Yarush
Cinematographer Artem Emelianov
Editor Kantemir Balagov
Cast Atrem Cipin, Olga Dragunova, Veniamin Kac
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Albania | 2017 | Albanian | 85 min | Colour
Director Gentian Koçi
Producer Gentian Koçi
Screenplay Gentian Koçi
Cinematographer Ilias Adamis
Editor Christos Giannakopoulos, Bonita Papastathi
Cast Ornela Kapetani, Suzana Prifti, Kasem Hoxha
Disappearance
On a cold winter night in
modern Tehran, a young
couple run into a serious
problem, they have just a
few hours to come up with
a solution. They go from
hospital to hospital in search
of help, but none of the
hospitals will admit the young
woman.
El Inca
The story of undefeated twotime
World Boxing Champion
Edwin Valero. It's a biography
about talent and charisma,
love and ambition, He set
a world record by winning
his first 18 fights with a
first-round knockout. El Inca
tells of an exhilarating rise,
a tragic fall, and the riveting
displays of athletic mastery.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Iran, Oatar | 2017 | Persian | 89 min | Colour
Director Ali Asgari
Producer Pouria Heidary Oureh, Ali Sadraie
Screenplay Farnoosh Samadi, Ali Asgari
Cinematographer Ashkan Ashkani
Editor Ehsan Vaseghi
Cast Sadaf Asgari, Amirreza Ranjbaran
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Venezuela | 2016 | Spanish | 128 ßmin | Colour
Director Ignacio Castillo Cottin
Producer Nathalie Sar - Shalom
Screenplay Ignacio Castillo Cottin, Ada Hernández
Cinematographer Alexandra Henao
Editor Maikel Jimenez
Cast Alexander Leterni, Scarlett Jaimes, Miguel Ferrari
40 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

After the mysterious
disappearance of his wife
Madalena, Elon emerges in
a sleepless journey through
the darkest places of the city
trying to figure out what may
have happened to her, without
losing his sanity on the way.
Euthanizer is a violent
summer noir. It tells the story
of Veijo Haukka, a 50-yearold
mechanic, whose second
job is to put sick pets to
sleep. But what happens when
he decides to save the wrong
person’s dog?
Elon Doesn’t
Believe; in Death
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Brazil | 2017 | Portuguese | 75 min | Colour
Director Ricardo Alves Jr.
Producer Ricardo Alves Jr.
Screenplay Ricardo Alves Jr., Diego Hoefel, Germano Melo,
João Salaviza
Cinematographer Matheus Rocha
Editor Frederico Benevides, Michael Wahrmann
Cast Rômulo Braga, Clara Choveaux, Lourenço Mutarelli
Euthanizer
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Finland | 2017 | Finnish | 85 min | Colour
Director Teemu Nikki
Producer Jani Pösö, Marja Pihlaja
Screenplay Teemu Nikki
Cinematographer Sari Aaltonen
Editor Teemu Nikki
Cast Hannamaija Nikander, Jari Virman, Heikki Nousiainen
A Fantastic Woman
After her middle-aged
boyfriend passes away,
Marina, a young transgender
woman, is treated with
suspicion. A woman detective
investigates Marina to see if
she was involved in his death.
Father And Son
Moc is a rural river fisherman
in Vietnam, raising his son Ca
in harmony with the land. Ca
has a little yellow chick for a
friend and enjoys running
after airplanes, calling them
birds from the city. When Ca
falls ill, Moc must make the
harrowing journey to the city
with his son in order to seek
treatment.
Chile | 2017 | Spanish | 103 min | Colour
Director Sebastin Lelio
Producer Juan de Dios Larran, Pablo Larran, Sebastin Lelio,
Gonzalo Maza
Screenplay Sebastin Lelio, Gonzalo Maza
Cinematographer Benjamn Echazarreta
Editor Soledad Salfate
Cast Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Kuppenheim,
Nicolas Saavedra, Amparo Noguera
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Vietnam | 2016 | Vietnamese | 90 min | Colour
Director Luong Dinh Dung
Producer Nguyen Chi Dung, Nguyen Thi Huong
Screenplay Bui Kim Quy, Luong Dinh Dung
Cinematographer Ly Thai Dung
Editor Pham Thi Hao, Julie Beziau
Cast Ngo The Quan, Do Trong Tan
Félicité
Félicité is a Congolese
singer who desperately needs
money after her 14-year-old
son Samo suffers a serious
accident. She soon finds
financial and emotional
support from Tabu, one of the
regulars in the bar where she
performs.
Final Portrait
Alberto Giacometti, the
famous artist, bumps into his
old friend, the American critic
James Lord, and begs that
he sits for a portrait. Lord is
flattered by the request and as
the days go by and turn into
weeks seemingly with no end
in sight he realises his entire
life has been hijacked by this
erratic genius.
France, Senegal | 2017 | Lingala, French | 123 min | Colour
Director Alain Gomis
Producer Arnaud Dommerc
Screenplay Alain Gomis
Cinematographer Céline Bozon
Editor Alain Gomis, Fabrice Rouaud
Cast Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, Gaetan Claudia, Papi Mpaka,
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
UK, US | 2017 | English | 90 min | Colour
Director Stanley Tucci
Producer Nik Bower, Gail Egan, Ilann Girard
Screenplay Stanley Tucci
Cinematographer Danny Cohen
Editor Camilla Toniolo
Cast Armie Hammer, Geoffrey Rush, Clmence Posy, Tony Shalhoub,
James Faulkner
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
41

Frost
Frost tells the story of Rokas,
a young Lithuanian man
who wants to understand
war in order to understand
his people. On a convoy
transporting humanitarian
aid from Lithuania to the
Ukraine, he meets a couple
of reporters. The trio will
be forced to overcome their
psychological limits.
A Gentle Creature
A woman lives alone on
the outskirts of a village
in Russia. One day she
receives a parcel she sent to
her incarcerated husband,
marked ‘return to sender’.
Shocked and confused, the
woman has no choice but
to travel to the prison in a
remote region of the country
in search of an explanation.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Lithuania, France, Ukraine, Poland | 2017 | Lithuanian | 90 min |
Colour
Director Sarunas Bartas
Producer Valery Kalmykov, Maria Blicharska, Rémi Burah
Screenplay Sarunas Bartas, Anna Cohen-Yanay
Cinematographer Eitvydas Doskus
Editor Dounia Sichov
Cast Vanessa Paradis, Weronika Rosati, Andrzej Chyra
France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands | 2017 | Russian | 143 min
| Colour
Director Sergei Loznitsa
Producer Marianne Slot
Screenplay Sergei Loznitsa
Cinematographer Oleg Mutu
Editor Danielius Kokanauskis
Cast Vasilina Makovtseva, Marina Kleshcheva, Lia Akhedzhakova,
Valeriu Andriuta, Boris Kamorzin, Sergei Kolesov
Her Love Boils
Bathwater
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Japan | 2016 | Japanese | 125 min | Colour
The Sachino family used to
run the Sachi no Yu bathhouse
but it has been dormant since
the sudden disappearance of
the father a year ago. Futaba,.
The cheerful and determined
mother works part-time and
brings up her daughter on her
own, until one day she is told
she has only a little time left
to live.
Director Ryôta Nakano
Producer Kazumi Fukase, Yusuke Wakabayashi
Screenplay Ryôta Nakano
Cinematographer Yoshihiro Ikeuchi
Sound Design Masahide Koura
Cast Rie Miyazawa, Hana Sugisaki, Tori Matsuzaka, Joe Odagiri
High Noon Story
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Iran | 2017 | Farsi | 110 min | Colour
After the dismissal of
president, Bani-Sadr, by
the Iranian parliament,
terrorist groups begin to
assassinate Iranian officials.
The government and the
revolutionary guards are after
the terrorists. A member of
the guard and a woman from
the terrorist groups know
each other.
Director Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian
Producer Seyed Mahmoud Razavi
Screenplay Ebrahim Amini and Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian
Cinematographer Hadi Behrouz
Editor Sajad Pahlavan Zadeh
Cast Mehrdad Sedighian, Ahmad Mehranfar, Javad Ezati, Mehdi
Hostages
The Georgian Soviet Socialist
Republic in 1983. Border
guards are keeping an
eye on a group of young
Georgians who are enjoying
a boisterous dip in the Black
Sea. The group includes Anna
and Nika, who are about to
marry. Post the wedding they
plan to hijack the aircraft at
gunpoint..
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Georgia, Russia, Poland | 2017 | Georgian, Russian | 103 min |
Colour
Director Rezo Gigineishvili
Producer Mikhail Finogenov, Tamara Tatishvili, Vladimer Katcharava,
Rezo Gigineishvili
Screenplay Lasha Bughadze, Rezo Gigineishvili
Cinematographer Vladislav Opelyants
Editor Jaroslav Kaminski, Andrey Gamov
Cast Irakli Kvirikadze, Tinatin Dalakishvili, Avtandil Makharadze
The House by the
Sea
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
France | 2017 | French | 107 min | Colour
By a little bay near Marseille
lies a picturesque villa owned
by an old man. His three
children have gathered by his
side for his last days: Angela,
an actress living in Paris;
Joseph, who has just fallen in
love with a girl half his age;
and Armand, the only one
who stayed behind to run the
family’s small restaurant.
Director Robert Guédiguian
Producer Robert Guédiguian, Marc Bordure
Screenplay Robert Guédiguian, Serge Valletti
Cinematographer Pierre Milon
Editor Bernard Sasia
Cast Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan,
Anaïs Demoustier, Robinson Stévenin, Jacques Boudet
42 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

I Dream in Another
Language
Martin arrives in a remote
Mexican village to record a
dying, ancient indigenous
language. He finds the last
two speakers of the language,
but they refuse to speak to
each other because of a 50-
year grudge.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Mexico, Netherlands | 2017 | Spanish, English | 103 min | Colour
Director Ernesto Contreras
Producer Mónica Lozano, Luis Albores, Erika vila, Eamon O’ Farrill,
Dijana Olcay-Hot, Raymond Van Der Kaaij
Screenplay Carlos Contreras
Cinematographer Tonatiuh Martinez
Editor Jorge Macaya
Cast Fernando Álvarez Rebeil, José Manuel Poncelis, Eligio Melndez
In Blue
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
A sturdy flight attendant has to
deliver a child in mid-air and
gets involved in a confusing
mother/lover relationship
with a boy who’s living under
the streets of Bucharest.
Netherlands, Romania | 2017 | Dutch, English, Romanian | 102 min
| Colour
Director Jaap van Heusden
Producer Marc Bary
Screenplay Jan-Willem den Bok, Jaap van Heusden
Cinematographer Melle van Essen
Editor Jasper Quispel
Cast Maria Kraakman, Bogdan Iancu, Ellis van den Brink
Insyriated
Trapped inside her house in a
city under siege, Oum Yazan,
mother of three, turns her flat
into a safe harbour for her
family and neighbours, trying
to protect them from the war
outside. Maintaining the thin
balance of routine inside the
walls becomes a matter of life
and death.
The Journey
Sara enters Baghdad station
with sinister intentions for
its reopening ceremony. As
she braces to commit an
unthinkable act, her plans
are drastically altered by an
unwanted encounter with
Salam. Now hostage to Sara’s
confused and deluded plan,
he battles desperately to
appeal to her humanity.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Belgium, France | 2017 | Arabic | 85 min | Colour
Director Philippe Van Leeuw
Producer Guillaume Malandrin, Serge Zeitoun, Pierre Sarraf
Screenplay Philippe Van Leeuw
Cinematographer Virginie Surdej
Editor Gladys Joujou
Cast Hiam Abbass, Diamand Abou Abboud
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Iraq, UK, Qatar, France, Netherlands | 2017 | Arabic, English | 82 min
| Colour
Director Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji
Producer Isabelle Stead, Mohamed Jabarah Al-daradji, Hélène Cases
Screenplay Isabelle Stead, Mohamed Jabarah Al-daradji
Cinematographer Duraid Munajim
Editor Mohamed Jabarah Al-daradji, Pascale Chavance, Herve De Luz
Cast Zahraa Gandour, Ameer Ali Jabarah
Let the Sunshine In
Inspired by, but not adapted
from Roland Barthes’s
A Lover’s Discourse:
Fragments, Claire Denis’
new film is about a single
woman, Isabelle, an artist and
divorced mother living alone
in Paris and looking for true
love.
Life Beyond Me
The story hinges on Sylvie’s
son Felipe, who was abducted
at the age of five by his
father, Pablo. Four years
and a few hiccups by social
services later, thanks to
Pablo’s death and the work
of a private detective, Sylvie
picks up Felipe’s trace in the
countryside in Uruguay,
France | 2017 | French | 95 min | Colour
Director Claire Denis
Producer Olivier Delbosc
Screenplay Claire Denis, Christine Angot
Cinematographer Agnès Godard
Editor Guy Lecorne
Cast Juliette Binoche, Gérard Depardieu, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
France, Uruguay | 2017 | Spanish, French | 96 min | Colour
Director Olivier Peyon
Producer Bertrand Faivre
Screenplay Olivier Peyon, Cécilia Rouaud
Cinematographer Alexis Kavyrchine
Editor Tina Baz
Cast Isabelle Carré, María Dupláa, Ramzy Bedia
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
43

Light Up!
Alevtina Romanova is a penal
officer in a women’s prison
colony. Her image of a stern
officer is betrayed only by
her voice – one that is envied
by opera stars. She has
been embarrassed of her gift
since childhood. Her secret
is revealed when an inmate
records a video and uploads
it on the internet.
Love Me Not
A couple hires a young
migrant to be their surrogate
mother and moves her to their
beautiful villa. While the man
is away for work,she is and
the girl start to bond and
enjoy the couple’s wealthy
way of life.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Russia | 2017 | Russian | 104 min | Colour
Director Kirill Pletnev
Producer Ruben Dishdishyan
Screenplay Kirill Pletnev
Cinematographer Sergey Mihalchuk
Editor Vasiliy Klepatskiy
Cast Inga Oboldina, Viktoria Isakova, Vladinir Ilyin, Anna Ukolova
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Greece, France | 2017 | Greek | 99 min | Colour
Director Alexandros Avranas
Producer Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Kristina Larsen
Screenplay Alexandros Avranas, Kostas Peroulis
Cinematographer David Pimm
Editor Christos Giannakopoulos
Cast Eleni Roussinou, Christos Loulis
Loveless
Zhenya and Boris are going
through a vicious divorce.
Already embarking on new
lives, each with a new partner,
they are impatient to start
again, to turn the page –
even if it means threatening
to abandon their 12-yearold
son Alyosha. Until, after
witnessing one of their fights,
Alyosha disappears.
M
Lila and Mo meet at a bus
stop. Lila has a paralysing
speech impediment. Mo is
chatty and exuberant. Lila
is preparing for her exams.
Mo illegally races cars for
a living. Opposites attract,
and they fall in love. But Mo
carries a secret burden.
Russia, France, Belgium, Germany | 2017 | Russian | 127 min |
Colour
Director Andrey Zvyagintsev
Producer Alexandre Rodnyansky, Serguey Melkumov
Screenplay Oleg Negin, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Gleb Fetisov
Cinematographer Mikhail Krichman
Editor Anna Mass
Production Designer Andrey Ponkratov
Cast Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin, Matvey Novikov, Varvara Shmykova
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
France | 2016 | French | 110 min | Colour
Director Sara Forestier
Producer Denis Freyd, Hugo Selignac, Seg Selignal, Vincent Mazel
Screenplay Sara Forestier
Cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman
Editor Eric Armbruster
Cast Redouanne Harjane, Sara Forestier, Jean-Pierre Léaud
Mrs. Hyde
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
France | 2017 | French | 95 min | Colour
Mrs. Géquil is a shy teacher
despised by her colleagues
and students. On a stormy
night, while conducting an
experiment in her lab, she is
struck by lightning and faints.
When she wakes up, she feels
different and the appearance
of the dangerous Mrs.
Hyde soon impacts on Mrs.
Géquil’s teaching methods.
Director Serge Bozon
Producer David Thion, Philippe Martin
Screenplay Axelle Ropert, Serge Bozon
Cinematographer Céline Bozon
Editor Franois Quiqueré
Cast Romain Duris, Isabelle Huppert, Jose Garcia, Adda Senani,
Guillaume Verdier
Marlina the Murderer
in Four Acts
Marlina lives quietly in
Sumba until one day a man
named Markus and his gang
try to rob her house. She
kills him. Eventually, she is
haunted by Markus, and her
life turns 180 degrees.
Indonesia, France, Malaysia, Thailand | 2017 | Indonesian | 90 min
| Colour
Director Mouly Surya
Producer Rama Adi, Fauzan Zidni
Screenplay Rama Adi, Garin Nugroho, Mouly Surya
Cinematographer Yunus Pasolang
Editor Kelvin Nugroho
Cast Egy Fedly, Dea Panendra, Yoga Pratama
44 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

Men Don’t Cry
Less than two decades since
the war ended in Yugoslavia,
a diverse group of veterans
gathers at a remote mountain
hotel to undergo days of
therapy. This is about the
ability to forgive others
only after we have forgiven
ourselves.
The Midwife
The unlikely friendship that
develops between Claire, a
talented but tightly wound
midwife, and Batrice, the
estranged, free-spirited
mistress of Claire’s late father.
Though polar opposites in
almost every way, the two
come to rely on each other
as they cope with the unusual
circumstances.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovania, Croatia, Germany | 2017 | Bosnian
| 98 min | Colour
Director Alen Drljevic
Producer Damir Ibrahimovich, Jasmila Žbanic
Screenplay Alen Drljevi, Zoran Solomun
Cinematographer Erol Zubevic
Editor Vladimir Gojun
Cast Boris Isakovi, Leon Luev, Emir Hadihafizbegovi, Sebastian
Cavazza,Ermin Bravo, Boris Ler
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
France | 2017 | French | 117 min | Colour
Director Martin Provost
Producer Olivier Delbosc
Screenplay Martin Provost
Cinematographer Yves Cape
Editor Albertine Lastera
Cast Catherine Frot, Catherine Deneuve, Olivier Gourmet,
Quentin Dolmaire, Mylène Demongeot
Montparnasse
Bienvenue
Broke, with nothing but her
cat to her name and doors
closing in her face, Paula
is back in Paris after a long
absence. As she meets
different people along the
way, there is one thing
she knows for sure: she’s
determined to make a new
start and she’ll do it with style
and panache!
Mother!
A couple’s relationship
is tested when uninvited
guests arrive at their home,
disrupting their tranquil
existence.
France | 2017 | French | 97 min | Colour
Director Léonor Serraille
Producer Sandra da Fonseca
Screenplay Léonor Serraille
Cinematographer Émilie Noblet
Editor Clémence Carré
Cast Laetitia Dosch, Grégoire Monsaingeon, Souleymane Seye Ndiaye,
Léonie Simaga, Nathalie Richard, Érika Sainte, Lila-Rose Gilberti-Poisot,
Audrey Bonnet
USA | 2017 | English | 121 min | Colour
Director Darren Aronofsky
Producer Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel
Screenplay Darren Aronofsky
Cinematographer Matthew Libatique
Editor Andrew Weisblum
Cast Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Pfeiffer Javier Bardem, Ed Harris
Murder on the Orient
Express
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Malta, USA | 2017 | English | 114 min | Colour
A lavish train ride unfolds
into a stylish and suspenseful
mystery. From the novel by
Agatha Christie, Murder on
the Orient Express is about
thirteen stranded strangers
and one man’s race to solve
the puzzle before the murderer
strikes again.
Director Kenneth Branagh
Producer Kenneth Branagh, Mark Gordon, Judy Hofflund,
Simon Kinberg, Michael Schaefer, Ridley Scott
Screenplay Michael Green, Agatha Christie
Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos
Editor Mick Audsley
Cast Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer,
Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Josh Gad
The Nile Hilton
Incident
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Sweden, Denmark, Germany | 2017 | Arabic, Dinka | 110 min | Colour
Director Tarik Saleh
Producer Kristina Åberg
Screenplay Tarik Saleh
Cinematographer Pierre Aïm
Editor Theis Schmidt
Cast Fares Fares, Mari Malek, Yasser Ali Maher
Set against the backdrop
of the Egyptian Revolution,
the thriller features a police
officer who investigates the
murder of a woman. What
initially seems to be a killing
of a prostitute turns into
a more complicated case
involving the very elite of
Egypt.
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
45

No Bed of Roses
Successful movie director,
Javed Hasan finds himself in
a midlife crisis, questioning
whether marriage and career
have demanded too much. A
tryst with Nitu, his daughter’s
childhood friend, turns into
a national scandal. Javed’s
loving family is torn apart.
He eventually divorces wife,
Maya and is estranged.
No Date No Sign
The forensic pathologist,
Nariman has a car accident
with a motorcyclist and
injures his 8-year-old son.
He offers to take the child to
a clinic nearby, but the father
refuses his help and money.
In the hospital, Nariman finds
out that the little boy has been
brought for an autopsy after a
suspicious death.
Bangladesh-India | 2017 | Bengali, English | 86 min | Colour
Director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
Producer Himanshu Dhanuka, Abdul Aziz, Ashok Kumar Dhanuka
Cinematographer Sheikh Rajibul Islam
Editor Momin Biswas
Cast Irrfan Khan, Nusrat Imrose Tisha
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Iran | 2017 | Persian | 103 min | Colour
Director Vahid Jalilvand
Producer Ali Jalilvand, Ehsan Alikhani
Screenplay Ali Zarnegar, Vahid Jalilvand
Cinematographer Payman Shadmanfar
Editor Vahid Jalilvand, Sepehr Vakili
Cast Navid Mohammadzadeh, Amir Agha’ee, Hediyeh Tehrani,
Zakieh Behbahani, Sa’eed Dakh, Alireza Ostadi.
On Body and Soul
Two introverted people
who work in a Budapest
slaughterhouse find out
by pure chance that they
share the same dream every
night. They are puzzled,
incredulous, a bit frightened.
As they hesitantly accept this
strange coincidence, they try
to recreate in broad daylight
what happens in their dream.
Once Upon a Time
In an abandoned little town in
Russia - two lonely old men
and a recently widowed lady
are the only ones living there.
One of the men decides to put
an end to his loneliness and
offer his hand to the widow.
However, the other man is
not satisfied with the twist
and also offers himself as her
companion.
Hungary | 2017 | Hungarian | 116 min | Colour
Director Ildikó Enyedi
Producer Mónika Mécs, András Muhi, Erno Mesterházy
Screenplay Ildikó Enyedi
Cinematographer Mt Herbai
Editor Kroly Szalai
Cast Alexandra Borbély, Géza Morcsányi, Réka Tenki, Zoltán Schneider,
Ervin Nagy
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
Russia | 2017 | Russian | 90 min | Colour
Director Eduard Parri
Producer Ekaterina Sarycheva, Maria Mamulina, Fyodor Dobranov
Screenplay Aleksey Borodachyov
Cinematographer Masha Slovyova
Cast Roman Madyanov, Fyodor Dobronravov, Irina Rozanova
The Other Side of
Hope
Khaled, a Syrian refugee,
stows away on a freighter
to Helsinki. Wikstrm is a
traveling salesman, wins big
at poker and buys a restaurant.
When the authorities turn
down his application for
asylum, Khaled is forced
underground and Wikstrm
finds him sleeping behind his
restaurant.
Finland, Germany | 2017 | Finnish, English, Arabic, Swedish | 100
min | Colour
Director Aki Kaurismäki
Producer Aki Kaurismäki
Screenplay Aki Kaurismäki
Cinematographer Timo Salminen
Editor Samu Heikkilä
Cast Ville Virtanen, Sherwan Haji, Dome Karukoski, Kati Outinen
Park
Gathering in the parched
concrete wasteland of Athens’
crumbling Olympic village, a
group of teenagers engages
daily in boisterous horseplay.
The eldest of them, doe-eyed
Anna and the timid Dimitri
begin courting and soon
become a couple, coming
alive in each other’s company,
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Greece, Poland | 2017 | Greek, English | 100 min | Colour
Director Sofia Exarchou
Producer Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Amanda Livanou
Screenplay Sofia Exarchou
Cinematographer Monika Lenczewska
Editor Sofia Exarchou, Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Cast Dimitris Kitsos, Dimitra Vlagopoulou, Thomas Bo Larsen
46 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

The Party
UK | 2017 | English | 71 min | Black and White
Janet is hosting an intimate
gathering of friends to
celebrate her promotion to
Minister of Health in the party
of opposition. Her husband,
Bill, seems preoccupied.
An announcement by
Bill provokes a series of
revelations that rapidly
escalate into all-out
confrontation,
Director Sally Potter
Producer Kurban Kassam, Christopher Sheppard
Screenplay Sally Potter
Cinematographer Alexey Rodionov
Editor Emilie Orsini, Anders Refn
Cast Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas
Pomegranate
Orchard
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Azerbaijan | 2017 | Azerbaijani | 90 min | Colour
Gabil returns home to the
humble family farmstead,
surrounded by an orchard of
venerable pomegranate trees.
Since his sudden departure
12 years ago, he was never
once in contact. However, the
deep emotional scars he left
behind cannot be erased from
one day to the next.
Director Ilgar Najaf
Producer Mushfug Hatamov, Ilgar Najaf
Screenplay Asif Rustamov, Ilgar Najaf, Roelof Yan Minneboo inspirovno
divadeln hrou Viov sad
Cinematographer Ayhan Salar
Editor Elmir Hasanov
Cast Hasan Agayev, Samimi Farhad, Ilaha Hasanova , Gurban Ismailov
Pop Aye
On a chance encounter, a
disenchanted architect bumps
into his long-lost elephant
on the streets of Bangkok.
Excited, he takes his elephant
on a journey across Thailand,
in search of the farm where
they grew up together.
Radiance
Misako is a passionate writer
of film versions for the visually
impaired. At a screening, she
meets Nakamori, an older
photographer who is slowly
losing his eyesight. Misako
soon discovers Nakamori’s
photographs, which will
strangely bring her back to
her past.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Thailand, Singapore | 2017 | Thai | 104 min | Colour
Director Kirsten Tan
Producer Wenhong Huang, Zhang Jianbin, Weijie Lai
Screenplay Kirsten Tan
Cinematographer Chananun Chotrungroj
Editor Lee Chatametikool
Cast Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Penpak Sirikul, Bong
France, Japan | 2017 | Japanese | 101 min | Colour
Director Naomi Kawase
Producer Naoya Kinoshita, Masa Sawada, Yumiko Takebe
Screenplay Naomi Kawase
Cinematographer Arata Dodo
Editor Tina Baz
Cast Masatoshi Nagase, Ayame Misaki, Tatsuya Fuji
Razzia
Five people, Abdallah,
Salima, Joe, Hakim and Ina,
are connected to each other
without realising it. Different
faces, different struggles, but
one same breath.
The Reconciliation
End of WW2 -The Communist
Security Service eliminates
its enemies under the pretext
of punishing national traitors.
It organises a labour camp for
Germans. Franek, is in love
with a Polish prisoner Anna,
he joins the camp to rescue
her. Franek is unaware that
his German inmate is also in
love with Anna since long.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
France, Morocco, Belgium | 2017 | French, Arabic | 120 min | Colour
Director Nabil Ayouch
Producer Bruno Nahon, Patrick Quinet, Nabil Ayouch
Screenplay Maryam Touzani, Nabil Ayouch
Cinematographer Virginie Surdej
Editor Sophie Reine, Marie-Helene Dozo
Cast Maryam Touzani, Arieh Worthalter, Amine Ennaji, Abdelilah Rachid,
Dounia Binebane, Abdellah Didane
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Poland | 2017 | Polish | 87 min | Colour
Director Maciej Sobieszczanski
Producer Zbigniew Domagalski
Screenplay Malgorzata Sobieszczanska
Cinematographer Valentyn Vasyanovych
Editor Rafal Listopad
Cast Jakub Gierszal, Julian Swiezewski, Zofia Wichlacz
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
47

Redoubtable
Paris 1967. Jean-Luc Godard,
the most renowned filmmaker
of his generation, is shooting
La Chinoise with the woman
he loves, Anne Wiazemsky,
20 years his junior. Happy,
in love, magnetic, they marry.
But the film’s reception
unleashes a profound selfexamination
in Jean-Luc.
Requiem for Mrs. J
Mrs. J is depressed by the
death of her husband, a topranking
military official, who
passed away one year ago.
She is planning to commit
suicide as she can’t deal with
the problems of her family.
France | 2017 | French | 107 min | Colour
Director Michel Hazanavicius
Producer Michel Hazanavicius, Florence Gastaud, Riad Sattouf
Screenplay Michel Hazanavicius
Cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman
Editor Anne-Sophie Bion nMarti
Cast Louis Garrel, Stacy Martin, Bérénice Bejo, Micha Lescot,
Grégory Gadebois, Felix Kysyl
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Russia, France | 2017 | Serbian | 93
min | Colour
Director Bojan Vuletic
Producer Nenad Dukic
Screenplay Bojan Vuletic
Cinematographer Jelena Stankovic
Editor Vladimir Pavlovski
Cast Mirjana Karanovic, Danica Nedeljkovic, Jovana Gavrilovic
Scaffolding
17-year-old, Asher has
always been the impulsive
troublemaker, while his strict
father sees him as a natural
successor to the family’s
scaffolding business, Asher
finds a different masculine
role model in his gentle
literature teacher, Rami and
forges a special connection
with him.
Scary Mother
A 50-year-old housewife,
Manana, struggles with a
dilemma: she has to choose
between her family life and
a love for writing she has
repressed for years. When
she finally decides to follow
her passion, she is ready to
sacrifice everything for it,
mentally and physically.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Israel, Poland | 2017 | Hebrew | 95 min | Colour
Director Matan Yair
Producer Gal Greenspan, Roi Kurland, Stanislaw Dziedzic, Moshe Edery,
Leon Edery
Screenplay Matan Yair
Cinematographer Bartosz Bieniek
Editor Dov Steuer
Cast Asher Lax, Ami Smolarchik, Yaacov Cohen, Keren Berger
Georgia, Estonia | 2017 | Georgian | 107 min | Colour
Director Ana Urushadz
Producer Tinatin Kajrishvili, Lasha Khalvashi
Screenplay Ana Urushadze
Cinematographer Konstantin Esadze
Editor Alexander Kuranov
Cast Nata Murvanidze, Ramaz Ioseliani, Dimitri Tatishvili, Avtandil
Makhradze
The Secret
Ingredient
Vele can’t afford to buy
the expensive medications
for his father who has
cancer. Desperate, he
steals marijuana from some
criminals, makes a cake with
it and gives it to him, hoping
it will reduce his pain. His
father’s health miraculously
improves.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Macedonia, Greece | 2017 | Macedonian | 104 min | Colour
Director Gjorce Stavreski
Producer Gjorce Stavreski
Screenplay Gjorce Stavreski
Cinematographer Dejan Dimeski
Editor Martin Ivanov
Cast Blagoj Veselinov, Anastas Tanovski, Aksel Mehmet,
Aleksandar Mikic
Shelter
Lemon Tree meets John le
Carré in a subtle thriller set in
Germany involving Mona, a
Lebanese woman, and Naomi,
an Israeli Mossad agent sent
to protect their informant
while recovering from plastic
surgery for her new identity.
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
Germany, Israel, France | 2017 | English, Hebrew, Arabic | 93 min |
Colour
Director Eran Riklis
Producer Bettina Brokemper
Screenplay Eran Riklis
Cinematographer Sebastian Edschmid
Editor Richard Marizy
Cast Golshifteh Farahani, Neta Riskin, Lior Ashkenazi, Haluk Bilginer,
Yehuda Almagor, Mark Waschke
48 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

A Sort of Family
Malena a successful doctor
is informed that the baby she
adopted is about to be born.
She goes to retrieve him from
his surrogate mother only
to find herself blackmailed
by the newborn’s biological
parents. Malena takes up the
challenge to see how far she
is willing to go to get what
she wants most.
Spoor
Duszejko, an eccentric retired
construction engineer, an
astrologist and a vegetarian,
lives in a small mountain
village on the Czech-
Polish border. One day her
beloved dogs disappear. As
time goes by, more grisly
killings are discovered. The
police investigation proves
ineffective.
Argentina, Brazil, France, Poland | 2017 | Spanish | 95 min | Colour
Director Diego Lerman
Producer Nicolás Avruj, Diego Lerman
Screenplay Diego Lerman, María Meira
Cinematographer Wojciech Staron
Editor Alejandro Brodersohn
Cast Bárbara Lennie, Daniel Aráoz, Claudio Tolcachir
Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovak Republic | 2017 |
Polish | 128 min | Colour
Director Agnieszka Holland
Producer Krzysztof Zanussi, Janusz Waçhala
Screenplay Olga Tokarczuk, Agnieszka Holland
Cinematographer Jolanta Dylewska, Rafa Paradowski
Editor Pavel Hrdlicka
Cast Agnieszka Mandat, Wiktor Zborowski, Miroslav Krobot, Jakub
Giersza, Patricia Volny, Tomasz Kot
The Square
Christian is the respected
curator of a contemporary
art museum. His foolish
response to the theft of
his phone drags him into
a shameful situation. The
response is overblown and
sends him and the museum
into an existential crisis.
The Strange Ones
Mysterious events surround
two travellers as they make
their way across a remote
American landscape. On the
surface all seems normal, but
what appears to be a simple
vacation soon gives way to
a dark and complex web of
secrets.
Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark | 2017 | English, Swedish,
Danish | 142 min | Colour
Director Ruben Östlund
Producer Erik Hemmendorff, Philippe Bober
Screenplay Ruben Östlund
Cinematographer Fredrik Wenzel
Editor Jacob Secher Schulsinger, Ruben Östlund
Cast Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
USA | 2017 | English | 81 min | Colour
Director Christopher Radcliff, Lauren Wolkstein
Producer Sébastien Aubert, Shani Geva, Michael Prall, Eric Schultz,
Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Screenplay Christopher Radcliff, Lauren Wolkstein
Cinematographer Todd Banhazl
Editor Christopher Radcliff, Lauren Wolkstein
Cast Alex Pettyfer, James Freedson-Jackson, Emily Althaus
Summer 1993
Following the death of her
parents, six-year-old Frida
moves to live with her aunt
and uncle. Country life is a
challenge for Frida – time
passes differently here and
the nature that surrounds her
is mysterious and estranging.
Frida contemplates running
away as the best solution to
her problems.
Sweet Country
An Australian western set on
the Northern Territory frontier
in the 1920s, where justice
itself is put on trial when an
aged Aboriginal farmhand
shoots a white man in self
defence and goes on the run
as a posse gathers to hunt
him down.
Spain | 2017 | Spanish | 97 min | Colour
Director Carla Simón
Producer Valrie Delpierre
Screenplay Carla Simón
Cinematographer Santiago Racaj
Editor Didac Palou, Ana Pfaff
Cast David Verdaguer, Laia Artigas, Paula Robles, Bruna Cus
Australia | 2017 | English | 110 min | Colour
Director Warwick Thornton
Producer David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin
Screenplay Steven McGregor, David Tranter
Cinematographer Dylan River, Warwick Thornton
Editor Nick Meyers
Cast Bryan Brown, Matt Day, Tremayne Doolan
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
49

Uma
Love, drama and suspense is
the main vertex of a beautiful
story that enhances the
intensity and honesty of true
love between Uma and Leo
from the moment they meet in
the coast of Gaeta. An instant
chemistry between them
will confront struggles and
challenges to stay together.
Union Leader
Jay Gohil, 36, works for
Apollo Chemicals, a chemical
plant that is causing cancer
and other ailments in its
workers. When his good
friend and colleague, Digant,
is found dead, Jay takes action
and uncovers a dark history
of cover-ups and deceit that
results in an overhaul of the
plant’s management.
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
Venezuela, USA, Italy | 2017 | Spanish, Italian | 96 min | Colour
Director Alain Maiki
Producer Alain Maiki, Liz Maiki
Screenplay Rosa Clemente, Raul Pietro, Liz Maiki, Alain Maiki,
William Goite
Cinematographer Alain Maiki
Editor Alain Maiki
Cast Alexandra Braun, Orlando Delgado, Pedro Medina, Henry Zakka
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Canada, India | 2017 | Hindi | 105 min | Colour
Director Sanjay Patel
Producer Sanjay Patel, Haresh Patel
Screenplay Sanjay Patel, Winston Rainey
Cinematographer Nilip Deb
Editor Aurelian Brentraus, Brock Roberts
Cast Rahul Bhat, Tillotama Shome, Vivek Ghamande
Until the Birds
Return
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Algeria today. Past and
present collide in the lives
of a newly wealthy property
developer, a young woman
torn between the path of
reason and sentiment and
an ambitious neurologist
impeded by wartime
wrongdoings.
Algeria, France, Germany | 2017 | Arabic | 115 min | Colour
Director Karim Moussaoui
Producer David Thion, Philippe Martin
Screenplay Karim Moussaoui, Maud Ameline
Cinematographer David Chambille
Editor Thomas Marchand
Cast Mohamed Djouhri, Sonia Mekkiou, Mehdi Ramdani, Hassan
Kachach, Nadia Kaci, Samir El Hakim, Aure Atika
Unwanted
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
Kosovo | 2017 | Dutch, Albanian | 85 min | Colour
Alban, a lonely boy, who
lives in Amsterdam with
his refugee mother from
Kosovo, keeps getting into
trouble while yearning for her
acceptance. But the traumas
caused by the war, which his
mother hides away from him,
turn his world upside down.
Director Edon Rizvanolli
Producer Edon Rizvanolli
Screenplay Edon Rizvanolli
Cinematographer Danny Noordanus
Editor Edon Rizvanolli
Cast Adriana Matoshi, Jason de Ridder, Niki Verkaar, Hugo Koolschijn,
Celia Nufaar, Besnik Krapi
Wajib
Abu Shadi is a divorced father
and a school teacher in his
mid-60s living in Nazareth.
After his daughter’s wedding
he will live alone. Shadi, his
son, arrives from Rome after
years. As the estranged pair
spend time together, the tense
details of their relationship
emerge.
Western
A group of German workers
sets off to a construction site
in the border region between
Bulgaria and Greece. The
foreign land awaken the men’s
sense of adventure. The stage
is quickly set for a showdown
when the men begin to
compete for recognition
and favour from the local
villagers.
Palestine, France, Germany, Colombia, Norway, Qatar, United Arab
Emirates | 2017 | Arabic | 96 min | Colour
Director Annemarie Jacir
Producer Ossama Bawardi
Screenplay Annemarie Jacir
Cinematographer Antoine Héberié
Editor Jacques Comets
Cast Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Maria Zreik, Rana Alamuddin
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Germany, Bulgaria, Austria | 2017 | German, English, Bulgarian | 119
min | Colour
Director Valeska Grisebach
Producer Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Maren Ade, Michel Merkt
Screenplay Valeska Grisebach
Cinematographer Bernhard Keller
Editor Bettina Böhler
Cast Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek, Waldemar Zang, Detlef
Schaich, Syuleyman Alilov Letifo, Veneta Fragnova, Viara Borisova
50 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

Wonderstruck
Ben and Rose are children
from two different eras who
secretly wish that their lives
were different. Ben longs for
the father he’s never known,
while Rose dreams of a
mysterious actress whose
life she chronicles in a
scrapbook. They both set out
on epic quests to find what
they’re missing.
The Wound
Xolani, a lonely factory
worker, joins the men of his
community in the mountains
of the Eastern Cape to initiate
a group of teenage boys into
manhood. When a defiant
initiate from the city discovers
his best kept secret, Xolani’s
entire existence begins to
unravel.
USA | 2017 | English | 117 min | Colour, Black and White
Director Todd Haynes
Producer Pamela Koffler, John Sloss, Christine Vachon
Screenplay Brian Selznick
Cinematographer Edward Lachman
Editor Affonso Gonçalves
Cast Oakes Fegley, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams,
Millicent Simmonds
South Africa, Germany, Netherlands, France | 2017 | Xhosa | 88 min
| Colour
Director John Trengove
Producer Elias Ribeiro, Cait Pansegrouw
Screenplay John Trengove, Malusi Bengu, Thando Mqgolozona
Cinematographer Paul Ozgur
Editor Matthew Swanepoel
Cast Nakhane Touré, Niza Jay Ncoyini, Bongile Mantsai, Thobani Mseleni
The Young Karl Marx
Karl Marx, aged 26, embarks
with his wife Jenny on the
road to exile. In 1844 Paris,
he meets Friedrich Engels,
an industrialist’s son, who
investigated the birth of
the British working-class.
Engels, the dandy, provides
the last piece of the puzzle
to the young Karl Marx’s new
vision of the world.
Zer
Zer is the story of a song,
whispered to Jan’s ear on his
grandmother’s deathbed. A
survivor of Dersim Massacre,
Zarife hid her identity, her
past in her memory of this
song. Raised in NYC, Jan
begins a journey through
Kurdistan, searching for his
grandma’s past and his own
self.
Germany, France, Belgium | 2017 | German, French, English | 112
min | Colour
Director Raoul Peck
Producer Nicolas Blanc, Rémi Grellety, Robert Guédiguian, Raoul Peck
Screenplay Pascal Bonitzer, Raoul Peck
Cinematographer Kolja Brandt
Editor Frédérique Broos
Cast August Diehl, Stefan Konarske, Vicky Krieps
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
Germany, Turkey, USA | 2017 | Turkish, Kurdish, English | 113 min
| Colour
Director Kazim Öz
Producer Turan Tokel, Kazim Öz
Screenplay Kazim Öz
Cinematographer Eyüp Boz, Feza Çaldiran, Orçun Özkilinç
Editor Thomas Balkenhol, Kazim Öz
Cast Ahmet Aslan, Haleigh Ciel, Fsun Demirel, Nik Xhelilaj
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
51

Country Focus
Canada
A showcase of recent films from
Canada. In collaboration with Telefilm
Canada; curated by the Toronto
International Film Festival
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
53

Allure
Plagued by the abuse of her
past and the turmoil of failed
intimate encounters, Laura
struggles to find a lover and
a sense of normalcy. Her
beacon of hope comes in
16-year-old Eva, a talented
pianist disillusioned by the
life her mother imposes upon
her. An unlikely relationship
is formed between them.
Closet Monster
Oscar Madly, an imaginative
child finds himself caught
in the middle of his parent's
turbulent divorce. When his
father teaches him about a
hate-crime involving a young
gay man. Oscar supresses
his sexuality. His new friend,
opens his eyes to a new world
of possibiities.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Canada | 2017 | English | 105 min | Colour
Director Carlos Sanchez, Jason Sanchez
Producer Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Screenplay Carlos Sanchez, Jason Sanchez
Cinematographer Sara Mishara
Editor Jesse Rivere, Elisabeth Olga Tremblay
Cast Evan Rachel Wood, Julia Sarah Stone, Denis O’Hare
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Canada | 2016 | English | 90 min | Colour
Director Stephen Dunn
Producer Kevin Krikst, Fraer Ash, Edward J. Martin
Screenplay Stephen Dunn
Cinematographer Bobby Shore CSC
Editor Bryan Atkinson
Cast Connor Jessup, Aaron Abrams, Joanne Kelly, Aliocha Schneider,
Sofia Banzhaf
Don’t Talk to Irene
When Irene - the fattest girl in
high school - gets suspended,
she must endure two weeks
of community service at a
retirement home. Following
her passion for cheerleading,
she secretly signs up the
senior residents to audition
for a dance-themed reality
show to prove perfection is
not physical.
Eye on Juliet
A love story through the eye
of a spider drone across the
landscape of a North African
desert and an oil pipeline,
Gordon, a drone operator,
becomes fascinated by
Ayusha, a young woman
promised to an older man
she doesn’t love. Gordon will
do everything in his power to
help Ayusha escape her fate.
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
Canada | 2017 | English | 82 min | Colour
Director Pat Mills
Producer Alyson Richards, Mike MacMillan
Screenplay Pat Mills
Cinematographer Paul Sarossy
Editor Tiffany Beaudin
Cast Michelle McLeod, Bruce Gray, Anastasia Phillips, Scott Thompson,
Geena Davis, Deborah Grover
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
Canada | 2016 | English | 90 min | Colour
Director Kim Nguyen
Producer Pierre Even
Screenplay Kim Nguyen
Cinematographer Christophe Collette
Editor Richard Comeau
Cast Lina El Arabi, Joe Cole, Brent Skagford, Faycal Zeglat
Meditation Park
A devoted wife, mother and
grandmother has her world
rocked when she finds
another woman’s underwear
in her husband’s laundry pile,
forcing her to confront how
powerless she truly is. Her
efforts to find out the truth
send her on an unexpected
journey of liberation.
Old Stone
After a car accident that he
caused, Mr Old Stone, a
small-town taxi driver, has
to face the rules of today’s
Kafkaesque China. Now that
his family, friends and his
work are endangered, isn’t
murder a way out?
✪ Canada Focus - Gala Screening
Canada | 2017 | English | 94 min | Colour
Director Mina Shum
Producer Stephen Hegyes, Mina Shum, Raymond Massey
Screenplay Mina Shum
Cinematographer Peter Wunstorf
Editor Daria Ellerman
Cast Cheng Pei Pei, Tzi Ma, Sandra Oh, Don McKellar
✪ Canada Focus - Opening Film
Canada, China | | 2016 | Mandarin | 86 min | Colour
Director Johnny Ma
Producer Wu Xian Jian, Chi-an Lin, Jing Wang, Sarah Stallard
Screenplay Johnny Ma
Cinematographer Ming Kai Leung
Editor Mike Long
Cast Gang Chen, An Nai, Hongwei Wang, Zebin Zhang, Xue’er Luo
54 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

Ravenous
In a small, remote village in
upstate Quebec, things have
changed. Locals are not the
same anymore - their bodies
are breaking down and they
have turned against their
loved ones. A handful of
survivors goes hiding into
the woods, looking for others
like them.
The Stairs
The Stairs tells the
story of Marty, Greg and
Roxanne, each of whom
survived decades of streetinvolvement.
Using their
experiences to ease the
paths of others, each
performs social work in their
old neighbourhood, while
struggling to maintain their
newly-found stability.
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
Canada | 2017 | French | 100 min | Colour
Director Robin Aubert
Producer Stéphanie Morisette
Screenplay Robin Aubert
Cinematographer Steeve Desrosiers
Editor Francis Cloutier
Cast Marc- André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt,
Brigette Pouparte
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Canada | 2016 | English | 95 min | Colour
Director Hugh Gibson
Producer Hugh Gibson
Cinematographer Hugh Gibson, Cam Woykin
Editor Ryan J. Noth, Andres Landau
Cast Martin Thompson, Greg Bell, Roxanne Smith
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
55

BRICS Films Festival
Award Winners
Award winning films from this year’s
BRICS Film Festival
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
57

Ayanda
Ayanda ia 21-year-old Afro
hipster who embarks on a
journey of self-discovery
trying to keep the memory of
her father alive, when she is
thrown into a world of greasy
overalls and abandoned
vintage cars in need of a
young woman’s re-inventive
touch.
Nise: The Heart of
Madness
Dr. Nise da Silveira is back
at work in a psychiatric
hospital on the outskirts of
Rio de Janeiro. He refuses to
employ the new and violent
electroshock for the treating
schizophrenics. She starts
a revolution through paints,
dogs and love.
South Africa | 2015 | English | 105 min | Colour
Director Sara Blecher
Producer Robbie Thorpe, Terry Pheto, Busi Sizani, Sara Blecher
Screenplay Trish Malone
Cinematographer Jonathan Kovel
Editor Nicholas Costaras
Cast Fulu Moguvhani, Oc Ukeje, Nthati Moshesh, Kenneth Nkosi
Brazil | Portuguese | 2015 | Portuguese | 109 min | Colour
Director Roberto Berliner
Producer Rodrigo Letier
Screenplay Patrícia Andrade, Leonardo Rocha, Roberto Berliner,
Flávia Castro, Maurício Lissovski, Chris Alcazar, Maria Camargo
Cinematographer André Horta
Editor Pedro Bronz, Leonardo, Domingues
Cast Glória Pires, Simone Mazzer, Julio Adrião, Cláudio Jaborandy
Panfilov’s 28
Based on the account by
reporter Vasiliy Koroteev.
Shortly after the battle, this
is the story of Panifilov’s 28,
soldiers of the Red Army’s
316th Rifle Division, under
the command of General
Ivan Panfilov, that shielded
Moscow from a column of 54
Nazi tanks of the 11th Panzer
Division for several days.
The Second Mother
Val, a hard-working live-in
housekeeper is content to take
care her wealthy employers’
needs, from cooking and
cleaning to being a surrogate
mother to their teenage son.
But when her estranged
daughter Jessica suddenly
shows up, the unspoken but
intrinsic class barriers are
thrown into disarray.
Russia | 2016 | Russian | 105 min | Colour
Director Kim Druzhinin, Andrey Shalopa
Producer Andrey Shalopa, Anton Yudintsev
Screenplay Andrey Shalopa
Cinematographer Nikita Rozhdestvenskiy
Editor Vitaliy Vinogradov
Cast Maksim Abrosimov, Sergey Agafonov, Pavel Aseev, Ivan Batarev,
Maksim Belborodov
Brazil | 2015 | Portuguese | 112 min | Colour
Director Anna Muylaert
Producer Caio Gullane, Fabiano Gullane, Débora Ivanov &
Anna Muylaert
Screenplay Anna Muylaert
Cinematographer Barbara Alvarez
Editor Karen Harley
Cast Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles
Soulmate
The film centers around a
love-triangle between two
women and one man. Due to a
twist of fate, two high school
best friends fall in love with
the same man, planting the
seeds of tragedy. The story
chronicles the coming of age
journey of two very different
young women.
Kaasav
Janaki is a divorcee trying
to find meaning in her life
in a sea-turtle conservation
project run in a coastal
village. She meets a young
man Manav who has escaped
from the hospital where he
was in for attempting suicide.
Janaki tries to create a nonjudgmental,
non-intrusive,
atmosphere to help him.
China | 2016 | Mandarin | 110 min | Colour
Director Derek Tsang
Producer Le Che
Screenplay Peter Ho-sun Chan
Cinematographer Jake Pollock
Editor Derek Hui, Dranshi Li, Xiang-Yuan Tan, Xiadin Zhou
Cast Zhou Dongyu, Ma Sichun, Toby Lee
India | 2016 | Marathi | 105 min | Colour
Director Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar
Producer Dr. Mohan Agashe, Sunil Sukhtankar, Sumitra Bhave
Screenplay Sumitra Bhave
Cinematographer Dhananjay Kulkarni
Editor Mohit Takalkar
Cast Irawati Harshe,Alok Rajwade,Kishor Kadam,Dr.Mohan Agashe,Devika
Daftardar,Santosh Redkar,Omkar Ghadi
58 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

Where Has Time
Gone?
When The Earth
Trembles (Brazil)
On November 5, 2015, the
greatest socio-environmental
disaster in Brazil’s history
befell the region of Minas
Gerais. A private mining
company’s dam burst,
leaving thousands of people
displaced, dead or wounded.
Where Has Time
Gone?
Breathing (Russia)
Zina and Nazar live in a
remote snow-covered town,
Nazar accuses Zina of having
an affair. They get into a bitter
fight that leads to unimagined
consequences.
Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, China | 2017 | Portuguese,
Russian, Hindi, IsiXhosa, Sesotho, Chinese | 111 min | Colour
Director Walter Salles, Alexey Fedorchenko, Madhur Bhandarkar,
Jahmil X.T. Quebeka, Jia Zhangke
Producer Jia Zhangke, Dong Ping
Screenplay
Cinematographer
Editor
Cast Maeve Jinkings, Alisa Kravtsova, Konstantin Itunin, Annu Kapoor,
Mandisa Nduna, Zhao Tao, Liang Jingdong
Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, China | 2017 | Portuguese,
Russian, Hindi, IsiXhosa, Sesotho, Chinese | 111 min | Colour
Director Walter Salles, Alexey Fedorchenko, Madhur Bhandarkar,
Jahmil X.T. Quebeka, Jia Zhangke
Producer Jia Zhangke, Dong Ping
Screenplay
Cinematographer
Editor
Cast Maeve Jinkings, Alisa Kravtsova, Konstantin Itunin, Annu Kapoor,
Mandisa Nduna, Zhao Tao, Liang Jingdong
Where Has Time
Gone?
Mumbai Mist (India)
Chandrakant spends his
retirement time in Mumbai,
the busiest city in India. In
this ever-changing landscape
of life, he feels abandoned
until he meets a ten-year-old
orphan, Charlie.
Where Has Time
Gone?
Still Born (South
Africa)
Nobomi SX1, a programmed
janitor, is somehow inspired
to change her destiny even if
it means risking her life. She
uses all her effort to create a
path where she could feel life
itself.
Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, China | 2017 | Portuguese,
Russian, Hindi, IsiXhosa, Sesotho, Chinese | 111 min | Colour
Director Walter Salles, Alexey Fedorchenko, Madhur Bhandarkar,
Jahmil X.T. Quebeka, Jia Zhangke
Producer Jia Zhangke, Dong Ping
Screenplay
Cinematographer
Editor
Cast Maeve Jinkings, Alisa Kravtsova, Konstantin Itunin, Annu Kapoor,
Mandisa Nduna, Zhao Tao, Liang Jingdong
Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, China | 2017 | Portuguese,
Russian, Hindi, IsiXhosa, Sesotho, Chinese | 111 min | Colour
Director Walter Salles, Alexey Fedorchenko, Madhur Bhandarkar,
Jahmil X.T. Quebeka, Jia Zhangke
Producer Jia Zhangke, Dong Ping
Screenplay
Cinematographer
Editor
Cast Maeve Jinkings, Alisa Kravtsova, Konstantin Itunin, Annu Kapoor,
Mandisa Nduna, Zhao Tao, Liang Jingdong
Revive (China)
Where Has Time
Gone?
Tao and Liangzi are a couple
with a teenage daughter,
working as performers at
a tourist attraction. When
the two-child policy is
introduced, the couple
decides to have another baby.
Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, China | 2017 | Portuguese,
Russian, Hindi, IsiXhosa, Sesotho, Chinese | 111 min | Colour
Director Walter Salles, Alexey Fedorchenko, Madhur Bhandarkar,
Jahmil X.T. Quebeka, Jia Zhangke
Producer Jia Zhangke, Dong Ping
Screenplay
Cinematographer
Editor
Cast Maeve Jinkings, Alisa Kravtsova, Konstantin Itunin, Annu Kapoor,
Mandisa Nduna, Zhao Tao, Liang Jingdong
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James Bond
Retrospective
A selection from the James Bond
franchise - featuring the most
celebrated spy in films
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Dr. No
In the film that launched the
James Bond saga, Agent
007 battles the mysterious
Dr. No, a scientific genius
bent on destroying the U.S.
space programme. As the
countdown to disaster begins,
Bond must go to Jamaica,
where he encounters beautiful
Honey Ryder to confront a
megalomaniacal villain.
Golden Eye
James Bond teams up
with the lone survivor of a
destroyed Russian research
centre to stop the hijacking of
a nuclear space weapon by a
fellow agent formerly believed
to be dead.
UK, Jamaica | 1962 | English, French | 110 min | Colour
Director Terence Young
Producer Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman
Screenplay Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, Berkely Mather
Cinematographer Ted Moore
Editor Peter R. Hunt
Cast Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord,
Bernard Lee, Anthony Dawson
UK,USA | 1995 | English, Russian, Spanish | 130 min | Colour
Director Martin Campbell
Producer Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Screenplay Jeffrey Caine, Bruce Feirstein, Michael France
Cinematographer Phil Meheux
Editor Terry Rawlings
Cast Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Judi Dench
Goldfinger
Investigating a gold
magnate’s smuggling, James
Bond uncovers a plot to
contaminate the Fort Knox
gold reserve.
Licence to Kill
Following an important
drug bust, CIA agent Felix
Leiter gets married, but the
drug lord he helped arrest,
escapes, murders his wife and
mutilates Leiter. Leiter’s loyal
friend, British agent James
Bond, deserts Her Majesty’s
Secret Service and makes it
his personal vendetta to kill
those responsible.
UK | 1964 | English, Chinese, Spanish | 110 min | Colour
Director Guy Hamilton
Producer Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman
Screenplay Richard Maibaum, Paul Denn
Cinematographer Ted Moore
Editor Peter R. Hunt
Cast Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe, Honor Blackman, Bernard Lee
UK,USA | 1989 | English, Spanish | 133 min | Colour
Director John Glen
Producer Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Screenplay Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum
Cinematographer Alec Mills
Editor John Grover
Cast Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi
Octopussy
A fake Fabergé egg, and a
fellow agent’s death, lead
James Bond to uncover
an international jewelsmuggling
operation, headed
by the mysterious Octopussy,
being used to disguise a
nuclear attack on NATO
forces.
On her Majesty’s
Secret Service
James Bond woos a mob
boss’s daughter and goes
undercover to uncover the
true reason for Blofeld’s
allergy research in the Swiss
Alps that involves beautiful
women from around the
world.
UK,USA | 1983 | English, Russian, German, Spanish | 131 min |
Colour
Director John Glen
Producer Albert R. Broccoli
Screenplay George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum,
Michael G. Wilson
Cinematographer Alan Hume
Editor Peter Davis, Henry Richardson
Cast Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn, Kabir
Bedi, Vijay Amritraj
UK | 1969 | English, German, French | 142 min | Colour
Director Peter R. Hunt
Producer Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman
Screenplay Richard Maibaum
Cinematographer Michael Reed
Editor John Glen
Cast George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas
62 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

Bond’s loyalty to M is tested
when her past comes back to
haunt her. When MI6 comes
under attack, 007 must track
down and destroy the threat,
no matter how personal the
cost.
James Bond investigates
the hijacking of British and
Russian submarines carrying
nuclear warheads, with the
help of a KGB agent, whose
lover he killed.
Skyfall
UK, USA | 2012 | English | 143 min | Colour
Director Sam Mendes
Producer Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Andrew Noakes,
David Pope
Screenplay Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
Cinematographer Roger Deakins
Editor Stuart Baird
Cast Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes,
Naomi Harris
The Spy who Loved
Me
UK | 1977 | English, Italian, Arabic | 125 min | Colour
Director Lewis Gilbert
Producer Albert R. Broccoli, William P. Cartlidge
Screenplay Christopher Wood, Richard Maibaum
Cinematographer Claude Renoir
Editor John Glen
Cast Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens
James Bond uncovers a
nuclear plot when he protects
an oil heiress from her former
kidnapper, an international
terrorist who can’t feel pain.
The World is not
Enough
UK,USA | 1999 | English, Russian, Spanish | 128 min | Colour
Director Michael Apted
Producer Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Screenplay Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Bruce Feirstein
Cinematographer Adrian Biddle
Editor Jim Clark
Cast Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Judi Dench
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63

Restored
Classics
Motion pictures from cinema’s masters
in pristine restorations
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65

Beauty of the Day
Severine is a beautiful young
woman married to a doctor.
She loves him dearly, but
cannot be physically intimate
with him. She indulges
instead in vivid,erotic
fantasies. Eventually she
becomes a prostitute, working
in a brothel in the afternoons
while remaining chaste in her
marriage.
Flavour of Green Tea
over Rice
Takeo, a capricious wife
from Tokyo high-society, is
bored by her dull husband,
a quiet and reliable company
executive, raised in the
country. After a crisis, she
understands his true value.
A parallel sub-plot shows
her niece rebelling against
the tradition of arranged
marriages.
France, Italy | 1967 | French, Spanish, Mongolian | 100 min | Colour
Japan | 1952 | Japanese | 115 min | Black and White
Director Luis Buñuel
Producer Raymond Hakim,Robert Hakim
Screenplay Joseph Kessel, Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière
Cinematographer Sacha Vierny
Editor Louisette, Hautecoeur
Cast Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli
Director Yasujirõ Ozu
Producer Takeshi Yamamoto
Screenplay Kôgo Noda, Yasujirõ Ozu
Cinematographer Yûharu Atsuta
Editor Yoshiyasu ,Hamamura
Cast Shin Saburi, Michiyo Kogure, Kôji Tsuruta
The Ruins
Subhash is a photographer
from the city, who has come
to take pictures of some old
temples and ruins in a village.
While in the village, he gets
acquainted with a young
woman, Jamini, who has had
her heart broken in the past,
by another visitor from the
big city.
The Lodger
A landlady suspects her new
lodger is the madman killing
women in London.
India | 1984 | Hindi | 106 min | Colour
UK | 1927 | English | 68 min | Black and White
Director Mrinal Sen
Producer Jagdish Choukhani
Screenplay Mrinal Sen, Premendra Mitra
Cinematographer K. K. Mahajan
Editor Mrinmoy Chakraborty
Cast Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Gita Sen, Annu Kapoor
Director Alfred Hitchcock
Producer Michael Balcon, Carlyle Blackwell
Screenplay Eliot Stannard
Cinematographer Gaetano Di Ventimiglia, Hal Young
Editor Ivor Montagu
Cast Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp, Ivor Novello
Metropolis
In a futuristic city sharply
divided between the
working class and the city
planners, the son of the city’s
mastermind falls in love
with a working class prophet
who predicts the coming of
a saviour to mediate their
differences.
The Old Dark House
Seeking shelter from a
pounding rainstorm in a
remote region of Wales,
several travellers are admitted
to a gloomy, foreboding
mansion belonging to the
extremely strange Femm
family. Trying to make the
best of it, the guests must
deal with their sepulchral
host.
German | 1927 | Germany | 153 min | Black and White
USA | 1932 | English | 72 min | Black and White
Director Fritz Lang
Producer Erich Pommer
Screenplay Thea von Harbou , Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang
Cinematographer Karl Freund, Günther Rittau, Walter Ruttmann
Editor Blake Jones
Cast Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich
Director James Whale
Producer Carl Laemmle Jr.
Screenplay Benn Levy
Cinematographer Arthur Edeson
Editor Clarence Kolster
Cast Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton
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The Sacrifice
Alexander, a journalist, former
actor and philosopher, tells
his little son how worried he
is about the lack of spirituality
in modern mankind. On the
night of his birthday, the
third world war breaks out. In
his despair Alexander turns
himself in a prayer to God,
offering him everything, to
have the war not happen at all.
Two or Three Things
I Know about Her
In this film, ‘Her’ refers to both
Paris, the character of Juliette
Janson and the actress
playing her, Marina Vlady.
The film is a dramatised
documentary, illustrating and
exaggerating the emotionless
lives of characters in the new
Paris of the 1960s.
Sweden, UK, France | 1986 | Swedish, French, English | 149 min |
Colour
Director Andrei Tarkovsky
Producer Anna-Lena Wibom
Screenplay Andrei Tarkovsky
Cinematographer Sven Nykvist
Editor Michal Leszczylowski, Andrei Tarkovsky
Cast Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood, Allan Edwall
France | 1967 | French, Italian | 87 min | Colour
Director Jean-Luc Godard
Producer Anatole Dauman, Raoul Lévy
Screenplay Catherine Vimenet, Jean-Luc Godard
Cinematographer Raoul Coutard
Editor Françoise Collin, Chantal Delattre
Cast Marina Vlady, Anny Duperey, Roger Montsoret, Jean-Luc Godard
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67

New
Initiatives
Experiencing the universe of ‘new’ -
idea, movies, technology
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Mixed Reality Sidebar
IFFI presents in collaboration with BECIL
Mixed Reality Sidebar Powered by
Vision Statement - Anand Gandhi
The ability and the desire to transmit knowhow, intention, and insight to others around us have
co-evolved with humanity itself. Mixed reality is a huge milestone in that human project of record
keeping, perspective sharing, and empathizing that began with the first cave painting, or even earlier.
Mixed reality experiences (VR, AR, haptics) collapse the barrier of ‘otherness’ between the viewer and
the subject. After all, in a deeply interconnected world, there is no ‘other’.
India is on the cusp of an immersive storytelling revolution, both in terms of Virtual Reality (VR)
where the viewer is totally transported to another place and Augmented Reality (AR) which ports 3D
objects into the real world around the viewer.
In celebrating the future of cinema, IFFI commits to facilitating the creation and dissemination of
narrative experiences that will inform our reality and inspire our dreams.
Curators’ Statement - Tom & Mark
We have been lucky enough to be invited to India twice in order to develop home grown Indian VR
talent. What has been very clear to us from the start is that the combination of astonishingly high
skill levels across disciplines, a rich cultural heritage of storytelling and the sheer passion fuelled
energy of storytellers, artists and developers means that something truly magical is taking place for
creative VR and AR content creation in India.
It is an honour to have been asked to programme the first Mixed Reality Sidebar at IFFI and
very exciting that VR and AR are finding a home at this festival. With that in mind we wanted to
bring together a showcase of some of the best examples of immersive storytelling which we have
encountered since the VR renaissance began in 2013. We hope that this wide range of brilliant
examples will entertain you, intrigue you, shock you. But really we hope that it inspires you to strike
while the iron is hot and bring your own stories to life in immersive worlds.
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Mixed Reality Sidebar
Brave New Worlds: VR Meets Fiction
Jerome Blanquet’s explorations of the image and spontaneous writing lead him to the representation
of what escapes our consciousness. Inspired by technology, he continually interrogates the limits
of his tools and his knowledge. It diverts from the established forms, in search of interstices, to the
kinds of open areas where can find meaning.
Masterclass on Web VR
Brian Chirls is the Chief Technology Officer at Datavized, an immersive data visualization platform
using WebVR. A recognized innovator in the independent film world, he was previously the Digital
Technology Fellow at POV, a position funded by the Knight Foundation. He has developed innovative
models for interaction, data visualization and content-authoring in Virtual Reality. Brian has helped
to create a new genre of interactive video pieces and software libraries that demonstrate ways to
combine the interactivity and connectivity of the web with the aesthetic power of cinema. His work
has been presented at CPH:DOX, MIT, IDFA DocLab, SXSW and Tribeca Film Institute.
Arnav Ghosh - Augmenting Reality (Panel)
Arnav is a thought leader, educator and apprentice investor. He brings to the track a deep
understanding of marketing and immersive technology products and services with his 20 years of
multi-platform, vertical leadership roles with global Brands and services across India, S.E Asia and
Europe. Currently, he is Managing Director of Blippar (a global AR / AI platform) in India. He loves
to triangulate content, commerce and technology with the creative process to build a contextually
relevant idea. He has a keen interest in cross cultural collaboration & astronomy. He has also cofounded
a start up in the area of predictive analytics.
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Mixed Reality Sidebar
Indian VR: Where are we now? Where are we
headed?
Anand is pioneer of VR and AR content in India. His company Memesys Culture Lab has created
India’s first VR documentary platform called ElseVR. He has been invited to share his expertise at
prominent platforms such as MIPCOM at Cannes. VR documentaries produced by Anand have been
featured at prestigious film festivals such as TIFF, Shefeild and Dubai International Film Festival. The
brand content produced by Memesys Labs is the most viewed VR content created in India.
Avinash Kumar - Virtual India (Panel)
Avinash is a design strategist, media artist and digital curator. He is the Creative Director of the
upcoming Indian Centre for Immersive Media (ICIM) - set up in partnership with the Indian School
of Design & Innovation (ISDI) MumbaI - which has an agenda for the disruptive research and
incubation of Indian Immersive content in Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality. He is also the
director of an Indian cultural video game platform called Antariksha Sanchar, produced by his studio
Quicksand - one of India’s leading innovation consultancies. www.quicksand.co.in
Jayisha Patel
An award winning documentary-maker based in London. Her short films have shown at festivals
such as Berlin, Cannes, AFI Silverdocs and the New York Film Festival amongst others. Jayisha
launched her new VR project Notes To My Father at the Oculus House at the 2017 Sundance Film
Festival, and also presented the work at the SXSW Film Festival in March. She is currently an artist
in residence at Somerset House where she is developing her second immersive project, Fire.
72 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

Features
A
Priya’s Shakti is India’s first augmented reality(AR) comic book and was launched in 2014. The graphic novel or comic book tells the
story of Priya, a villager from India who is gang raped by men in her village. After facing fierce shaming by the villagers, Priya flees
to the forest to end her life. But the Goddess Parvati sees her plight and seeks to help her. She enters Priya’s body and confronts
the men who raped Priya. How Priya champions the cause of women’s rights and transforms at least her own village - is the story
of Priya’s Shakti (Shakti=power).
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Features
Le Musk
India’s Music Maestro A R Rahman makes his directorial debut with Le Musk, a Virtual Reality (VR) multi-sensory episodic film
which has been shot across various locations in Rome. Le Musk features Nora Arnezeder, Guy Burnett and Marian Zohrabyan and
follows the journey of an orphaned heiress and part time musician, Juliet, who grows up to be a diva on a mission. Mr. Rahman will
also be joining the Mixed Reality Sidebar for a session on this cutting-edge medium of storytelling.
74 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

Biennale College 2017 Venezia
This year, for the very first time the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) brings
to you films of the oldest film festival of the World, Venice International Film
Festival.
The films of ”BIENNALE COLLEGE 2017 VENEZIA” segment of the Venice
International Film Festival will be screened in this 48th edition of International
Film Festival of India, 2017.
Biennale College is the project of La Biennale di Venezia which is dedicated
to the formation of young people in the artistic field and in the activities of the
organizational structure of the Biennale. Thus, Biennale College of Cinema was
formed to inspire and promote the young budding filmmaker.
This year, four films from La Biennale di Venezia would be screened, namely,
Beautiful Things directed by Giorgio Ferroro (Italy), where the director gives us a
sneak peak of the men who are monks in temples of steel and concrete carrying out
their mechanical rituals in silence and solitude, Martyr directed by Mazen Khaled
(Lebanon) gives us the exploration of the journey of life and death of a man who
drowns and becomes a Martyr in Islamic religion and Strange Colours directed
by Alina Lodkina (Australia), a story about a father and a daughter mending a
fractured bond. The fourth film from this package is an Indian film Mukti Bhawan
directed by Shubhashish Bhutiani, showcasing another father-son relationship
where the father has a desire to go and die in the holy city of Varanasi in India and
the son is left with no choice.
The young aspiring filmmakers of India would be both inspired and motivated
by seeing films of BIENNALE COLLEGE 2017 VENEZIA 74 in International Film
Festival of India this year.
It is only when film festivals collaborate, cinema as an art form is celebrated in the
world.
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Ears
A man wakes up one morning
with an irritating ringing in
his ear. A note on the fridge
says: “Your friend Luigi is
dead. P.S. I took the car”.
The problem is that he does
not know who this Luigi is.
And so begins a tragicomic
day in search of the world’s
madness, one of those days
that change you forever.
Hotel Salvation
An ominous dream convinces
77-year-old Dayanand Kumar
that his end could be near.
He takes the news to his son
Rajiv, knowing he wants to
breathe his last in Varanasi
and end the cycle of rebirth,
by attaining salvation. Being
the dutiful son that he is,
Rajiv is left with no choice but
to make the journey.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Italy | 2016 | Italian | 90 min | Black and White
Director Alessandro Aronadio
Producer Costanza Coldagelli
Screenplay Alessandro Aronadio, Valerio Cilio
Cinematographer Francesco Di Giacomo
Editor Roberto Di Tanna
Cast Daniele Parisi, Silvia D’Amico, Pamela Villoresi, Ivan Franek,
Rocco Papaleo, Piera Degli Esposti, Milena Vukotic
India | 2016 | Hindi | 102 min | Colour
Director Shubhashish Bhutiani
Producer Sanjay Bhutiani, Sajida Sharma
Screenplay Shubhashish Bhutiani
Cinematographer Michael McSweeney, David Huwiler
Editor Manas Mittal
Cast Adil Hussain, Lalit Behl, Geetanjali Kulakrni
The Solitude
José, a young father who
discovers that the dilapidated
mansion he occupies
will soon be demolished.
Desperate to save his family
from homelessness, José
begins a search for a cursed
treasure that has long been
said to be buried in the house.
One Sister
In a small Argentinian
backwater town, a young
woman sets out on a solitary
search for her sister who has
disappeared without a trace.
When the family’s car appears
in flames on the bank of a
nearby river, Alba falls deeper
into a world of bureaucratic
frustrations, bringing her to
the edge of despair.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE
Venezuela, Canada, Italy | 2016 | Spanish | 89 min | Colour
Director Jorge Thielen Armand
Producer Adriana Herrera, Rodrigo Michelangeli, Jorge Thielen Armand
Screenplay Rodrigo Michelangeli, Jeorge Thielen Armand
Cinematographer Rodrigo Michelangeli
Editor Felipe Guerrero
Cast José Dolores López, Marley Alvillares, Adrializ López, María
✪ ASIA PREMIERE
Argentina | 2016 | Spanish | 69 min | Colour
Director Sofia Brockenshire, Verena Kuri
Producer Sofia Brockenshire, Verena Kuri
Cinematographer Andrés Hilarión, Roman Kasseroller
Editor Laura Bierbrauer, Sofia Brockenshire, Verena Kuri
Cast Sofia Palomino, Eugenia Alonso, Adriana Ferrer, Lorena Stadelmann
76 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

Master Classes and
Panel Discussions
Learning from industry masters,
experts and leaders - journeying
through invaluable experiences
and insights
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77

MASTER CLASS
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Anand Gandhi
Anand Gandhi is a filmmaker and entrepreneur deeply interested in philosophy, evolutionary psychology, innovation and the future.
Ship of Theseus, his first feature, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012 and has since been recognized as
“the most significant film to come out of India in decades” by critics and audiences alike. It has won prizes at the international film
festivals of London, Dubai, Mumbai, Transilvannia, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, and played at Rotterdam, Munich and Sydney, among
others. It was presented the National Award in 2014. In November 2015, Anand founded Memesys Culture Lab. It is a cinema and
new media studio at the intersection of science, philosophy and culture, and home to ElseVR, the first Virtual Reality studio in India.
Gandhi’s writing career began in 2000. He wrote the dialogue for the first 82 episodes of a popular show called Kyunki Saas Bhi
Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, for which he wrote the screenplay, are the longest running TV shows in the history of
Indian television.
He moved away from his television career to write and direct critically acclaimed plays like Sugandhi, Pratyancha, Kshanotsav, Na
and Janashtaru. Almost all his work has been produced for the alternative one-act theatre. He has written only one mainstream play,
Chal Reverse Ma Jaiye, in Gujarati. It achieved moderate commercial success and won the Transmedia Best Play award for 2005.
His film directorial debut, Right Here, Right Now (2003), a 30-minute film that deals with the idea of cyclic causality, achieved
substantial critical acclaim. His second film Continuum (2006) was co-directed with Khushboo Ranka.
78 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

MASTER CLASS
Filmmaker on Making Drama
Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan is one of Canada’s most celebrated arthouse directors. Exotica which won the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes’94, was his
international breakthrough film. The Sweet Hereafter, his most critically acclaimed film, received two Academy Award nominations.
Ararat, about the Armenian genocide in the Turkish Ottoman Empire, centred on child survivor Arshile Gorky, went on to become
the pioneer of American abstract expressionism. Where the Truth Lies, Adoration and The Captive, have all competed for the Palme
d’Or in Cannes. Egoyan has also directed theatre and opera, including an adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s Eh Joe, winner of The Irish
Times/ESB Award for Best Direction. He has directed award-winning opera productions for the Canadian Opera Company and the
Lincoln Center Festival, New York. Egoyan’s art installations have been presented at the Venice Biennale, his work, Steenbeckett,
commissioned by the UK’s Artangel, is part of the permanent collection of the Tate. His films have been presented in several
retrospectives across the globe, with complete career overviews in Paris, Madrid, New York and Brussels. Egoyan was knighted by
the French government and is a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest honour.
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MASTER CLASS
Sound Mixing
Craig Mann
Craig Mann is a re-recording Mixer in Los Angeles, California. With over 15 years of sound industry experience under his belt,
Craig’s work can be heard on a number of blockbusters, including Insidious, Eye In The Sky, Marshall, Annabelle: Creation, Dope
and Gold starring Matthew McConaughey. He was recently awarded an AMPS award for Best Sound in a Feature Film, a Satellite
Award for Best Sound, a BAFTA for Best Sound and an Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for the film Whiplash.
After completing the Music Engineering program on Music Industry Arts from Fanshawe College in London Ontario, Craig was hired
at Sound Ideas, where he began recording and editing sound effects. While working there, sound for film aroused his interest, and he
joined Casablanca Sound in Toronto. There, he worked as an assistant to several of the top re-recording mixers in Canada. After five
years there, an opportunity arose to tour several sound facilities in Los Angeles. Craig realized that moving to the next level would
involve a change of venue. He relocated to Santa Monica and was hired at Todd-AO. Over the next eight years, Craig served as an
apprentice for several world-renowned re-recording mixers, soon taking the leap into mixing himself in 2009.
Discovering new ways to utilize sound to help bring filmmakers’ vision to the screen is what Craig loves most about his job.
80 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

MASTER CLASS
Characterization and Casting for Cinema
Mukesh Chhabra
Mukesh Chhabra is at the forefront of a new breed of casting directors in India. After training for two years to understand the craft of
acting from Sriram Center (receiving a diploma in Acting), and seven plus years in Delhi teaching for NGOs and children with Theater
In Education (TIE) in tandem with the National School of Drama, he joined the film industry in Mumbai in 2007.
After assisting several film crews with the job of casting, Mukesh made a name for himself as a casting director with films like Chillar
Party, Kai Po Che and so on. Today, the biggest names in the industry like Anurag Kashyap, Vishal Bhardwaj, Aamir Khan, and A
R Rahman all choose MCCC for their casting needs. Smaller-budget filmmakers whose films target the festival circuit also rely on
his unique talent to find them the correct ensemble cast. Mukesh and his team pride themselves in bringing the same attention to
detail to all projects in their care.
In recognition of his outstanding work he has been made a member of the Casting Association of America (CSA). Some of his
feature film casting credits include Dangal, Tamasha, Te3n, Kaabil, Rangoon, Haider, Fitoor, PK, Madaari, Masaan, Trishna, Highway,
Judwaa 2, Aligarh to name a few.
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MASTER CLASS
With Dangal Team
Nitesh Tiwari
Nitesh Tiwari spent his childhood in various towns of Madhya Pradesh. While pursuing B-Tech in IIT Bombay, he represented
the team in cricket and his contribution to dramatics in the institute got him the Dramatics Roll Of Honour. He spent 17 years in
advertising and he was the Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett India before becoming a full time director. During these years he
and his team did many memorable campaigns and won numerous advertising awards, domestic as well as international. Tiwari
started his journey in Bollywood with Chillar Party which went on to win three National Awards. His other films oinclude Dangal
and Bhootnath Returns.
Piyush Gupta
Piyush Gupta is a screenwriter. The films he has written include Dangal, Bhoothnath Returns and an untitled film for SKF. With over
ten years’ experience in advertising, he believes in adding human insights and observations to his work. He believes that drama is
part of life, one only needs to find it. Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Majid Majidi are some of the screenwriters who inspire him.
Nikhil Mehrotra
Having lived most of his life in Mumbai and Bihar, Nikhil spends his time observing people, their behaviour, and quirks. He imitates
how an uncle talks, what a neighbour is interested in. What looks like a way of having fun is also the greatest tool to his craft.The
tool of human insights. For a decade, Nikhil has used insights to write advertising campaigns. And now he is using them to write
feature films. Some of the films Nikhil has penned include Dangal, Bhootnath Returns, Kill Dil and Ittefaq.
82 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

MASTER CLASS
Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kapur is an Indian film director,producer and storyteller. His directorial debut with cult Bollywood film Masoom won the
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie of the year while Mr. India was declared one of the “100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time” on
the centenary of Indian cinema. He has also made several documentaries and short films.
Shekhar gained global recognition with the film Bandit Queen, a biopic of Indian bandit and politician Phoolan Devi, which won
the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie and Best Direction for that year.
Premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, the film caused a furore, catapulting Kapur into
international success. Kapur introduced Cate Blanchett to the world in his two historical biopics of Queen Elizabeth, which were
nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Film, and won 2; also winning 5 BAFTA Awards, including Best Film.
Kapur co-created the hit West-end show Bombay Dreams with Andrew Lloyd Webber and has been the recipient of the Indian
National Film Award, the BAFTA Award, the National Board of Review Award, and three Filmfare Awards. In 2010, he served as one
of the Jury Members (International Competition) at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival. He has also been on the jury of the London Film
Festival, the Tokyo Film Festival, and was one of the sponsors of the International Indian Film Festival in Goa.
Aside from his professional work in film, Kapur is one of India’s foremost activists on environmental and water sustainability issues.
He is also a digital media entrepreneur, founding ‘Qyuki’, one of India’s most successful online platforms for young Indian creators.
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
83

PANEL DISCUSSION
Young Filmmakers of India- Emerging Voices and New Narratives
Moderator Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Filmmaker
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is a gold medalist in Applied Arts from Sophia Polytechnic. While working for
advertising agency Leo Burnett (India), she won several awards, including Cannes Lions. She quit
advertising to follow her passion in filmmaking. Her first short film was What’s for Breakfast?. After
working for over 100 commercials and delivering creative solutions to national/international clients,
she made her narrative feature debut with the highly acclaimed Nil Battey Sannata. She remade the
film in Tamil as Amma Kanakku. Her second feature, Bareilly Ki Barfi, was a sleeper hit.
R.S. Prasanna, Filmmaker
R.S. Prasanna, 33, is a director who debuted in Bollywood this year with the romantic comedy Shubh
Mangal Saavdhaan. The movie, adapted from his own Tamil debut Kalyana Samayal Saadham (2013),
was hailed for the sensitive and hilarious treatment of an unusual theme: male impotence. A gold
medal-winner from L.V. Prasad Film School, Chennai, he participated as a young filmmaking talent
at the festivals in Berlin and Busan. Prasanna is a sought after speaker in universities, corporate
outfits. He is currently writing his next Bollywood film to be produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur.
Bhaskar Hazarika, Filmmaker
Bhaskar Hazarika is a writer and filmmaker based in New Delhi. His debut film Kothanodi (2015)
received the Post Production Grant from Asian Cinema Fund and had its World Premiere at the Busan
Film Festival. Kothanodi has since travelled to festivals around the world and received the National
Film Award in 2016. Hazarika’s second feature - Aamis (Voracious) - is under production at present
and is expected to release in 2018.
Karthik Subbaraj, Filmmaker
Karthik Subbaraj is a director-producer in the Tamil Film industry. Hailing from Madurai, he made
short films before directing four features. In 2012, Karthik’s first feature Pizza was the biggest hit
of the year. He followed this up in 2014 with Jigarthanda, a musical gangster movie that won two
National Awards. In 2016, Iraivi dealt with issues faced by women in a male-dominated society. The
movie received enormous critical appreciation and was a box office success. He is currently giving
finishing touches to his fourth film, Mercury, a silent thriller.
84 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

PANEL DISCUSSION
The Power of Story Telling - Creating New Groups for Communities Online and Offline
Creating new Groups for Communities On and Offline presented by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) which is a not-for- profit,
multidisciplinary public policy think tank engaged in developing and discussing policy alternatives on a wide-range of issues of
national and international significance. Some of their key areas of research include international relations, defence, security, politics
and governance, resources management and economy and development. Its mandate is to conduct in-depth research, provide
inclusive platforms and invest in tomorrow’s thought leaders today. The panel will be moderated by Mr Samir Saran, Vice President,
Observer Research Foundation.
Moderator Samir Saran, VP, ORF
Samir Saran is the Vice President of Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. He spearheads
ORF’s outreach and business development activities. He curates Raisina Dialogue, India’s annual
flagship platform on geopolitics and geo-economics, and chairs CyFy, India’s annual conference on
cyber security and internet governance.
Samir is a frequent commentator on issues of global governance (climate change and energy policy,
global development architecture, cyber security and internet governance) and on India’s foreign
policy. Samir is Commissioner, The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, and member
of the South Asia advisory board of the World Economic Forum as well as part of its Global Future
Council on Cybersecurity. He is Director of the Centre for Peace and Security at the Sardar Patel
Police University, Jodhpur, India.
Nishikant Kamat
Nishikant Kamat, born and raised in Mumbai, started his career as an actor and director in theatre. He
then worked in television for a decade. He made his debut as a big screen director with the Marathi
film Dombivali Fast, which he later adapted for the Tamil film Evano Oruvan. In 2008, he made his
Hindi debut with Mumbai Meri Jaan. The film had an ensemble cast of R. Madhavan, Soha Ali Khan,
Irrfan Khan, Paresh Rawal and Kay Kay Menon. His next release was Force in 2011. Kamat returned
to Marathi cinema in 2014 with Lai Bhaari, starring Riteish Deshmukh. In July 2015, he collaborated
with Ajay Devgn for the film Drishyam. He has made two other films – Rocky Handsome, his second
collaboration with actor John Abraham, and Madaari, starring Irrfan Khan.
Raja Krishna Menon
Raja Krishna Menon is an Indian film writer, director and producer. He was born in Thrissur, Kerala,
where he spent a major part of his childhood. He is the son of Malayalam actor T.P. Madhavan. He
started as an advertisement director and later moved to feature films. He has directed Bollywood
films like Chef and Airlift. His first film, Bas Yun Hi was among the first of wave of independent films
made in Mumbai. His second film Barah Aana was received with rave reviews, travelled to many
international film festivals and won many nominations and awards.
Anna Louie Sussman
Anna Louie Sussman is the art market editor at Artsy, where she covers the intersection of cultural
production economics. She was previously a correspondent at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters,
the editor and senior writer at WomenintheWorld.org, and the arts editor at The Daily Star in Beirut,
Lebanon. In 2015, she was the lead researcher and writer for Melanne Verveer and Kim Azzarelli’s
Fast Forward, a book that makes the moral and business case for why we must advance women
across the global economy. She has over a decade of experience writing on gender, social issues,
and the arts.
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
85

PANEL DISCUSSION
Children’s Cinema in India
“Children’s films in Indian Cinema - Is there enough content which connects to Children” this session will be moderated by Prasoon
Joshi, Chairperson, Central Board of Film Certification.
Moderator Prasoon Joshi, CBFC, CEO
One of the most respected names in the Indian film industry, Prasoon Joshi is more than just
a talented lyricist. He is the chief of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Born in
Uttarakhand’s Almora, the 45-year-old poet and screenwriter is a successful ad man. A science
graduate, Joshi started his career with Ogilvy and Mather and went on to become the executive vicepresident
of McCann-Erickson. He began writing lyrics in 1999 with Bhopal Express, but his big
break in films came with the song Kaun dagar, kaun shehar in Rajkumar Santoshi’s 2001 film Lajja.
He became more prominent after penning songs for films like Fanaa, Rang De Basanti, Black, Delhi
6 and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. In 2007, Joshi won the National Award for Best Lyrics for Taare Zameen
Par and a second one for Chittagong in 2013. Recently, his lyrics for Neerja songs were also well
received. Joshi was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015.
Anurag Basu
Anurag Basu is a Bollywood director and writer. He directed several television serials, including Tara,
one of India’s first soap operas. He also directed Balaji Telefilms’ Koshish Ek Aasha and Miit, which
was based on Rabindranath Tagore’s Noukadubi. He made his debut in movies with Kucch Toh Hai.
His next film Saaya belonged to the supernatural genre. Murder was based on the Hollywood hit
Unfaithful. During the filming of his next film Tumsa Nahin Dekha (2004), Basu was diagnosed with
blood cancer. The movie was later completed by Mohit Suri and Mahesh Bhatt. In 2006, Anurag Basu
came back to make Gangster. It was followed by the critically acclaimed Life in a Metro. Basu wrote
the screenplays for Gangster, Life in a Metro and Kites.
Nitesh Tiwari
Nitesh Tiwari spent his childhood in various towns of Madhya Pradesh. In 1992, he came to Mumbai
to pursue his B. Tech at the prestigious IIT Bombay. At IIT-B he was very active on the sports as
well as dramatic fronts. He represented IIT-B in cricket and his contribution to dramatics in the
institute got him the Dramatics Roll Of Honour. He spent 17 years in advertising and he was the
Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett India before becoming a full time director. During these years
he and his team did many memorable campaigns and won numerous advertising awards, domestic
as well as international. Tiwari started his journey in Bollywood with Chillar Party which he co-wrote
and co-directed. Chillar Party went on to win three National Awards. He then co-wrote and directed
Bhoothnath Returns. His latest venture, Dangal, which he co-wrote and directed, is one of the most
successful Bollywood movies ever.
Rajiv Chilaka
Rajiv is the Founder and CEO of Green Gold Animation. He has created and built India’s biggest
animation brand Chhota Bheem, which currently has a viewership of over 40 million children, and
is the first ever Indian animation character to have its own line of branded merchandise. Under
him, over the past 14 years, Green Gold has produced over 550+ episodes of animation content,
75+ television movies and four theatrical movies. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and
Telecommunications Engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad. Chilaka holds a Master’s
degree in Computer Science from University of Missouri Kansas City. He also studied animation at
the Academy of Art, San Franscisco.
86 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

PANEL DISCUSSION
Literary Inspirations Cinema and the Written Word
“Is contemporary cinema reflecting the literature of our times” this session will be moderated by Ms Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Producer
& Actress.
Moderator - Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Producer & Actress
Vani Tripathi Tikoo is one of the youngest ever members of the Central Board of Film Certification.
Her campaigns and outreach programmes as an artist and activist have focused on encouraging
women’s participation in politics and bringing the youth to a universal platform that addresses issues
like education, empowerment and employment. As a producer, she has been deeply involved in
programmes related to environment and global sustainability. She has also been closely involved
in theatre, films and television, having worked in India as well as abroad. As an actor, she has
about 50 plays, 40-odd TV serials and six films to her credit. After graduating in political science
from Delhi University, she went to the Living Theatre Academy of Drama and learnt acting under
the guidance of the legendary theatre guru Ebrahim Alkazi. The noted theatre personalities Vani
has worked with include B.V. Karanth, Maya Rao, Barry John and Tripurari Sharma. Later, she
worked as an actor-teacher at the National School of Drama’s Theatre in Education Company.
She founded the country’s first state government-run drama school in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Natya Vidyalaya, in 2011. Vani was also attached to journalism and broadcasting in India.
She continues to contribute to Indian newspapers from time to time. She is currently on the Core
Committee for the International Film Festival of India.
Amish Tripathi
Described as ‘India’s first literary popstar’ by world-renowned film director Shekhar Kapur, Amish’s
unique combination of crackling story-telling, religious symbolism and profound philosophies has
made him an overnight publishing phenomenon, with spiritual guru Deepak Chopra hailing Amish’s
books as ‘archetypal and stirring’.
Six of his books – The Immortals of Meluha (2010), The Secret of the Nagas (2011) and The Oath of
the Vayuputras (2013), which collectively comprise the Shiva Trilogy, and Scion of Ikshvaku (2015),
Sita – Warrior of Mithila (2017), Immortal India – Young Country, Timeless Civilisation have 4 million
copies in print. His books have been translated into 19 Indian and foreign languages. The Shiva
Trilogy is the fastest selling book series in Indian publishing history. Amish is a graduate of IIM-
Calcutta and worked for 14 years in the financial services industry before turning to full-time writing.
Yatindra Mishra
Poet, editor, music and cinema scholar, Yatindra Mishra has four collections of Hindi poetry to
his credit. He has written about the life and work of various artists Girija Devi, Sonal Mansingh
and Ustad Bismillah Khan. His latest book Lata: Sur-Gatha’ on legendary playback singer Lata
Mangeshkar won the National Film Award for Best Writing on Cinema and an award for Best Writing
at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Recipient of Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy Award and
Jnanpith Fellowship, Mishra has been an advisor to the DD Bharati Channel, Doordarshan, Prasar
Bharati (2014-2016). He lives in Ayodhya.
Prasoon Joshi, CBFC, CEO
One of the most respected names in the Indian film industry, Prasoon Joshi is more than just
a talented lyricist. He is the chief of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Born in
Uttarakhand’s Almora, the 45-year-old poet and screenwriter is a successful ad man. A science
graduate, Joshi started his career with Ogilvy and Mather and went on to become the executive vicepresident
of McCann-Erickson. He began writing lyrics in 1999 with Bhopal Express, but his big
break in films came with the song Kaun dagar, kaun shehar in Rajkumar Santoshi’s 2001 film Lajja.
He became more prominent after penning songs for films like Fanaa, Rang De Basanti, Black, Delhi
6 and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. In 2007, Joshi won the National Award for Best Lyrics for Taare Zameen
Par and a second one for Chittagong in 2013. Recently, his lyrics for Neerja songs were also well
received. Joshi was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015.
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
87

PANEL DISCUSSION
Tagore On Celluloid
“Tagore on Celluloid” presented by ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival.
Moderator - Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Producer & Actress
Vani Tripathi Tikoo is one of the youngest ever members of the Central Board of Film Certification.
Her campaigns and outreach programmes as an artist and activist have focused on encouraging
women’s participation in politics and bringing the youth to a universal platform that addresses issues
like education, empowerment and employment. As a producer, she has been deeply involved in
programmes related to environment and global sustainability. She has also been closely involved in
theatre, films and television, having worked in India as well as abroad. As an actor, she has about 50
plays, 40-odd TV serials and six films to her credit. The noted theatre personalities Vani has worked
with include B.V. Karanth, Maya Rao, Barry John and Tripurari Sharma. Later, she worked as an actorteacher
at the National School of Drama’s Theatre in Education Company. She founded the country’s
first state government-run drama school in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Natya Vidyalaya, in 2011.
Shoma A. Chatterji
Shoma A. Chatterji is a Kolkata-based freelance journalist, film scholar and author. She contributes
to around a dozen print media and online publications. She has won two National Awards for Best
Writing on Cinema - for Best Film Critic in 1991 and for Best Book on cinema in 2002 along with
several other awards and fellowships. She has authored 24 books of which most are on Indian
cinema. Her latest, Woman at the Window (Harper-Collins India), deals with the material universe in
Ray’s films adapted from Tagore’s stories.
Pablo Cesar
At the age of six he began to project comics, at 10 he wrote and printed his first bulletin that he
sold at the Champagnat School where he was studying and in nearby kiosks. In 1975, his older
brother gave him a video camera that he used intensively and two years later he scripted and made
his first short film of 7 minutes, followed by others. In 1980, for his short film Del genesis, he was
awarded the first prize in the “Experimental” category in the contest of the Ateneo Foto-Cine Rosario,
in addition to earning a mention for Best Editing and Third Prize (without category) in the contest
of the Circle of Filmmakers Marplatenses and a Special Mention of UNCIPAR. For his film De los
caras de los espejos, Cesar won the First Prize of UNICA, the Amateur International Film Union in
1983. He was a jury at the festivals of Amiens, Montreal Young Film Festiva, Kelibi, Huy, Hyderabad,
Ouagadougou, Villa Carlos Paz and Buenos Aires. He was a pioneer in film co-productions between
Argentina and Tunisia..
Raima Sen
Raima is an Indian film actress. Her breakthrough role came when she starred in Rituparno Ghosh's
film Chokher Bali and the critically acclaimed hit in 2005 Parineeta. 2014 saw Sen as the leading
lady in the critically acclaimed Hrid Majharey, the first Bengali movie based on the works of William
Shakespeare, and presented as a tribute on the 450th year of birth of the Bard. Her other works
include the action thriller Dus and the Bengali film Antar Mahal, The Bong Connection, Manorama
Six Feet Under and the hit Bengali film Baishe Srabon.
Moon Moon Sen
Moon Moon Sen began her career as a journalist and film critic and later taught as a graphic designer
before embarking on a successful cinematic journey. As an actress, she has worked in more than 60
films in 22 languages and countless TV serials. For over 6 years, she has been an active part of the
Bengali "jatra", an ancient form of folk theatre with its roots in religion and mythology.
88 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

PANEL DISCUSSION
Digital Space The Future Ahead
“Digital space – What is the future and is it a threat to Cinema?
Moderator Bharatbala, Filmmaker
Simple emotions and big canvasses mark the working style of this Chennai-born man who has a
fresh outlook to filmmaking. A person who breathes life into his visuals through real places and
people, Bharatbala tells Indian stories with a universal sensibility to a world audience. Having grown
up on a diet of international cinema, Bharatbala is deeply influenced by works of David Lean, David
Lynch and Bimal Roy. Like Brazilian director Water Salles and Chinese director Zhang Yimou, who
have brought stories from their countries into the world cinema space, Bharatbala too is passionate
about showcasing stories from India to an international audience.
Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kapur is an Indian film director, producer and storyteller. He made his directorial debut with
the Hindi film Masoom. His film Mr. India was a huge commercial success and was declared one
of the ‘100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time’. Kapur gained global recognition with Bandit Queen,
which won the National Film Award. Kapur co-created the hit West End show Bombay Dreams with
Andrew Lloyd Webber. He has served as a jury member at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival. He is also
a digital media entrepreneur, founding ‘Qyuki’, one of India’s most successful online platforms for
young Indian creators.
Vijay Subramaniam
Vijay Subramaniam, director for content at Amazon Prime Video India, is a media and entertainment
professional with over 20 years of experience in all mainstream forms of Media - TV, radio,
publishing and digital Media. Subramaniam joined Walt Disney India in 2007 as executive director,
media networks, before which he worked at MTV, ENIL- Radio Mirchi, Star India and Stardust.
Subramaniam played a key role in the growth of Disney India’s youth channel Bindass; he steered the
launches of successful shows like The Trip, Girl in the City and Emotional Atyachaar.
Nachiket Pantvaidya
CEO of ALT Digital Media Entertainment Ltd, Nachiket Pantvaidya has P&L responsibility of the
company’s operations spanning content, marketing, distribution and revenues. In his earlier
assignment, he was business head of Sony Entertainment Television. He was also the business
head of Star Plus and held several roles in the Star TV network, including head of Star Pravah and
Managing Director of Fox Television Studios. An IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus, he has also held key
management roles in BBC and Disney.
Sameer Nair
A media and entertainment industry veteran, Sameer Nair’s illustrious career spans across three
decades with him holding key positions at leading media houses. Among varied highlights in his
career span was the network revamp at Star TV and the launch of Amitabh Bachchan’s KBC, and
the Balaji soap operas on Star Plus. Sameer turned entrepreneur with NDTV Imagine Ltd. Later, he
successfully concluded the sale of NDTV Imagine to the Turner Group, After this, Sameer went on to
join Balaji Telefilms Ltd. as its Group CEO devising an expansive strategy. In August 2017, Sameer
began a new professional journey to helm Applause Entertainment - a media, content & IP creation.
Karan Anshuman
Karan Anshuman is a writer and director. His first short, Elevator Etiquette, was a pure digital format
film – that premiered at the Digital Talkies festival. The next short – Bhaichara – was invited to the
Berlinale Shorts Workshop. He also directed ads and corporate films for ICICI Prudential, Bombay
Dyeing and many more. He worked with Saeed Mirza on multiple docu, feature, and book projects
and also wrote for television. Karan is the co-founder of two digital initiatives: he is the creative
director of Dreamscape Media, and co-creator of Upperstall.com, a film portal that takes a serious
look at Indian cinema. Karan was the film critic for Mumbai Mirror for an eventful 3 years.
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
89

PANEL DISCUSSION
How to make your next film?
“How to make your next film? - For young Producers and writers” presented by The Producers Guild of India Ltd.
This session will be moderated by Ms Anupama Chopra, Film critic, journalist and author.
Moderator Anupama Chopra, Film Critic
Anupama Chopra is a critic, author and director of the Mumbai Film Festival. She has been writing
about Bollywood since 1993 for international publications like The New York Times, The Los Angeles
Times and Sight & Sound. She is also the founder and editor of Film Companion. She has written
several books on Indian cinema. She won the 2000 National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema
for her first book Sholay -The Making of a Classic.
Siddharth Roy Kapur
Siddharth Roy Kapur is an eminent film producer, founder of Roy Kapur Films and the President of
the Producers Guild of India. He is on the Board of Trustees of the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI)
and on the Steering Committee of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). With an exceptional
filmography to his credit as a producer, he has established himself as one of India’s trailblazing
creative powerhouses. He has been featured on The Economic Times Top 40 Indian Business Leaders
under 40 and The Hollywood Reporter Next Generation Asia Inaugural Class of Young Leaders.
Ekta Kapoor
Ekta Kapoor is credited with revamping India’s television landscape. She pioneered an entire genre
of television content, heralding India’s satellite television boom. As the creative force behind the
Company’s success, she believes in a hands-on approach in day-to-day creative direction for all
their content. Under her creative guidance, Balaji has won almost every major TV award. In 2016,
she was placed at the No. 1 position among ’50 Most Influential Women’ in the Indian marketing,
advertising and media ecosystems by IMPACT magazine.
Vijay Singh
Vijay Singh was appointed the CEO of Fox Star Studios India in 2008. Prior to this, he was President,
Strategy and Corporate Development at Star India. Singh set up Sony Music Entertainment in India
where he was responsible for setting up Sony’s Music. He has also worked with The Unilever Group,
Walt Disney Consumer Products and the Tata Group.
Sajid Nadiadwala
Sajid Nadiadwala is the third generation filmmaker of the Nadiadwala family who have been in
the filmmaking business for more than 60 years. His passion for entertaining the audience has
yielded hit films like Jeet, Judwaa, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Heyy Babyy, Housefull, Highway, 2 States,
Heropanti, Kick, Tamasha, Baaghi, Dishoom and Judwaa 2.
Karan Johar
Karan Johar made his directorial debut at age 25 with love story Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The film
remains a landmark in Indian cinema for the appreciation it received, both critically and commercially,
in India as well as internationally. Over the last 15 years, he has directed, written critically and
commercially acclaimed blockbusters like Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and
My Name is Khan. Karan wears many caps with ease. Karan is also a television personality, talk show
host, costume designer and the latest feather in his cap is that of being an actor. His talk show Koffee
with Karan has the distinction of being the most watched English talk show on Indian television.
90 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017

PANEL DISCUSSION
Mastering A New Reality
The Panel Discussion is on Mastering a New Reality; technological innovations and new business models
have the potential to make the Indian television and films more immersive, inclusive and interactive. Yet these
changes will have an impact on policymaking, economics, business and society. As the industry stands at an
inflection point, how can stakeholders better understand the disruptions and be prepared to positively shape it.
Presented by World Economic Forum which will be moderated by Mr Ronojoy Banerjee, Anchor and Assistant
Editor, CNBC TV18.
Ekta Kapoor
Ekta Kapoor is credited with revamping India’s television landscape. She pioneered an entire genre of
television content, heralding India’s satellite television boom. Balaji’s shows have been and continue
to be channel drivers for most general entertainment broadcasters. As the creative force behind
the Company’s success, she believes in a hands-on approach in day-to-day creative direction for
all their content; routinely putting in 16-18 hours each day, she moves ahead with India’s rapidly
metamorphosing TV climate. Under her creative guidance, Balaji has won almost every major TV
award. Her stellar work in creating a large content conglomerate at a young age garnered her several
distinguished awards, including The Economic Times (Businesswoman of the Year 2002), Ernst &
Young (Entrepreneur of the Year 2001) and the American Biographical Institute (Woman of the Year
2001), among others. In 2016, she was placed at the No. 1 position among ’50 Most Influential
Women’ in the Indian marketing, advertising and media ecosystems by IMPACT magazine.
Karan Johar
Karan Johar made his directorial debut at age 25 with a path-breaking love story Kuch Kuch Hota
Hai. The film remains a landmark in Indian cinema for the appreciation it received, both critically and
commercially, in India as well as the world. Following this, over the last 15 years, he has directed and
written critically and commercially acclaimed blockbusters like Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kabhi
Alvida Na Kehna and My Name is Khan. The multi-faceted Karan wears many caps with ease. Besides
being an acclaimed director and one of the most influential men in the industry today, Karan is also
a television personality, talk show host, costume designer and the latest feather in his cap is that of
being an actor. His talk show Koffee with Karan has the distinction of being the most watched English
talk show on Indian television. Karan Johar has also been a mentor to many successful directors in
India; releasing both commercial blockbusters like Agneepath, Dostana and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani,
as well as critical indie successes like Wake Up Sid and s
Sudhanshu Vats
Sudhanshu Vats is Group CEO, Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd., and responsible for all its lines of
business. In the last four years, he has successfully steered the group into a profitable growth
phase while expanding the channel network, driving content-led cinema, entering experiential
entertainment through live events across genres, opening up the Consumer Products business line
and making the company future ready with Viacom18 Digital Ventures’ OTT platform VOOT. Under
Sudhanshu’s leadership the group has grown from six to over 36 channels and opened up three
more lines of business. He is Chairman of the National Media and Entertainment Committee of
CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), Vice President of IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation) and
Chairman of BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council).
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IFFI 2017
91

HAND BOOK
INDIAN
CINEMA
IFFI 2017
Òkjr dk 48ok¡ vUrjkZ’Vªh; fQYe lekj¨g] x¨ok
48th International Film Festival of India, Goa
uoEcj 20&28] 2017
November 20-28, 2017
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Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
93

Indian Panorama
Feature Jury
48INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017 95

Sujoy Ghosh (Jury Chairman)
National Award-winning writer, director and screenwriter, Sujoy Ghosh made his directorial debut in 2003 with the small-budget
Jhankaar Beats, a thematic tribute to R. D. Burman. The movie proved to be a surprise hit. Ghosh has directed Home Delivery:
Aapko... Ghar Tak (2005), Aladin (2009), Kahaani (2012) and Kahaani 2 (2016). Kahaani, featuring Vidya Balan gained widespread
commercial success and critical acclaim. He started his acting career portraying the role of Bengali sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi in a film
directed by Rituparno Ghosh in 2012. The highly popular theme song for the IPL Team Kolkata Knight Riders Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo
Re has been penned by Ghosh.
96 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Apurva Asrani is a film editor & screenwriter. He received a Filmfare award for his
editing work on crime drama Satya, followed with a National award for the bilingual
comedy Snip!. He has since shaped the narrative of several films including Chhal, Om
Jai Jagadish, Shahid, Jalpari, Children Of War, Citylights, Waiting & Aligarh. He has
worked on the critically acclaimed Shahid as editor and co-screenplay writer for which
he won Life Ok Screen Award for Best Screenplay. He worked as screenwriter on Aligarh,
a human rights drama, starring Manoj Bajpayee & Rajkummar Rao, that released to
worldwide critical acclaim. Apurva’s recent screenwriting work includes Hansal Mehta’s
Simran starring Kangana Ranaut. Apurva is editing a new series for Zoya Akhtar & Excel
entertainment. His directorial debut is scheduled in 2018.
Apurva Asrani
Gopi Desai has a diverse career in theatre, films, and television and is a filmmaker, writer
and actor. She has worked on both fiction and non-fiction projects with human interest
and social concerns as dominant themes. Her projects have traveled to prestigious
festivals across the country and overseas. Her documentary film Manzar has won a
FilmFare Award for Best Documentary film.
Gopi Desai
Gyan Correa is a writer, director and producer, having produced and directed over
500 TVCs, Corporates, TV and feature films. His maiden feature film, The Good Road
(Gujarati) won a National Award and was India’s Oscar submission in 2013. The film
presents a fascinating and unexpected glimpse into the heart of an unseen India,
where acts of great compassion are shown to utter strangers. Currently he is pursuing
several,documentary projects and principal photography for his next feature film is
scheduled to commence in 2018.
Gyan Correa
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
97

Hari Viswanath is an Indian film director and producer. Inspired by real life incidents,
his feature film debut Radiopetti (Radio Set), became the first Tamil film to win an
Audience Award for Best Film in the Official Competition at the Busan International
Film Festival (2015) and 46th edition of IFFI-Indian Panorama. It also won the
2nd Best Film Award and a Special Jury Mention for Best Acting at the Chennai
International Film Festival 2015 including another award for Best Music at Imagine
India Film Festival (2016, Spain) and Best Film Award by Puducherry Govt. Ever
since he has been actively directing shorts, films and writing stories close to his
heart.
Hari Viswanath
Merlvin Mukhim is an actor, singer and noted member of the film fraternity in
Meghalaya. His work on Khasi and Bengali language films Ri–homeland of
uncertainty (Khasi), Sohra Bridge (Bengali) and Onaatah – of the earth (Khasi) has
been much appreciated and selected in three consecutive IFFI - Indian Panorama
editions. He was presented the Young Achievers Excellence Award in the field of
performing arts and playback singing (Regional) in 2007. He has earned accolades
for his work as an actor in two National award winning films from Meghalaya; he
bagged the Best Actor in a Negative Role award at the Film, North East Festival
Itanagar in 2016 and earned a nomination for Best Actor at the Prag Cine Awards.
A founding member of the Shillong Chamber Choir, he consistently engages with
film industry peers to promote Meghalaya and North East as a potential filming
destination.
Merlvin Mukhim
Nikkhil Advani is an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter. He is one of
the co-founders of Emmay Entertainment, a motion picture production company.
He assisted filmmaker Sudhir Mishra on Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996), for which
he also co-wrote the screenplay. During Nikhil’s stint with Dharma Productions he
directed Kal Ho Naa Ho starring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and
Jaya Bachchan. The film was one of the biggest hits of 2003 and won six Filmfare
awards besides firmly establishing him as a director. Nikhil has directed India’s first
stereoscopic 3D animation film, Delhi Safari, for which he also wrote the original
story. Emmay Entertainment recently produced Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur film
based on the Gulf war crisis titled Airlift and Farhan Akhtar headlined edgy ensemble
film Lucknow Central.
Nikhil Advani
98 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Nishikant Kamat’s directorial debut was the impactful Marathi language film Dombivali
Fast. The film earned major critical acclaim in India and internationally. Nishikant then
decided to push boundaries as he adapted Dombivali Fast in Tamil as Evano Oruvan
starring R Madhavan. The film earned major acclaim in the Tamil film industry and
marked his credential as a versatile filmmaker. In 2008, Nishikant Kamat made his
debut in the Hindi film industry with Mumbai Meri Jaan, It earned him The Filmfare
Critic’s Award for Best Film along with awards in various other technical departments
including a National Award for Visual Effects. Nishikant returned to Marathi cinema
with Lai Bhaari, starring Riteish Deshmukh. The film broke box office records at the
time. With his penchant and hunger for varied genres of films, Nishikant is currently
working on over half a dozen projects. Some in the scripting stage, while some already
having been announced in the media.
Nishikant Kamat
Rahul Rawail worked as an Assistant Director, with filmmaker Raj Kapoor, at the
R.K.Studios, assisting him on Mera Naam Joker and Bobby. At R.K.Studios, he also
assisted Randhir Kapoor on Kal Aaj Aur Kal and Dharam Karam. After his stint as an
assistant director, he established himself as one of the most prominent filmmakers
in the Indian Film Industry. He produced some films, and was actively involved with
Rishi Kapoor and Naresh Malhotra (of Prime Focus) in setting-up the first Digital
Audio Studio in Mumbai. He has been the director who has launched Kumar Gaurav,
Vijeta Pandit, Sunny Deol, Amrita Singh, Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor, Kajol, Kamal
Sadanah, Aishwarya Rai and John Abraham, having directed all their debut films. He
was a member of the Jury for Indian films for the Oscars in 2015.
Rahul Rawail
Ruchi Narain is a multi-award-winning filmmaker who revels in working across
genres. She has won a FilmFare Award as writer for the political love story Hazaaron
Khwahishein Aisi, Critics’ Award at the Osian Festival as director for her thriller,
Kal (Yesterday & Tomorrow), and several awards producing wildlife documentaries.
She has written and directed India’s biggest animation film Hanuman Da Damdaar
voiced by Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon, Javed Akhtar, Kunal Kemmu, Chunky
Pandey, Saurabh Shukla, Makrand Deshpande and produced by R.A.T Films
with her partners Ashutosh Shah and Taher Shabbir. They have 3 features and a
documentary in production.
Ruchi Narain
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
99

Sachin Chatte is a film critic who has been writing about cinema for over 23 years. A
graduate in Computer Technology, he started writing for The Hitavada in Nagpur in
1994 and writes a weekly column for The Navhind Times, Goa since 1999 till date. He
has also contributed to various magazines and national dailies and has covered IFFI
extensively since the festival moved to Goa in 2004. Apart from writing about cinema,
he also teaches Film Appreciation at colleges in Goa. He also doubles as a radio
jockey with All India Radio’s FM Rainbow since 1998.
Sachin Chatte
Satarupa Sanyal, a poet, social activist and Bengali film director started her career
as an actor. She is a veterinarian and recipient of National award for Best Lyricist
(1990). Her films Anu and Onyo Opalaa were Indian Panorama selections and are well
acclaimed in India and abroad.
Satarupa Sanyal
Suresh Heblikar, director & screenplay writer of Mana Manthana is a renowned actor,
director and environmentalist. His handling of a bold subject in the film Kaadina
Benki (Forest Fire) based on a psycho-sexual theme not only won him National &
State Awards but also critical acclaim from various quarters. This was followed by
Prathama Ushakirana, which won the State and Filmfare Award for direction, the
film has remained one of the most popular films among Kannada audience. Suresh
Heblikar has also won an award instituted by the United Nations – F.A.O. Osiris Award
for his short film Shepherds on the Move. His short film on Dharwad’s cultural ethos
brought him a State Award for the Best Documentary. He has acted in notable films
like Rushyashrunga, Tai Saheba, Kaadina Benki. His contribution to cinema and the
environment has been recognized by various government and private institutions.
Suresh Heblikar
100 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Indian Panorama
Feature Films
A selection of 26 significant and outstanding
new Feature Films from emerging and
established filmmakers from across the length
and breadth of the country.
48INDIAN
CINEMA IFFI 2017 101

Bahubaali 2 -
The Conclusion
Having uncovered the truth
of his legacy, in Bahubali 2-
The Conclusion, Mahendra
Baahubali (Shivudu), avenges
the murder of his father,
vowing revenge against
the tyrannical ruler of the
Mahishmati Kingdom, his
uncle, Bhallaladeva.
Bisorjon
When a man of Hindu Muslim
identity is washed ashore
during Durga immersion in
Bangladesh, a young widow
takes the life threatening risk
of rescuing him and offering
shelter. His identity cannot be
compromised amidst ethnic
tensions at any cost.
2017 | Telugu | 171 min | Colour
Director S. S. Rajamouli
Producer Arka Media Works
Story V. Vijayendra Prasad
Cinematographer K.K.Senthil Kumar
Editor Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Music M.M. Keeravaani
Cast Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan
2016 | Bengali | 138 min | Colour
Director Kaushik Ganguly
Producer Opera
Story Kaushik Ganguly
Cinematographer Sauvik Basu
Editor Subhajit Singha
Music Indradip Dasgupta
Cast Jaya Ahsan, Abir Chatterjee, Kaushik Ganguly
Idak
Namya is a gullible man
whose pilgrim trip takes an
unexpected turn when his
mother claims the Goddess
has appeared in her dreams
and demanded an animal
sacrifice. Namya finds himself
conflicted between fulfilling
the promise and sacrificing
his animal-friend.
Jolly LLB 2
Jagdishwar Mishra, aka Jolly,
is a small–time, struggling
lawyer. Jolly is looking out for
an opportunity that could turn
the tide in his favour; when
faced with an opportunity, he
jumps at the chance, one that
will cost him his reputation
and compel him to question
his own morals.
2017 | Marathi | 107 min | Colour
Director Deepak Gawade
Producer Kiah Films Pvt Ltd and Prime Focus Ltd.
Story Deepak Gawade
Cinematographer Archana Borhade
Editor Pranav Mistry
Music Pankajj Padghan
Cast Usha Naik, Kishore Kadam, Suhas Palshikar, Devendra Gaikwad,
Atharva Ghodke
2017 | Hindi | 139 min | Colour
Director Subhash Kapoor
Producer Fox Star Studios India Pvt Ltd
Story Subhash Kapoor
Cinematographer Kamaljeet Negi
Editor Chandrasekhar Prajapati
Music Manj Musik/Chirrantan Bhatt/Vishal Khurana/Meet Bros.
Cast Akshay Kumar, Huma Qureshi, Saurabh Shukla, Annu Kapoor
Juze
Boribmol, in Goa with a
large immigrant population,
is ruled by a thuggish
bully, Juze. His appetite for
violent intimidation keeps
his workforce submissive,
Santosh (16) remains
determined despite regular
abuse, eventually, his passive
resistance evolves to achieve
freedom from fear.
Kaasav
Janaki, a divorcee, attempts
to find meaning in life through
a sea-turtle conservation
project; she accidentally
meets an anonymous young
man Manav, who has escaped
from the hospital where he
was admitted for attempting
suicide. Janaki tries to create
a non-judgemental, nonintrusive,
warm atmosphere
to help him bloom.
2017 | Konkani | 93 min | Colour
Director Miransha Naik
Producer Thin Air Productions
Story Miransha Naik
Cinematographer Abhiraj Rawale
Editor Jacques Comets,
Siddhesh Naik, Suzana Pedro
Music Pierre Aviat
Cast Rushikesh Naik, Sudesh Bhise, Prashanti Talpankar, Gauri Kamat
2016 | Marathi | 105 min | Colour
Director(s) Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukthankar
Producer(s) Vichitra Nirmiti &
Mohan Agashe
Story Sumitra Bhave
Cinematographer Dhananjay Kulkarni
Editor Mohit Takalkar
Music Saket Kanetkar
Cast Irawati Harshe, Alok Rajwade, Kishor Kadam, Mohan Agashe
102 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Kachcha Limbu
Kachcha Limbu, slang for
underdog, is the poignant
tale of a couple and their
everyday trials in nurturing
their mentally challenged
child Bachchu. The story
takes us through Mr. and
Mrs. Katdare’s dilemmas
and attempt at sanity despite
teeming odds.
Kadvi Hawa
Mahua, a farming village
in remote Assam, is rain
deprived, leading its farmers
to inevitable suicide owing
to crushing loans and
repayments. A reputation
of ruthlessness precedes
the bank agent. A father,
fearful that his son too may
succumb, pleads with the
man to defer the debt.
2017 | Marathi | 116 min | Colour
Director Prasad Oak
Producer Teamwork Ultra Creations
Story Jaywant Dalvi
Cinematographer Amalendu Choudhary
Editor Jayant Jathar
Music Rahul Ranade
Cast Sachin Khedekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Ravi Jadhav, Manmeet Pem,
Ananth Mahadevan, Uday Sabnis
2016 | Hindi | 95 min | Colour
Director Nila Madhab Panda
Producer Drishyam Films Pvt Ltd
Story Nila Madhav Panda
Cinematographer Ramanuj Datta
Editor Jabeen Merchant
Music Mangesh Dhakde
Cast Sanjay Mishra, Ranvir Shorey, Tilottama Shome and Bhupesh
Khynikaa
A tale of two men, a poet
and a painter, claiming
possession over the same
idea, in a rural village
portrayed as a wonderland.
Idea is personified as a
beautiful young lady, free
of all bondage. They soon
realize that an idea is no one’s
possession and it isn’t wise to
rely on fate for a judgement.
Kshitij –A Horizon
Vacchi is 12 and wants to
study despite all the odds
life throws at her. Her simple
father has little patience for
his daughter’s aspiration. Her
unwavering determination
however, helps her combat
problems and brings her
closer to the inevitable
showdown with her father.
2017 | Oriya | Colour | 89 Min
Director Amartyya Bhattacharyya
Producer Swastik Arthouse
Story Amartyya Bhattacharyya
Cinematographer Amartya Bhattacharyya
Editor Amartyya Bhattacharyya
Music Kisaloy Roy
Cast Amrita Chowdhury, Susant Misra, Swastik Choudhury,
Hrushikesh Bhoi, Choudhury, Bikash Das
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
2017 | Marathi | 95 min | Colour
Director Manouj Kadaamh
Producer Media Films Craft
Story Prof. Raybhan Davange
Cinematographer Yogesh Rajguru
Editor Neeraj Voraliya
Music Shailendra Barve
Cast Upendra Limaye, Kanchan Jadhav, Vaishnavi Tangde,
Arnav Mandrubkar, Rajkumar Tangde, Manoj Joshi, Vidyadhar Joshi
Maacher Jhol
Dev D, a world renowned
Paris based chef, returns to
Kolkata (India) to visit his
ailing mother. Grappling with
an uncomfortable past, he
is now faced with a culinary
challenge. His mother insists
he must cook the humble fish
curry that had revealed his
culinary skills as a child.
Manusangada
Beyond the grief of his father’s
demise, Kolappan dreads the
prospect of the burial that
requires a low caste Dalit,
to carry the body through
a thorny, unformed route
to an uncertain graveyard.
Deeply disturbed with the
inequalities, Kolappan begins
a protest.
2017 | Bengali, | 108 min | Colour
Director Pratim D. Gupta
Producer(s) Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited &
Mojo Productions Pvt Ltd
Story Pratim D Gupta
Cinematographer Subhankar Bhar
Editor Subhajit Singha
Music Anupam Roy
Cast Ritwick Chakraborty, Paoli Dam, Mamata Shankar, Sumanta Mukherjee
2016 | Tamil | 93 min | Colour
Director Amshan Kumar
Producera A K Films
Story Amshan Kumar
Cinematographer P S Dharan
Editor Dhanasekar
Music Aravind-Shankar
Cast Rajeev Anand, A S Sasi Kumar, Sheela Rajkumar, Manimegalai
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
103

Maza Bhirbhira
Chingi is mute. Her father,
an Indian army officer, loses
his life while on duty. Chingi
nurtures vivid memories of
her father's teachings and the
gift of a tri-colored pinwheel.
When the statue installed in
his memory is demolished
she takes it upon herself to
restore her family’s pride.
Meghnadbod
Rohosyo
Professor Asimava Bose,
celebrity science fiction
writer, receives the modern
Bengali epic Meghnad Bodh
Kabya with one particular
line highlighted as a gift
from an unknown sender. A
few days later he is reported
missing. A high-level police
enquiry reveals an unlikely
perpetrator.
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
2017 | Marathi | 105 min | Colour
Director(s) Yogesh Soman & Vivek Wagh
Producer Themez Unlimited
Story Yogesh Soman
Cinematographer Mayur Hardas
Editor Mayur Hardas
Music Rohit Nagbhide
Cast Vikram Gokhale, Samidha Guru, Kshitish Date
2017 | Bengali | 151 min | Colour
Director Anik Dutta
Producer Friends Communication
Screenplay Anik Dutta & Utsav Mukherjee
Cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay
Editor Arghyakamal Mitra
Music Debojyoti Mishra
Cast Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Abir Chatterjee, Gargee Roy Chowdhury
Muramba
When a young Alok calls off his
relationship with his
childhood sweetheart who
he is soon to be married to,
his parents are stunned. They
are left with tough choices
that deeply challenge their
emotional, ethical and social
roles as parents.
Newton
A government clerk on
election duty in a conflictridden
jungle of Central India
tries his best to conduct free
and fair voting despite the
apathy of security forces,
poor planning, and the
looming fear of a guerrilla
attack by Communist rebels.
2017 | Marathi | 127.50 min | Colour
Director Varun Narvekar
Producer(s) Darshami Studioz LLP, Pratisad Productions
& Huge Productions
Story Varun Narvekar
Cinematographer Milind Joag
Editor Vishal Bate
Cast Amey Wagh
2017 | Hindi | 104 min | Colour
Director Amit Masurkar
Producer Drishyam Films Pvt Ltd
Story Amit V Masurkar
Cinematographer Swapnil S Sonawane
Editor Shweta Venkat Matthew
Music Naren Chandavarkar, Benedict Taylor
Cast Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, Raghubir Yadav
Pihu
Two year old Pihu, struggles
to wake an unresponsive
mother in an empty house that
is scattered with the remains
of last night’s birthday party.
The film is an edge of the
seat entertainer on how an
empty house with everyday
objects can be sinister for an
unsupervised child.
Pimpal
Arvind, a retired widower,
lives alone in his apartment
in Pune. One day, Arvind has
a nasty fall in the bathroom.
Though he’s fine, his children
insist that he move to the US.
Just before leaving, he comes
across an old letter reminding
him of some unfinished
business.
✪ INDIA PREMIERE ✪ OPENING FILM
2016 | Hindi | 92 min | Colour
Director Vinod Kapri
Producer(s) Krishnam Mediatech Pvt Ltd & Bhagirathi Films Pvt Ltd
Story Vinod Kapari
Cinematographer Yogesh Jani
Editor Irene Dhar Malik, Sheeba Sehgal
Cast Myra Pihu Vishwakarma, Prerna Sharma
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
2017 | Marathi | 92.15 min | Colour
Director Gajendra Ahire
Producer Blackberry Movies
Story Chintamani Ahire
Screenplay Gajendra Ahire
Cinematographer Krishna Kumar Soren
Editor Kutub Inamdar
Music Narendra Bhide
Cast Dilip Prabhavalkar, Priya Bapat, Kishore Kadam, Vrinda Gajendra
104 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Poorna
Poorna (13), from a poor
tribal family, sweeps the
school grounds as her
parents are unable to afford
the fees. In a rock climbing
expedition, Poorna and
Anand are sent for training
for the Himalayan expedition.
Overcoming all odds, she
becomes the youngest girl to
summit Everest.
Railway Children
Raju, a 12 year old runaway
kid, discovers the sordid
aspects to living life on a
railway platform. Soon, he
finds a friend in Jollu, their
friendship gives them newfound
confidence to start out
on their own. Unable to see
the danger they are subjecting
themselves to, the duo start a
venture on their own.
2017 | Hindi | 100 min | Colour
Director Rahul Bose
Producer Rahul Bose Productions and Raay Media Pvt. Ltd.
Screenplay Prashant Pandey, Shreya Dev Verma
Cinematographer Subhransu
Editor Manan Mehta
Cast Aditi Inamdar, Rahul Bose, S. Mariya
2017 | Kannada | 155 min | Colour
Director Prithvi Konanur
Producer Tin Drum Beats
Story Prithvi Konanur
Cinematographer Eswaran Thangavel
Editor Shivkumar Swamy
Music None
Cast Manohara, Yash Shetty, Srikanth
Redu
Redu is a simple story of a
man’s values, and how the
loss of his radio pushes
him to reclaim what once
belonged to him.
Rukh
Away from home in a
boarding school, young
Dhruv is oblivious to the
ongoing crisis in his family
until he learns of his father’s
death. Unable to cope with
the news, he is confronted
with the unbearable question
of his father’s death or the
possibility of a pre meditated
murder.
✪ WORLD PREMIERE
2017 | Marathi | 120 min | Colour
Director Sagar Chhaya Vanjari
Producer Naval Films
Story Sanjay Navgire
Cinematographer Mangesh Gadekar
Editor Sagar Chhaya Vanjari
Music Vijay Gavande
Cast Shashank Shende, Chhaya Kadam, Gauri Konge, Vinamra Bhabal
2017 | Hindi | 104 min | Colour
Director Atanu Mukherjee
Producer Drishyam Films Pvt Ltd
Story Atanu Mukherjee
Cinematographer Pooja S Gupte
Editor Sanglap Bhowmick
Music Amit Trivedi
Cast Adarsh Gourav, Manoj Bajpayee, Smita Tambe, Kumud Mishra
Take Off
Sameera, a nurse and
mother to 8 year old Ibru, is
recently divorced, she takes
up a job in war-torn Iraq to
overcome financial liabilities.
Appallingly, the hospital she
works at is captured soon
after.
Ventilator
This quirky dramedy captures
candid moments of the rather
large and peculiar Kamerkar
clan. They’re assembled to
visit a family member in
critical health. Their true
intentions are revealed as the
ailing Kamerkar holds on to
dear life.
2017 | Malayalam | 132 min | Colour
Director Mahesh Narayanan
Producer Anto Joseph Film Company
Screenplay Mahesh Narayanan, P V Shaji Kumar
Cinematographer Sanu Jose Varghese
Editor Abhilash Balachandran
Cast Parvathy, Fahad Faasil, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali,
Prakash Belawadi
2017 | Marathi | 110 min | Colour
Director Rajesh Mapuskar
Producer(s) Purple Pebble Pictures
Story Rajesh Mapuskar
Cinematographer Savita Singh
Editor Rameshwar S Bhagat
Music Rohan & Rohan
Cast Jitendra Joshi, Raja Bapat, Sulbha Arya
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
105

Village Rockstars
Dhunu (10) lives in remote
Assam amidst raging
deprivation. A free spirit,
she firmly believes in the
power of her grand dreams.
Dhunu is determined to form
a rock band with the boys
in her village and wants to
own a guitar. She remains
undeterred in a society that
threatens to pull her back.
Xhoixobote
Dhemalite
Niyor and his sister, Kuwoli
arrive with their parents in
a remote town in Assam.
Unaware of the biggest civil
unrest the state has ever seen.
Niyor promises Kuwoli that
he and his friend Pulak would
stage a play to cheer her up.
He has no way of knowing
that his play would have life
altering consequences.
2017 | Assamese | 87 min | Colour 2017 | Assamese | Colour | 98 Min
Director Rima Das
Producer Flying River Films
Story Rima Das
Cinematographer Rima Das
Editor Rima Das
Music Nilotpal Borah
Cast Banita Das, Basanti Das, Boloram Das, Rinku Das, Bishnu Kalita,
Manabendra Das
Director Bidyut Kotoky
Producer India Stories Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Story Bidyut Kotoky
Cinematographer Satya Prakash Rath
Editor Pallavi Kotoky
Music Anurag Saikia
Cast Victor Banerjee, Nakul Vaid, Dipannita Sharma, Naved Aslam,
Nipon Goswami
106 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Indian Panorama
Non-Feature Jury
48INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017 107

Sudhir Mishra (Jury Chairman)
Filmmaker, India
Sudhir Mishra is an internationally acclaimed film director and one of the pioneers of alternative independent cinema movement
of India. He started as an assistant director and co-writer in Kundan Shah’s cult classic comedy Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. He has won
National Awards for his directorial debut, Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin and Dharavi. Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, his most talked
about film has already achieved cult classic status. His illustrious career spanning 3 decades has not only been recognized by
the Government of India but also by the French Government in the form of Ordre des Artes et des Lettres, the French equivalent of
Knighthood.
108 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

K G Suresh is currently serving as Director General, Indian Institute of
Mass Communication. He has served as Senior Consulting Editor with
Doordarshan News; Editorial Consultant with Asianet News Network; Chief
Political Correspondent with Press Trust of India and Group Media Advisor to
Dalmia Bharat Enterprises Ltd. Mr Suresh played a pivotal role in introducing
innovative programmes including Speed News, Vaartavali- The world’s first
Sanskrit Television News Magazine, Good News India – positive news from
across the country, India First – A strategy and defence based programme and
Do Touk – a political debating platform, besides DD’s first android enabled
App. He chaired the international jury of the 4th Woodpecker International
Film Festival-2016, 13th edition of the We Care International Film Festival
on disability issues. He was on the jury of the of the National Media Award,
UNICEF Media Fellowship, the UNICEF Radio4child awards, National Awards
& the prestigious Laadli Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity.
K G Suresh
Mithunchandra Chaudhari has written & directed 3 short films Compulsory
Hellmate, Ghandaat & National Film Award winner Paywat. His films have
been awarded and officially selected at prestigious international film festivals.
He has assisted Nagraj Manjule on Fandry, Sairat & Kranti Kanade on Mahek,
a children’s feature. His poems in Marathi have been published in various
periodicals. He has a MA in English Literature, Masters in Communication
Studies & Diploma in Journalism from Pune University. He has taught Video
Production at various colleges of Pune, Mumbai & Goa University. Presently,
he teaches at Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, Pune.
Mithunchandra Chaudhari
Shankhajeet De is a researcher and documentary filmmaker. He makes
documentaries with an ethnographic lens. His debut feature documentary
In the Shadow of Time (Samayara Chaaire-Odiya) on Ravana Chhaya,
the shadow puppetry tradition of Odisha has won the Rajat Kamal for the
Best Film on art and culture at the 64th National Film Awards. He has also
made an ethnographic audio-visual journal on Togalu Gombeyaatta, the
shadow puppetry tradition of Karnataka for the library of the puppet school
in UNIMA, France. He is currently filming a feature documentary on the
Ramaleela tradition in Odisha through multi-sited ethnographic methods.
He is responsible for setting up the filmmaking department at Sri Aurobindo
Centre for Arts & Communication (SACAC-New Delhi). He has been teaching
research, screenplay, scriptwriting and direction for over eight years.
Shankhajeet De
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
109

Shiny Jacob Benjamin has been a documentary director since 1999.
Earlier, she has worked with Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi,
leading Newspapers in Malayalam as a features writer. Later, she
joined Asianet, the first satellite Television channel in Malayalam. She
has also worked with Indiavision, first news channel in Malayalam
and has worked as chief producer with TV Channel Jaihind & Jaihind
Middle East. She won 20 prestigious awards including 2 National
Awards and 7 Kerala State Awards for her documentaries. She has
been a jury member on FFK International Film Festival and the 28th
Indian Panorama-IFFI jury. She has worked as Assistant Director for
a Kamal Hassan film under the directorial guidance of T. K Rajeev
Kumar and as the Associate Director for the 35th National Games
2015 held in Kerala.
Shiny Jacob Benjamin
Tinni Mitra is an editor. During her Masters course on Film Studies in
Jadavpur University in Kolkata her interest for filmmaking grew and
later she joined Satyajit Ray Film & TV Institute. She is a National
Awardee for Best Editing for her work in her film-school diploma
Germ. Tinni shifted to Mumbai in 2009. Her first feature film Mumbai
Cha Raja went to Toronto International and Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
Her film as editor The Seventh Walk directed by Amit Dutta was the
Closing Film of Cinema XXI section, Rome Film Festival, 2013.
Based on the works of Indian painter Mr. Paramjit Singh, this film
was also selected in Documentary Fortnights by Museum of Modern
Arts (MOMA) in 2014. Tinni has edited documentaries produced by
PSBT and Films Division and ITVS. She has attended Berlinale Talent
Campus in 2015 as part of the Editing Studio.
Tinni Mitra
Tuhinabha Majumdar
Tuhinabha Majumdar has worked as a writer, editor and director
in the films and television industry for the last nineteen years.
His film Aamaar Katha: Story Of Binodini, based on the legendary
Bengali actress Binodini has received two Rajat Kamal Awards
for Best Biographical and Historical Reconstruction film and Best
Cinematography (Non-fiction) at the 62nd National Film Awards,
2014. He has also received the Golden Conch for the Best Fiction
film and the Best Film of the Festival award in MIFF, for Midnight
Bioscope and the Silver Award at the 11th Indian Documentary
Producers’ Award for Excellence for City Within The City a PSBT
documentary. Besides editing his own films he has edited Tamil
feature film Sengadal (Black Sea), Kolkata, the City of Memories
(a non-fiction television series on Kolkata in 21 episodes), Two Or
Three Things I Know About Alleys, Neeldarpan and Sarat Chandra
Chatterjee. He has served as a jury in the 3rd NSFFI, 2015.
110 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Indian
Panorama
Non-Feature Films
A selection of 16 new short and documentary films on a wide
range of subjects and issues from emerging and established
filmmakers from across the length and breadth of the country.
48INDIAN
CINEMA IFFI 2017 111

8 1/2 Intercuts- Life
and Films of K G
George
2017 | Malayalam | Doc | 108 min | Colour
Director Lijin Jose
Producer Lijin Jose
Story Shahina K Rafiq
Cinematographer MJ Radhakrishnan, Neil D’ Cunha
Editor B Ajithkumar
Music M Bijibal
The documentary is an
attempt to understand the
legend of revolutionary
filmmaker KG George by
examining his major films
juxtaposed with his personal
life. No other filmmaker has
depicted the nuances of the
contemporary Kerala society
with such great detail and
depth.
A Very Old Man with
Enormous Wings
2016 | English | Doc | 72 min | Colour
Director Prateek Vats
Producer Films Division
Cinematographer Mehul Bhanti
Editor Tanushree Das Sahi, Paramita Ghosh
Music Bigyna Bhushan Dahal
Anchored in the twilight
years of the legendary Indian
bodybuilder and former Mr.
Universe, Manohar Aich. As
the body fades away, the film
begins to take shape. The idea
of the film is to consciously
move away from the evidential
burden of a biopic towards an
intimate portrait.
Aaba
An orphaned girl learns that
her grandfather is battling
lung cancer with less than
a few weeks to survive. In a
remote village in Arunachal
Pradesh, the man bides his
time, by revisiting personal
possessions and digging his
grave well in time. But, then
life has its own surprises.
Amma Meri
The film explores how trying
circumstances often lead
to great transformation.
When the loss of his father,
mounting financial troubles
and the thought of arranging
his daughter’s marriage wear
him down, the last straw for
him is losing his mother. In
the face of adversity Balaram
truly begins to think.
2016 | Marathi | Short Film | 26 min | Colour
Director Amar Kaushik
Producer Raapchik Films Pvt Ltd
Story Shashi Kaushik
Cinematographer Soumik Mukherjee
Editor Arindam S Ghatak
Music Alokananda Dasgupta
Cast DaniRanda, DaniChunya, DaniSunku, HageYami,
Dr. JoramKhopey, SuritaRai
2016 | Haryanvi | Short Film | 30 min | Colour
Director Tarun Jain
Producer Tarun Jain
Cinematographer Karan Thapliyal
Editor(s) Rajan Kumar Singh & Vishal Chauhan
Music Vivek Sharma and Abhishek Sharma
Cast Anurag Arora, Devki Rani, Diksha Lamba, Raghuvir Mann
Baluta
A young woman, mother
to four daughters, loses
her husband and is on her
own without family support.
Baluta is her tale of struggle,
bravery, and most of all, the
self-belief of a woman who
defies all odds and proves to
the world that stereotype is
just another word.
Chutney
Everyone we meet has a public
face, the one they allow us to
see. What if there is another
side? The film peeps into the
seemingly moral world of the
great indian middle class
with its new aspirations of
imported cars & organic food.
Using satire as its narrative,
we get a voyeuristic look into
their relationships.
India, Bangladesh, Pakistan |2017 | Hindi | 120 minutes | Colour
Director Ajay Kurane
Producer Ajay Kurane
Screenplay Swapnil Rajshekhar
Cinematographer Ajay Kurane
Editor Amit Patil
Music Mandar Khare
Cast Tanuja Kadam, Arya Kurane, Umesh Bolake, Pramod Phadtare,
Narendra Desai, Girija Gode
2016 | Hindi | Short Film | 17 min | Colour
Director Jyoti Kapur Das
Producer Cinemafia
Story Tisca Chopra, Jyoti Kapur Das, Avneesh Mishra
Cinematographer Jay Oza
Editor Monisha R Baldawa
Music Ashwin Srinivasan
Cast Tisca Chopra, Adil Hussain, Rasika Duggal, Aakash Bharadwaj,
Sumit Gulati
112 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Dugga
Set in the time of Durga
Puja, Kolkata’s grand and
beloved annual festival. A
young boy Dugga, gets to
spend some rare time with
his mother, Madhabi in her
brothel, between the frequent
visits of her regular clients.
Amidst celebration and light,
a mother-son story unfolds at
the darkest corner of the city.
Epil
A magician plans his farewell
performance in the upcoming
funfair to help gather funds
for a morally destroyed
plague affected village.
Hadom is a single father to
a young Epil, who is excited
to bits about the funfair. The
film explores the dynamism of
new relationships through the
atrocious events that unfold.
2016 | Bengali | Short Film | 14.56 min | Colour
Director Chandrasish Ray
Producer Rahul Saha
Story Rahul Saha
Cinematographer Souvik Basu
Editor Subhajit Singha
Music Avijit Kundu
Cast Sayam Mukherjee, Ankita Chakraborty, Prantik Banerjee
2016 | Santali | Short Film | 30 min | Colour
Director R K Soren
Producer Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute
Story R K Soren
Cinematographer Amey D Mule
Editor(s) Asim Mohd.
Fireflies in the Abyss
Suraj toils away in the coal
mines in North East India.
The fate of most Nepalese
migrants is sealed with these
rat holes, a sole source of
income in this area. With
no parental support, Suraj
trudges on with a smile
nurturing the hope that one
day he will return to school.
Gi
Gi lives with Appachan, her
grandfather. She and he
are dealing with different
realities. Appachan is losing
some memories and delving
into worlds Gi is unfamiliar
with. She on the other hand
is trying to come to terms
with the world around her, her
lover and her work which all
seem hostile to her.
2016 | Hindi, English, Nepali | Doc | 88 min | Colour
Director Chandrasekhar Reddy
Producer Chandrasekhar Reddy
Cinematographer Chandrasekhar Reddy
Editor Abhro Banerjee
Music Cooper - Moore
2017 | Malayalam | Short Film | 30 min | Colour
Director Kunjila
Producer Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute
Story Kunjila
Cinematographer Rakesh Dharan
Editor Ritika Poddar
Khidkee
Madhu is a middle-aged
homemaker whose life
revolves around taking care
of her paralytic bed-ridden
husband. Her only distraction
is Ashween, a youngster, who
lives in the opposite building.
Ashween is a writer who is
frequently drawn to his livingroom
window, through which
he can observe Madhu.
Name|Place|
Animal|Thing
The film explores the life of
a South India based tribe
that follows a unique naming
convention. The members of
the tribe name their kids with
the first thing that comes to
their mind. The film explores
their changing lifestyles and
how they have evolved over
time.
2017 | Marathi | Short Film | 39 min | Black & White
Director Rohan Parshuram Kanawade
Producer Dark Stories
Story Rohan Parshuram Kanawade
Cinematographer Aparna Dharmmadhikari
Editor Rohan Parshuram Kanawade
Music Kevin MacLeod
Cast Veena Nair, Abhay Kulkarni, Lalit Prabhakar, Kalyanee Mulay
2017 | Hindi | Doc | 23 min | Colour
Director Nithin R
Producer(s) Nithin R & Bhagyalakshmi K
Story Nithin R
Cinematographer Rakesh Ramakrishnan
Editor(s) Nithin R, Appu N Bhattathiri
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
113

Our Grandparents’
Home
16 young scholars from
India and Bangladesh
record the memories of the
third generation of 1947
Partition refugees. Two
women, Tunazina Sahrin of
Bangladesh and Sanchita
Bhattacharya of India embark
on a journey to find their roots
and lost homes.
Palash
Secluded from the rest of the
world, Sree lives in the land
of Palash. Here innocence is
cruel and love is violent.
2017 | Bengali | Doc | 42 min | Colour
Director Supriyo Sen
Producer Supriyo Sen & Goethe - Institut
Story Supriyo Sen
Cinematographer Mrinmoy Mondal
Editor Suvadipta Biswas
Music Kanishka Sarkar
2016 | Bengali | Short Film |21 min | Colour
Director Vaibhav Hiwase
Producer Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute
Story Vaibhav Hiwase
Cinematographer Vijigeesh Mandalaparthy
Editor Manendra Lodhi
Pushkar Puran
During the full moon in the
month of Kartik, the town and
the nearby dunes become
an enormous fairground in
the lake city of Pushkar in
Rajasthan. Kamal Swaroop
explores the ancient myths
and politicking of Indian
Gods as the heavens descend
and the water in the lake turns
holy.
The Waterfall
On a visit to his cousin Nilu’s
beautiful hill town, city kid
Karan immediately takes to
the deep forests. He soon
learns that the waterfall they
visited will be destroyed for
sake of development projects.
Deeply disturbed, Karan finds
himself in deep contemplation
about the conflicting progress
of development and nature.
✪ OPENING FILM
2017 | Hindi | Doc-Drama | 99 min | Colour
Director Kamal Swaroop
Producer Kamal Swaroop and Match Cut Films LLC
Cinematographer Ashok Meena, Kumar Avyay
Editor Shweta Rai
2016 | English | Short Film | 20 min | Colour
Director Lipika Singh Darai
Producer LXL Ideas Pvt Ltd
Story Lipika Singh Darai
Cinematographer Indraneel Lahiri
Editor Lipika Singh Darai
Music Gaurab Chaterjee
Cast Soham Maitra, Rwitobroto Mukherjee, Indrashish Roy
114 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Dadasaheb Phalke
Award 2017
The highest honour in Indian Cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke
Award, celebrates the cinematic legacy of the Father of Indian
Cinema, by applauding industry veterans for their lifetime
contribution. The 48th IFFI 2017 showcases three films of the
Dada Saheb Phalke Award Winning director for 2016,
Shri K. Viswanath.
48INDIAN
CINEMA IFFI 2017 115

K Vishwanath
K Vishwanath is an Indian audiographer, director, screenwriter, and character actor noted for his work in Telugu, Tamil and
Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of five National Film Awards, six state Nandi Awards, eleven Filmfare Awards. In a film career
spanning sixty years, he has directed 53 feature films. He is also the recipient of the Padmashri & Andhra Pradesh State
Raghupathi Venkaiah awards.
116 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Sagara Sangamam
Balakrishnan, a poor but
exceptionally gifted Indian
classical dancer wants to
compete at an All-India
competition. He is spotted
by Madhavi who helps him
prepare for the main event.
Drawn emotionally close to
her, he decides to propose
to her only to realize she is
married.
Shankarabharanam
Sankara Sastry is devoted to
divine music. At the height of
popularity, he meets Tulasi a
dancer, who is interested in
classical arts. She wishes
to learn under Sastry’s
tutelage as his disciple. But,
a casteism ridden society
frowns upon this, compelling
Tulsi to leave, only to return
years later with her son.
1983 | Telugu | 160 min | Colour
Director K. Vishwanath
Producer Nageshwara Rao Edida
Cinematographer Nivas P.S.
Editor G.G. Krishna Rao
Cast Kamal Haasan, Jaya Prada, Sarath Babu, Sailaja S.P, Sakshi Ranga
Rao, Dubbing Janaki, Potti Prasad, Jit Mohan Mitra
1979 | Telugu | 143 min | Colour
Director K Vishwanath
Producer(s) Sriramulu Akasam, Nageshwara Rao Edida
Cinematographer Balu Mahendra
Editor G.G. Krishna Rao
Cast Somayajulu J.V., Manju Bhargavi, Tulasi, Allu Ramalingaiah,
Chandramohan, Nirmalamma, Pushpakumari, Sakshi Ranga Rao
The film is about an egoistic
music teacher envious of the
extraordinary talent of his
prodigious young disciple.
Swathi Kiranam
1992 | Telugu| 130 min | Color
Director K. Vishwanah
Producer V. Madhusudhan Rao
Cast Mammootty, Master Manjunath, Radhika Sarathkumar
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
117

Homages
IFFI 2017 pays Homage to Indian film industry
veterans who have passed away in the last year, by
showcasing a selection of films from their impressive
and lasting cinematic legacies.
48INDIAN
CINEMA IFFI 2017 119

Abdul Majid
3 May 1932 – 23 September 2017
Abdul Majid, Assamese director started as a playwright with Banchita, Dhuli Makoti, Char,
Sihat Ahise, Choretal. He entered films as actor in Nip Barua’s Ranga Police and produced,
wrote and directed films. His best known film is Chameli Memsaab, deploying a staid narrative
progression weaving romance into clearly defined themes.
Chameli Memsaab
1975 | Assamese | 144 min | B&W
Director Abdul Majid
Producer Seuj Bolchhabi Santha
Screenplay Abdul Majid
Cinematographer Bijoy Dey
Music Bhupen Hazarika
Cast George Baker, Binita Gohain, Haresh Dutta
A love story set in the tea gardens of Assam.
A British planter falls in love with a tea garden
worker. The planter marries the girl and soon
finds himself accused of her murder.
120 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

J. Jayalalitha
24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016
J. Jayalalitha was an Indian actor and politician, who served six terms as the Chief Minister of Tamil
Nadu, for over fourteen years, between 1991 and 2016. Her debut in Kannada film was Chinnada
Gombe, her debut Telugu film was Manushulu Mamathalu, in Tamil it was Vennira Aadai, in Hindi
it was Izzat and in Malayalam it was the film Jesus. Jayalalithaa was awarded the Kalaimamani by
the Government of Tamil Nadu. She has received several honorary doctorates and awards from the
University of Madras.
Ayirathil Oruvan
1965 | India | Tamil | Color | 174 min
Directors B. Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu
Producer B. Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu
Screenplay K. J. Mahadevan
Cinematographer V. Ramamoorthy
Editor R. Devarajan
Cast Jayalalitha J , R.S. Manohar, Nagesh, M.N. Nambiar,
M.G. Ramachandran
When a town doctor and researcher, Manimaran
is accused of treason by the dictating ruler and
sold along with numerous other men as a slave,
he escapes with his companions, gets captured
by pirates who force him to serve for them
before gaining their support in fighting back the
dictatorship for his country’s freedom.
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
121

Kundan Shah
19 October 1947 – 7 October 2017
Kundan Shah was an Indian film director and writer. He is most known for his comedy
classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and his 1985–1986, TV series Nukkad with Saeed Akhtar
Mirza. Shah studied direction at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and he
developed an interest in the comedy genre. His directorial debut was the comedy film
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro in 1983. He also was the co-writer of the film, with Satish Kaushik.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro
1983 | India | Hindi | 132 min | Colour
Director Kundan Shah
Producer National Film Development Corporation
Screenplay Kundan Shah
Cinematographer Binod Pradhan
Editor Renu Saluja
Cast Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Satish Shah, Om Puri,
Pankaj Kapur
Vinod and Sudhir are photographers, they
are trying to start a photo studio. The first
real assignment that they get, draws them
into the shady world of Bombay real estate.
They discover that one of the biggest builders
in Bombay, is trying to bribe the Municipal
Commissioner into giving him a bridge
contract.
122 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Dr. Narayana Rao Dasari
4 May 1947 – 30 May 2017
Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao, is an Indian is a politician, film director and producer. He directed
about 150 films, produced 53 films and worked in above 250 films as a dialogue writer and
as a lyricist . He was soon recognised as a potential stage artiste, scriptwriter and director.
During his career he also acted in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada languages. He won Andhra
Pradesh State Best actor award for his acting.
Osey Ramulamma
1997 | India | Telugu | Color | 158 min
Director Narayana Rao Dasari
Producer Dasari Padma
Cinematographer Shyam K. Naidu
Music by Vandemataram Srinivas
Cast Vijayshanti, Rami Reddy, Narayana Rao Dasari
The story revolves around a woman’s rebellion
in Telangana. Ramulamma at a very young
age of 13 was impregnated by the dora. The
dora orders his men to throw the baby and kill
Ramulamma. The baby is found by naxals and
raised by them. Injured Ramulamma is taken
care of by a Dalit couple who treat her as their
own sister.
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
123

Om Puri
18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017
Om Puri was an Indian actor who had appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art
films. His credits include appearances in British and American films. Puri graduated from
the Film and Television Institute of India and was also an alumnus of the 1973 class of
National School of Drama where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student. He made his film
debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal, based on a Marathi play of the same name.
Ardh Satya
1983 | Hindi, Marathi | 130 min | Colour
Director Govind Nihalani
Producer Vasant Mamania, Manmohan Shetty, Shivanand Shetty,
Pradeep Uppoor
Screenplay Vijay Tendulkar, Vasant Dev
Cinematographer Govind Nihalani
Editor Renu Saluja
Cast Om puri, Smita Patil, Amrish Puri, Naseeruddin Shah
Anant realizes that the police are manipulated
by politicians. Frustrated, he turns his anger
on suspects held in cells and beats them
mercilessly. His frustrations rise after he is
sidelined for a medal and counseled to resign
from this job. Things only get worse after he
brutally assaults a suspect resulting in death.
124 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Ramananda Sengupta
8 May 1916 – 23 August 2017
Ramananda Sen Gupta was an Indian cinematographer. He was born in Dhaka in 1916
and became a centenarian in 2016. Sengupta stood behind the lens in more than 70
films. His work in cinematography began in 1938 when he joined as an apprentice at the
Aurora Film Corporation in Kolkata. He worked with G. K. Mehta, as first assistant on the
1941 film Kurukshetra. Sengupta’s first independent work was Purbaraag directed by
Ardhendu Mukherjee.
Nagarik
1952 | Bengali | 127min | B&W
Director Ritwik Ghatak
Producer (Film Guild) Pramode Sengupta, Bhupati Nandi,
Ritwik Ghatak
Screenplay Ritwik Ghatak
Cinematographer Ramananda Sengupta
Editor Ramesh Joshi
Cast Ajit Banerjee, Kali Bannerjee, Gangapada Basu,
Satindra Bhattacharya
Ramu lives in a lower-middle-class
neighbourhood with his family. Ramu’s sister, is
dressed up and paraded in front of prospective
in-laws who humiliatingly examine her. The
light of Ramu’s life is his girlfriend Uma, who
lives in an equally precarious situation.
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
125

Reema Lagoo
21 June 1958 – 18 May 2017
Reema Lagoo was an Indian theatre and screen actress known for her work in Hindi and
Marathi cinema. She began her acting career in Marathi theatre. However, she received
wider recognition with roles in television serials, Hindi and Marathi films. She debuted in
films in 1979 with the Marathi film Sinhasan. Lagoo also had a fairly successful career as
a television actor in both Hindi and Marathi languages. She debuted on television in 1985
with the Hindi series Khandaan.
Savalee
2007 | Marathi | Colour
Director Rajendra Talak
Producer Shivendu G. Agrawal
Screenplay Pratima Kulkarni
Cinematographer Debu Deodhar
Editor Vidyadhar Pathare
Cast Reema Lagoo, Amruta Subhash, Urmila Kanitkar
The story revolves around an identity clash
between mother and daughter. Savalee delves
into the emotional dimension of not just
mother and daughter or Guru and Shishya, but
it also gives a kaleidoscopic insight into the
other sensitive and volatile aspects of various
relationships.
126 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Tom Alter
18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017
Tom Alter, grew up in North India in the towns of Rajpur and Mussoorie, and studied at
Woodstock School. Alter was enamoured by films and in June 1972, after noticing a small
classified ad in the newspaper, he enrolled at the prestigious Film and Television Institute
of India, Pune. Alter was one of the two people selected out of more than 1000 applicants
that year and he learned his craft at FTII.
Ocean of an Old Man
2008 | Hindi, Bengali, English | 80 min | Colour
Director Rajesh Shera
Producer Pinaki Chatterjee,
Alan McAlex, Rajesh Shera
Screenplay Rajesh Shera
Cinematographer Tapan Vyas
Editor Rajesh Shera
Cast Tom Alter, Jamie Alter, Akash
Thomas is a teacher in a 1974-established
Government-run primary school in the
Andaman & Nicobar Islands. His students
attend his classes by boat from a number of
nearby islands. Everything changes after the
devastating December 2004 Tsunami strikes.
INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017
127

Vinod Khanna
6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017
Vinod Khanna was an Indian actor and producer of Bollywood films. He was the recipient
of two Filmfare Awards. He was also an active politician. After his debut in 1968, Khanna
first acted in supporting and antagonistic roles; as an angry young man in the movie Mere
Apne, and as the military officer, turned fugitive in the critically acclaimed movie Achanak,
which was a film based on the events of K. M. Nanavati.
Achanak
1973 | India | 1h 36min | Crime, Drama | Color
Director Gulzar
Producer Raj N. Sippy
Screenplay Gulzar
Cinematographer K. Vaikunth
Editor Waman B. Bhosle, Gurudutt Shirali
Screenplay Gulzar
Music Salil Chowdhury, Vasant Desai
Cast Vinod Khanna, Om Shivpuri, Lily Chakraborty, Farida Jalal, Asrani
Major Ranjeet Khanna is in love with his wife
Pushpa, who seems to be much in love with
him as well. When Ranjeet discovers his wife
is having an affair with his best friend, he kills
them and turns himself in to the police.
128 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Accessible India,
Accessible Films
Now, in its second successive year, Accessible India
is a collaboration between IFFI, Saksham Bharat
and UNESCO with the aim to promote the creation of
inclusive spaces for the differently abled to access the
joy of cinema.
48INDIAN
CINEMA IFFI 2017 129

Hindi Medium
A couple from Chandni
Chowk aspire to give their
daughter the best education
and thus be a part of her life
and be accepted by the elite
of Delhi.
Secret Superstar
Insia lives with her mother
Najma, younger brother
Guddu, and an overbearing
father. Her father is
completely against her dream
of one day becoming a singer.
The story is centred around
how the young Insia manages
to sneak off to Mumbai to
fulfil her dream.
2017 | Hindi | 132 min | Colour 2017 | Hindi | 150 min | Colour
Director Saket Chaudhary
Producer(s) Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Dinesh Vijan
Cnematographer Laxman Utekar
Editor A Sreekar Prasad
Cast Irrfan Khan, Neha Dhupia, Saba Qamar, Deepak Dobriyal, Amrita
Singh, Tillotama Shome
Director Advait Chandan
Producer(s) Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao
Screenplay Advait Chandan
Cinematographer Anil Mehta
Editor Hemanti Sarkar
Cast Zaira Wasim, Meher Vij, Raj Arjun, Aamir Khan
130 INDIAN CINEMA IFFI 2017

Acknowledgements
Steering Committee
Technical Committee
Jahnu Barua (Convener)
Siddharth Roy Kapur
Shoojit Sarcar
Bharat Bala
Anand Gandhi
Prasoon Joshi
Vani Tripathi
Piyush Pandey
Shaji N. Karun
Meren lmchen
Ashwiny lyer Tiwari
Director NFDC
Nagesh Kukunoor- Chairman, Technical Committee
Nagesh Kukunoor - Chairman
NFDC representative
Sameer Arya
Director DFF
Commissioner, Panaji Municipality, Govt of Goa
Chief Engineer (Elect.), Govt of Goa
Health officer, Panaji
Chief Fire Officer, Goa
Traffic Commissioner, Panaji, Goa
Incharge, INOX Theatre, Goa
Chairman, Kala Academy, Goa
CEO, ESG, GOA
Ketan Mehta, Representative of Real Image/ Qube
Anirvan Ghosh, Representative of Pulz Electronics
Ujwal Nirgudkar, Representative of SMPTE
K J Madhusudan, Representative of Barco
Preview Committee
Vivek Agnihotri (Convener)
Khalid Mohamed
Aarti Bajaj
Ramesh Patange
Naresh Chander Lal
Narendra Kohli
Saibal Chatterjee
Abhimanyu Singh
Bhawana Somaaya
Jeevitha Rajasekhar
Gautami Tadimalla
Nitesh Tiwari
G.S. Bhaskar
Pallavi Joshi
Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Raja Krishna Menon
Siddharth Kak
Tarun Katial
Abhishek Basu
Hrishitaa Bhatt
Abhishek Jain
Dr. Santwana Bordoloi
Bhaskar Hazarika
Pradip Kurbah
Dominic Megam Sangma
Maipaksana Haorongbam
Zuala Chhangte
Dr. Sachidanand Joshi
Dr. Bharat Gupt
Nirmala Sharma
Rathi Vinay Jha
Rajesh Kumar Singh
Anil Rastogi
Punit Asthana
Ajay Malkani
Bhumenjoy Konsam
Sangee Dorjee Thongdok
Dr. Lavlin Thadani
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
Film Editor
CBFC Member
Filmmaker
Writer
Film Critic
Producer
Film Critic
Actress
Actress
Filmmaker
Cinematographer
Actress
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
Reliance, CEO
Cinematographer
Actress
Producer
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
Secretary, IGNCA
Former Professor, Delhi University
Professor
Retired Secretary, Ministry of Tourism
Film Critic
Actor
Theatre Director
Theatre Director
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
Filmmaker

Indian Panorama
N. K. Vyas Head - Indian Panorama
Tanu Rai
Dy. Director - Indian Panorama
Anshuman Shekhar
Programmer
Abhisek Das
Assistant Programmer
Jolyn Clare Langhu
Assistant Programmer
Harmeet Kaur Sahdev
Festival Coordinator
Rajat Aggarwal
Festival Coordinator
Surender Kumar
Festival Assistant
World Cinema Programming
Deepika Suseelan
Bhuvan Lall
Sanjay Ram
Anshuman Sekhar
Prateek Rawat
Chandrima Chatterjee
Jeevika Kalra
Rajat Aggarwal
International Curators
Martine Armand
Jay Bajaj
Srinivasa Santhanam
Film Scheduling
Prasad Khatu
Administration
N K Vyas
Sunita Rawat
Sonal Mathur
Masterclasses and Panel Discussions:
Vani Tripathi Tikoo
Anupama Bose
Lancy Paul John
Almas Malik
Prashanth R
Gargi Upadhyay
Senior Programmer
Honourary Consultant
Consultant Programmer & Festival Manager
Programmer
Programmer and Executive Assistant to the Festival Director
Assistant Programmer
Festival Coordinator
Festival Coordinator
Head Administrator
Co-ordinator
Senior Consultant
Curator
Consultant - NFDC
Vertical Manager
Co-ordinator
Executive - NFDC
Intern​- NFDC
Mixed Reality Sidebar
Anand Gandhi
Artistic Director
Tom Millen
Curator
Mark Atkin
Curator
Anupama Bose
Consultant - NFDC
Vinay Nagashetti
Manager
Zain Memon
Coordinator from Memesys Culture Lab
Rohan Raut
Technical Coordinator from Memesys Culture Lab
George Kuruvilla
CMD, BECIL
D. R. Gogoi Director (O&M), BECIL
W. B. Prasad General Manager, BECIL
Rajeev Sharma
Asst. Manager, BECIL
Avinash Khanna
Asst. Manager, BECIL
Prashanth R
Executive - NFDC
Print Unit Coordination
Sushant Shrotriya
Deepu Chaudhary
Ajay Prakash
International Catalogue Print Layout
Sanjay Colaco
Sachin Puthli
Manish Chhatpar
Print Sources
Unit Manager (Films Division) as Print Co-ordinator for 48th IFFI
Film Shipper (Films Division) as Print Collector & Dispatcher for 48th IFFI
LDC (Films Division) as Print Room In-charge for 48th IFFI
Beta Cinema, Films Distribution, Wildbunch, Socavón Cine, Pluto Film, MandarinVision, Tokyo International, Sophie Goyette, MM
Square Co., Ltd. , The Match Factory, Wide, Memento, Luxbox Films, Funny Balloo, Film Factory, Nikkatsu, Arthouse Traffic, Reel
Suspects, Nikkatsu, New European Film Sales, Pyramide, Tuvan Media, Jour 2 fete, Festival Agency, Farabi Cinema Foundation
, Westend Films, MK2, Mundial Sales, Films Boutique, Elle Driver, Chinese Shadows, Picture Tree, Be For Films, Fox Star India,
Noori Pictures, , Stray Dogs, Cercamon, Soulfood Films, Westend Films, The Great Point Media, Alliance Media, Pyramide, Asfalt
Films, FilmNation, Koz Film, Robbie Thorpe, Terry Pheto, Busi Sizani, Rodrigo Letier, Andrey Shalopa, Anton Yudintsev, Le Che,
Caio Gullane, Fabiano Gullane, Debora Ivanov & A nna Muylaert, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Jia Zhangke, Dong Ping,, Francesca, Sanjay
Bhutiani, Rodrigo Michelangeli, Sofia Brockenshire, Park Circus, Shochiku Co Ltd., Tamasa Distribution, , Friedrich-Wilhelm-
Murnau-Stiftung, Svenska Filminstitutet, NFAI, Ego Film Arts, IM Global, Asian Shadows, Alma Cinema, Midnight Lamp Films, Seville
International, Mongret Media, Films Distribution, WTFilms, Search Engine Films, The Film Sales Company. Mike Mac Millan.