Podcasts about indian film festival

IANR 2508 022225 Line Up4-6pm INTERVIEWSHere's the guest line-up for Sat, Feb 22, 2025 from 4 to 6pm CST on Indo American News Radio, a production of Indo American News (www.IndoAmerican-News.com). We are on 98.7 FM and you can also listen on the masalaradio app.By Monday, hear the recorded show on Podcast uploaded on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Breaker. We have 5 years of Podcasts and have had thousands of hits.TO SUPPORT THE SHOW, SELECT FOLLOW ON OUR FREE PODCAST CHANNEL AND YOU'LL BE NOTIFIED OF NEW UPDATES.4:20 pm The Trump administration wasted no time inissuing Executive Orders to curtail illegal immigration and Border Czar Tom Homan has been deporting migrants back to their home countries, including India, aboard military cargo planes and buses. The fear of being caught has dramatically dropped border crossings. Today, we are joined by immigration attorney, James Parker with the law firm of WillyNanayakkarato talk about the changing immigration landscape.5:00 pm The 17th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Houston is underway at the Asia Society. Last night, the presentation included a documentary on Bhutan's Happiness Index, a short film on obstacles to love life in congested Mumbai, and Boman Irani's “The Mehta Boys”. Cohost Pramod Kulkarni was on location at the festival to interview Founder and Executive Director Sutapa Ghosh and Emcee Iqbal Khan about the origins of the festival and its future direction.5:20 pm Hindu Nationalism has been on the rise in India and in the overseas diaspora for the past three decades and at its forefront are the deep thinkers who can guide the movement forward. Dr Rattan Sharda, a renowned author, TV panelist and commentator has a clear vision of what the Rashtriya Swyamsewak Sangh (RSS) can achieve in India and raise its international standing. While on a visit to Houston, he is taking the time to be in our studio to explain this vision to our listeners.Also stay tuned in for news roundup, views, sports and movie reviews.TO BE FEATURED ON THE SHOW, OR TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CONTACT US AT 713-789-NEWS or 6397 or at indoamericannews@yahoo.comPlease pick up the print edition of Indo American News which is available all across town at grocery stores. Also visit our website indoamerican-news.com which gets 90,000+ hits to track all current stories.And remember to visit our digital archives from over 17 years. Plus, our entire 44 years of hard copy archives are available in the Fondren Library at Rice University.

Welcome to another episode of your daily news podcast,Get ready to witness cinematic magic as My Melbourne, an anthology helmed by Indian stalwarts Kabir Khan, Imtiaz Ali, Rima Das, and Onir, hits PVR Cinemas in India on March 14, 2025. This trailblazing project, backed by VicScreen and Screen Australia, premiered to raving reviews at the 2024 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and MAMI Film Festival. With stories delving into race, gender, sexuality, and disability, the film features four short masterpieces, Setara, Emma, Nandini, and Jules. Presented in five languages, it's a heartfelt celebration of diversity, inclusion, and storytelling that'll leave you moved and inspired. Don't miss it!

Il tamburino di sabato 8 febbraio, la rassegna sulla vita culturale di Roma. Al microfono Leonardo Zaccone, poeta, performer e musicologo. L'Assessore alla Cultura di Roma Capitale Smeriglio parla delle sale cinematografiche a Roma. Witches are back al Forte Prenestino, Octopus Love al Macro, CP25 Party alla Pizzeria, per un S. Valentino senza le cover di SanremoIl primo festival del cinema indipendente indiano alla Sala Anica di Romatre spettacoli fantastici al Vascello per un mese incredibile:"Bocconi amari - Semifreddo" il nuovo spettacolo di Eleonora DancoIl Ministero della Solitudine della Casa d'Argillai trent'anni di Spellbound Balletla stand-up comedy invade Roma! dove e quando?Sveja è un progetto indipendente sostenuto da Periferiacapitale, il programma per Roma della fondazione Charlemagne.

Last week, Indian actor Vikrant Massey attended the premiere of 'Sector 36' at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2024. In this interview, he shares his excitement about winning the IFFM 'Best Performer Critics' Choice' award, discusses his criteria for selecting film projects, and reflects on the challenges of collaborating with directors he's worked with in the past.

This year's Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), now in its 15th year, has been screening over 65 films in 26 different languages, including Nepali, at various cinemas in Victoria since Thursday, 15 August. The festival will wrap up on Sunday, 25 August. ‘The Red Suitcase', one of the four Nepali films at the IFFM, won the ‘Best film from the subcontinent' award. SBS Nepali caught up with director Fidel Devkota to talk about his filmmaking journey, the story behind his award-winning movie, and his recipe for success. - गत बिहीवार, १५ अगस्टदेखि मेलबर्नमा भारतीय चलचित्र महोत्सव (इन्डेन फिल्म फेस्टिभल अफ मेलबर्न - आइएफएफएम)को १५ औँ संस्करण चलिरहेको छ। बीस महिला निर्देशकहरूको काम हेर्न पाइने र आइतवार, २५ अगस्टसम्म चल्ने यो महोत्सवमा नेपाली सहित २६ विभिन्न भाषाका ६५ भन्दा बढी चलचित्रहरू राज्यभरका विभिन्न सिनेमा घरहरूका साथै आइएफएफएमको वेबसाइट मार्फत अनलाइनमा प्रदर्शन भइरहेका छन्। महोत्सवमा भारतीय उपमहादेशकै सर्वोकृष्ट चलचित्रको पुरस्कार जित्न सफल रहेको ‘द रेड सुटकेस'का निर्देशक फिडेल देवकोटाले एसबीएस नेपालीसँग गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।

With over 65 films in 26 different languages, including Nepali, Melburnians are being treated to fascinating movies from the subcontinent and beyond at this year's Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). The festival which kicked off on Thursday, 15 August has been screening movies in cinemas across the state and online. In this 15th year, the IFFM is showcasing the works of 20 female directors, including Bahadur - The Brave's Diwa Shah, who spoke to SBS Nepali on her experiences, challenges and her the journey to filmmaking. - गत बिहीवार, १५ अगस्टदेखि मेलबर्नमा भारतीय चलचित्र महोत्सव (इन्डेन फिल्म फेस्टिभल अफ मेलबर्न - आइएफएफएम)को १५ औँ संस्करण चलिरहेको छ। बीस महिला निर्देशकहरूको काम हेर्न पाइने र आइतवार, २५ अगस्टसम्म चल्ने यो महोत्सवमा नेपाली सहित २६ विभिन्न भाषाका ६५ भन्दा बढी चलचित्रहरू राज्यभरका विभिन्न सिनेमा घरहरूका साथै आइएफएफएमको वेबसाइट मार्फत अनलाइनमा प्रदर्शन भइरहेका छन्। महोत्सवमा समावेश भएको अनि दुई विभिन्न चलचित्र महोत्सवहरूमा पुरस्कार जित्न सफल नेपाली र हिन्दी दुवै भाषामा उपलब्ध रहेको ‘बहादुर - द ब्रेभ'की निर्देशक दिवा शाहले एसबीएस नेपालीसँग गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्। नोट: प्रस्तुत सामाग्रीमा सिनेमाका केही डाइलगहरू समावेश छ, जसमा केही अपशब्दहरूको प्रयोग भएको छ।

In an exclusive conversation with SBS Hindi, director Kabir Khan—known for films like 83, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Chandu Champion—recounts a late-night gelato adventure in Melbourne with actor Kartik Aryan and reflects on his travels to Ladakh. Kabir, a guest at this year's Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, also shared his self-critical perspective on his previous work and expressed his desire to re-release "83," the biopic about the 1983 Cricket World Cup, which did not do well at the box office.

In an exclusive interview with SBS Hindi, Adarsh Gourav, acclaimed for his role in 'The White Tiger,' talks about his trip to Melbourne's Victoria Night Market, his aspiration to scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef and his forthcoming Hollywood venture. The Indian actor was attending the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) this year and was recognised with the 'Disruptor of the Year Award'.

The Parliament House in Canberra recently hosted a special event on the eve of the 15 anniversary of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Federal minister for Arts Tony Burke and Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Watts and other parliamentarians met with prominent Indian cinema personalities like Rani Mukerji and Karan Johar. Listen to a special report. - इन्डियन फिल्म फेस्टिभल अफ मेलबर्न (आइएफएफएम)को १५ औँ संस्करणको पूर्व सन्ध्यामा क्यान्बरास्थित पार्लियामेन्ट हाउसमा एक विशेष कार्यक्रम आयोजना गरिएको थियो। प्रधानमन्त्री एन्थोनी आल्बनिजी, सङ्घीय कला मन्त्री टोनी बर्क र सहायक विदेश मन्त्री टिम वाट्स लगायत अन्य गन्यमान्य मानिसहरू उपस्थित १३ अगस्टको उक्त कार्यक्रममा रानी मुखर्जी र करण जोहर जस्ता नाम चलेका बलिवुडकर्मीहरू विशेष आकर्षण थिए। यसबारे एक रिपोर्ट।

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) kicked off on Thursday, 15 August. The 15th edition of IFFM features over 65 films in 26 languages, including Nepali. Among the Nepali films is The Secrets of Radha, which explores a woman's journey in search of her husband. Speaking to SBS Nepali, Director Subarna Thapa says IFFM provides a platform for the exposure of Nepali cinema amongst other South Asian creators. - बिहीवार, १५ अगस्टदेखि मेलबर्नमा सुरु भएको इन्डियन फिल्म फेस्टिभल अफ मेलबर्न (आईएफएफएम) मा यसपालि नेपाली सहित २६ विभिन्न भाषामा ६५ भन्दा बढी चलचित्रहरू समावेश भएका छन्। तिनै मध्ये एक नेपाली चलचित्र हो, द सिक्रेट्स अफ राधा। एक महिलाको आफ्नो श्रीमानलाई खोज्ने यात्रा दर्साइएको यस चलचित्रका साथसाथै दक्षिण एसियाली सिनेमाहरूको यस महोत्सवबाट रहेका अपेक्षा बारे चलचित्रका निर्देशक सुवर्ण थापाले एसबीएस नेपालीसँग गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।

The 15th edition of the Indian Film Festival Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) takes place from Thursday, 15 August to Sunday, 25 August. This year, the festival features over 65 movies in 26 different languages, including Nepali. An event held in the capital city of Canberra welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese alongside prominent figures from Indian cinema, including Producer/Director Karan Johar and Actor Rani Mukerji. Listen to this report from SBS Nepali. - इन्डियन फिल्म फेस्टिभल अफ मेलबर्न (आईएफएफएम)को १५ औँ संस्करण सुरु हुँदैछ। बिहीवार, १५ अगस्टदेखि आइतवार, २५ अगस्टसम्म चल्ने दक्षिण एसियाली चलचित्रहरूको यो महोत्सवमा यसपालि नेपाली सहित २६ विभिन्न भाषामा ६५ भन्दा बढी चलचित्रहरू समावेश भएका छन्। यसै उपलक्ष्यमा आज, १३ अगस्टमा अस्ट्रेलियाको राजधानी क्यान्बरास्थित पार्लियामेन्ट हाउसमा एक विशेष कार्यक्रम आयोजना गरिएको थियो। प्रधानमन्त्री एन्थोनी आल्बनिजी लगायत निर्माता/निर्देशक करण जोहर र अभिनेत्री रानी मुकर्जी जस्ता भारतीय सिनेमा जगतका चर्चित हस्तीहरू उक्त कार्यक्रममा सहभागी भएका थिए। एक रिपोर्ट।

For this Out Takes we review two short films. NANDINI one of the short films within the 2024 INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF MELBOURNE opening night film MY MELBOURNE, an anthology... LEARN MORE The post 2024 Indian Film Festival short film My Melbourne Nandini + 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival short film Clown appeared first on Out Takes.

On this episode of Queering The Air, our talented new co-host in training, Surty, was accompanied by Onir, a renowned film director hailing from India. Together, they delved into the intricacies of his most recent cinematic creation, “My Melbourne" (Nandhini), which is slated for grand premiere at the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2024. We cordially invite you to tune in live to witness the fascinating dialogue and dive deep into the world of Onir's remarkable accomplishments in the realm of cinema. Onir, a prominent figure in Indian indie cinema and LGBTQI advocacy, gained fame with "My Brother...Nikhil," a pioneering film on AIDS and same-sex relationships. Known for pushing boundaries, he directed award-winning films like "I Am," addressing diverse social issues. Onir's latest film, "My Melbourne," celebrates inclusivity and cultural exchange, showcasing migrant experiences in Melbourne. His work embodies a message of belonging and love, bridging cinematic cultures with a global perspective. Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2024 Tickets and Infos.  

The 15th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) will celebrate Indian cinema in many special ways, including awarding Ram Charan the 'Ambassador for Indian Art and Culture Award'. The festival has recently unveiled its program and the nominations for this year's IFFM awards. The winners will be announced at the annual gala night on 16 August. The festival will run from 15 August to 25 August.

UPSC moves to cancel candidature of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says in touch with Microsoft to resolve outage, Microsoft on global outage: Anticipate a resolution is forthcoming, Virat Kohli promises BCCI to move on from past feuds with Gautam Gambhir for greater good of Indian cricket: Report, Ram Charan says 'it's a privilege to represent our industry' at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne

Moviewallas: IFFLA 2024 Coverage – Part 2 Join the Moviewallas team – Joe, Rashmi, and Yazdi – as they continue their journey through the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) 2024. In this episode, we dive deep into the festival's second shorts program, featuring six diverse and compelling films: 1. Ade (On A Sunday) […]

🎬 Moviewallas at IFFLA 2024: Hidden Gems and Must-See Films! 🎬 Join Joe, Rashmi, and Yazdi as they dive into the cinematic treasures of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) 2024! In this episode, we review five standout films from the festival's first two days: 🏔️ Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa […]

Welcome to Episode 537 of Moviewallas! In this Podcast we review: I Saw The TV Glow Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga This episode is also available on YouTube: Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 – Start 01:00 – Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 01:44 – Streaming Picks 02:00 – Clarkson's Farm 03:44 – A Simple Favor 05:17 […]

Hello Listeners! Summer time is here and that means movies, movies, movies!  Join is this week to talk about: The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA 2024) We also have reviews of: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Back to Black Episode Timestamps: 00:00 – Start 05:47 – Streaming Picks 06:20 – Anyone […]

Once again, Epicenter NYC is teaming up with the New York Indian Festival as its community media sponsor. The festival will take place from Friday, May 31st to Sunday, June 2nd at the Village East by Angelika.  The New York Indian Film Festival is the oldest film festival of its kind – screening premieres of films made from, of, and about India. The event includes more than just screenings – expect industry panels, post-screening discussions, award ceremonies, nightly networking parties, red carpet galas, and so much more. This year, Dear Jassi and Mrs are just a few of the South Asian-themed works that are set to captivate audiences across New York City and around the world. Today - Epicenter Publisher S. Mitra Kalita speaks to New York Indian Film Festival director and film critic Aseem Chhabra about what viewers can expect and the shows you won't want to miss.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The American Indian Film Institute celebrates its 48th annual film festival with stories traditionally and historically excluded from mainstream media.

For 48 years, The San Francisco-based American Indian Film Festival has been a sort of sacred cinema space, celebrating and uplifting the experiences of Natives through film while also providing  Native filmmakers and actors with a platform to showcase their work. As the opening date for this year's Festival nears, we sit down with Mytia Zavala, the daughter of the festival's founder, Michael Smith. Smith died suddenly in 2018, leaving Zavala to carry on her father's legacy. Here is our conversation.

"I suddenly felt that I don't belong, till then I felt that I was a part of this group. And at that moment, for me, it was like, no, I don't belong. I don't feel that I would want after the two got over to continue. You know, my friendship, you know,because very often people say that it's important to have discourse, have discussed with people. And then if you really think that I've spent my lifetime doing that, and at some point, you're exhausted in constantly trying to validate your identity. And now I'm at a point of life where I am like, it's your shortcoming. And it's not my job in life. It's not my duty, to spend my time energy effort to constantly educate people, about learning to respect someone else." Onir is an Indian filmmaker, producer, screenwriter and editor. Born as Anirban Dhar in Samchi, Bhutan, Onir spent much of his childhood going to the cinema. He received a scholarship to study film editing at SFB/TTC in Berlin but returned to India and worked as an editor, scriptwriter, art director, music album producer and song/music video director. In 1992,Onir directed and produced his first Documentary film on the painter Bijon Chaudhary, “Falling Hero”. He is best known for his film “My Brother...Nikhil”, based on the life of Dominic D'Souza, starring Sanjay Suri, Juhi Chawla and Purab Kohli. It was one of the first mainstream Hindi films to deal with AIDS and same-sex relationships. Onir won the Indian National Film awards for Best Film in Hindi for the anthology “I AM” in 2011. I AM is considered one of the first and largest crowd-funded and crowd-sourced film through social media in India. The film dealt with single motherhood, child sexual abuse, displacement and LGBTQI rights. Onir has also the received Likho Award (Trailblazer Award), the Diversity Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in 2019 and in 2020 the Engendered Spirit of Independent Cinema Award at the Engendered Human Rights Film Festival in Delhi. In June 2022, Onir finished shooting, PINE CONE, a queer love story which is written by Ashwini Malik and Onir. It is currently in post-production. It is loosely based on Onir's memoir; I Am Onir and I Am Gay which he has co-written with his sister Irene Dhar Malik and published by Penguin Viking. In August 2023, PINE CONE, a queer love story which is written by Ashwini Malik and Onir received the "Rainbow Warrior Award” and the "Rainbow stories Award" given by the Minister of Equality, Australia at IffMelbourne. This was followed by Honorary mention Best Feature at the International South Asian Film festival, Canada. It premiered at The KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival in June 2023. To stay up to date, follow @SmitaTharoor on Smita Tharoor (@SmitaTharoor) / Twitter or Smita Tharoor (@smitatharoor) | Instagram and follow the podcast on your favorite streaming service.

The 2023 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) takes place October 11 – 15. This year marks the 21st anniversary for this acclaimed film festival. For 2023, the IFFLA will showcase 24 films (6 narrative features, 2 documentary features, 16 shorts) from 13 countries and in 14 languages. Over the past two decades, the festival has showcased the independent, art-focused side of Indian cinema, as well as expanded to incorporate many other South Asian countries of origin. Some of the films that will be screened this year include: the world theatrical premiere of Vishal Bhardwaj's Khufiya, The world premiere of Atul Sabharwal's Berlin; the North American premieres of Varun Grover's dramedy “All Indian Rank"; Dominic Sangma's Garo language film ‘Rapture'; the Malayalam film “Aattam” (The Play) by Anand Ekarshi; the LA premiere of Joram by Devashish Makhija; and the North American premieres of Varun Grover's dramedy film “All Indian Rank.” Film Festival Radio was so honored to speak with IFFLA representatives, festival Co-Directors of Programming, Thouly Dosios and Ritesh Mehta, along with filmmaker Varun Grover's dramedy “All Indian Rank,” which will be screened on the closing night of the festival. For tickets, event locations, visit: Indian Film Festival of L.A (https://indianfilmfestival.org)

Indian actor Vijay Verma, a guest at the 2023 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, openly discussed his unique film selections, addressed stereotypes linked to antagonistic roles, shared insights about his upcoming movie 'Kaalkoot,' and expressed his excitement about embracing his special bond with his 'beloved.'

In this year's Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, the independent short film category includes just one Hindi entry: 'No Time For Love'. Among the four independent short films, this particular film has been created and directed by a crew whose members are not proficient in the Hindi.

Mitu Bhowmick Lange joins the Sunday Arts Magazine to discuss the Indian Film Festival. The post Mitu Bhowmick Lange appeared first on Sunday Arts Magazine.

In this episode, Paul and Mesh examine the latest earnings reports from a few major media companies, highlighting the continued losses attributed to the streaming content wars. The duo then delves into the extravagant spending associated with the production of the final season of Yellowstone - from horses and wranglers to the rental of Taylor Sheridan's $341M ranch. Despite the high expenses, Sheridan remains one of Paramount's best bets with successful shows like Yellowstone, 1923, and 1883. To round off the episode, Paul shares his experiences from attending New York Indian Film Festival's opening night and meeting a few stars of Indian cinema both in front of and behind the camera.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A short film 'Ek Din' written and produced by Marque La Brooy has been an official selection for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and has won the Audience Choice award at Melbourne Overlooked Film Festival.

Two Tolkien fans geek out on the new Amazon Prime TV show, The Rings of Power.  We also discuss the IFFLA, the movie RRR and the Disney+ show Ms. Marvel.    Connect with Dr. Mehta on Twitter @Mehta_critic and Instagram @Mehtacritic. Find the Lord of the Rings section of his digital book, Flows of Reading: Engaging with Texts, here: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/flows-of-reading-engaging-with-texts/view   Connect with Media Revue Pod: Twitter and FB @MediaRevuePod #MediaRevuePod, Instagram @Richardst30 email: Mediarevuepod@gmail.com Voicemail: (407) 603-5847 Find my book here: El Niño y su Mago (Spanish Edition) https://a.co/d/0og9kOv   Time Stamps:    00:01:35- Indian Film Festival of LA 00:13:03- RRR and Ms. Marvel 00:40:28- The Rings of Power (Full on SPOILERS)

Taapsee Pannu, an Indian actress and guest at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022, speaks candidly with SBS Hindi about her career in showbiz, female protagonist roles, boycott Bollywood trends, and the cost of success she does not wish to pay.

Alongside the movies from India, Nepali language films are also being streamed at this year's Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Listen to our conversation with Bishnu Kalpit, the director of one such short Nepali language documentary, “God's Buffalo”. - मेलबर्नमा हाल जारी भारतीय फिल्म महोत्सवमा बलिवुडका ठुलठुलादेखि केही नेपाली भाषाका सिनेमाहरू पनि प्रदर्शनमा छन्। उक्त महोत्सव समावेश भएको एक नेपाली वृतचित्र “गड्स बफेलो”का निर्देशक विष्णु कल्पितसँग गरिएको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।

Alongside the movies from India, Nepali language films are also being streamed at this year's Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Listen to our conversation with Sunil Pandey, the director of one such short film, “Baghthan”. The film is available in Nepali and Tamu (Gurung) languages. - मेलबर्नमा हाल जारी भारतीय फिल्म महोत्सवमा बलिवुडका ठुलठुलादेखि केही नेपाली भाषाका सिनेमाहरू पनि प्रदर्शनमा छन्। उक्त महोत्सव समावेश भएको नेपाली र तमु (गुरुङ) भाषाको एक लघु चलचित्र “बाघथान”का निर्देशक सुनिल पाण्डेसँग गरिएको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।

This month's SBS Sinhalese cinema segment analysed "The Newspaper" Sinhala Movie, which was one of the nominated 5 films from the Indian subcontinent representing the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022. - SBS සිංහල ගුවන් විදුලියේ මාසික සිනමා විශේෂාංගය වන "නුදුටු සිනමාවෙන්" 2022 Melbourne හි ඉන්දියානු ජාත්‍යන්තර සිනමා උළෙල නියෝජනය කරමින් ඉන්දීය උප මහාද්වීපයේ හොඳම චිත්‍රපට 5 අතරට නිර්දේශ වූ “The Newspaper" සිංහල චිත්‍රපටය පිළිබඳ විමසා බැලීමක්.

Indian filmmaker Suman Sen says language should not be a barrier in films. His Nepali short film "The Silent Echo" had its Australian premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Sen takes us through the journey from shooting in rural Nepal's Mustang to entering the 2023 Oscars long list. - भारतीय निर्माता सुमन सेन भन्छन् कि चलचित्रमा भाषालाई बाधाको रूपमा आउन दिनु हुँदैन। उनको नेपाली चलचित्र "द साइलेन्ट एको" मेलबर्नको इन्डियन फिल्म फेस्टिभलमा प्रस्तुत भइरहेको छ। नेपालको मुस्ताङमा भएको सुटिङदेखि विश्व चर्चित अस्कर पुरस्कारको सूचीसम्म - सेनसँगको हाम्रो कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।

Versatile Indian actress Shefali Shah attended this year's Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. She shared her thoughts with SBS Hindi about how Indian cinema is changing, the shelf-life of Indian actresses, what she loves about the OTT platform and more.

Last week, Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan earned the Leadership in Cinema Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2022. On the sidelines of the ongoing fest, SBS Hindi spoke to the actor regarding several issues including his film projects, Hollywood, regional films from South India and the influence of the box office on him.

In its 13th edition, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) will screen Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostafa Sarwar Farooki's critically-acclaimed film 'No Land's Man'. The film features Indian film actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Megan Mitchell, a famous Australian actress and model. One of the film's producers Shrihari Sathe has shared the journey of this film.

SBS Hindi spoke to some people who attended the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne's flag hoisting and IFFM Dance Competition at Federation Square about how Indian migrants can increase their contribution and influence in Australia.

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) has unveiled the full line-up for its 13th edition, which will include screenings of over 100 films in 25 languages, a star-studded awards night, a dance competition, masterclasses and an Independence Day celebration at the iconic Federation Square.

The London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) kicked off on 24 June and I've had a very hard time figuring out my favourites to watch. While I haven't been able to attend and watch them all, here are some to catch before it ends. Author: Chourouk Gorrab Category: CULTURE Listen to the full story, or read it online - also available in Easy Read. For more Arts-related stories, head to https://www.thespillmag.com/culture --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thespillmag/message

Do we take movies for granted? For most people, movies are viewed as simple and somewhat frivolous forms of entertainment. By design, they are meant to provide entertainment to the masses, but is that all? Listen to Aseem Chhabra, NY Indian Film Festival Director, and Film Journalist talk about movies and Bollywood actors. About Aseem Chhabra Aseem Chhabra is the festival director of the New York Indian Film Festival. It's the largest and the oldest Indian film festival in North America. He is a film journalist based in New York City and New Delhi. He is an author of popular biographies on actors like Shashi Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, and Priyanka Chopra. He's also done voice-over work in the movie Sita Sings the Blues. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tbcy/support

Learning and understanding cultural norms outside our own can be an effective and meaningful way to evolve our business and lives. THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: In life and business, learning and understanding cultural norms outside our own can be an effective and meaningful way to expand upon your evolving company culture. The Pandemic has taught us some of this. For example, we will be discussing with cultural enthusiast Clara Matonhodze Strode the Concept of Ubuntu. Clara grew up in Ubuntu culture and had the lived experience of what Ubuntu systems and culture look like in society. Ubuntu principles operate from our human core, acknowledging and appreciating the dignity in each of us and how it makes us wiser and more robust. In Ubuntu culture, Justice is restorative, and contrary to popular belief, women are exalted as Mothers of humankind. Relationships are on the continuum of humanity, and society is on a journey of constant improvement, love, support, and encouragement.Listeners will take away: The Principles of Ubuntu/hunhu in African CultureHow Ubuntu/hunhu can be applied in everyday life and businessUnderstand the African origins of Ubuntu/hunhu within public and private intellectual discussions and whether or not Hunhu/Ubuntu can compete with other philosophical world views.  THIS WEEK'S GUEST: Clara Matonhodze Strode has been a Member of Together Digital for the past three years, Most recently serving as an Advisory Board Member. When she's not active in our community, she is the Founder of The MCS Agency, a digital marketing communications agency that helps clients clearly and effectively communicate their messages to the right audiences by using an integrated mix of tactics, strategies, and SAAS products. Clara proudly employs the principles of Ubuntu in her business. Before starting her own business, Clara worked at multiple organizations, including The Cincinnati Museum Center, where she directed Adult and Cultural lectures and large-scale festivals. Her roots run deep within the African Immigrant Community, where for years, she convened the Africa Foundation-USA Annual Symposium with Xavier University, bringing together leaders within the African Community. Clara is also a Co-Founder and ex-officio of the Pan-African group - APNET (African Professionals Network). Recently she received a leadership award from Global Diaspora One Voice Consortium. In true ubuntu fashion, Clara can be found assisting not only African causes but the Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Sister Cities International, where she serves as Secretary and was a key community partner for Cincinnati Compass. Support the show

In this Podcast we continue our coverage of https://www.indianfilmfestival.org with a look at the Spotlight on South Asia Shorts Program which will play Sunday, May 1, 2022 2:00 PM PDT Regal L.A. LIVE Theater 4. Visit Indian Film Festival for more information and to buy tickets. 00:04:35: 1978 1978 00:08:18: Bad Omen BAD OMEN 00:11:51: Moshari MOSHARI […]

In this week's episode Moviewallas had a lively conversation with the 2022 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) Co-Directors of Programming: Thouly Dosios and Ritesh Mehta both of whom have been members of this wonderful organization for some time now. Listen as they share what they are most excited about for the upcoming festival and […]

An insightful conversation with Ritesh Mehta, Co-Director of Programming at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (April 28-May 1, 2022), touching upon this year's exciting line-up of films, what's new, and the importance of South Asian representation in entertainment! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sunil-sadarangani/support

For 46 years, the San Francisco-based American Indian Film Festival has showcased features, documentaries and animated works from Native filmmakers. This year's festival kicks off Friday with more than a hundred films at a time when filmmakers and audiences are clamoring for more representation of Native communities. Although, Native creators are seeing more interest in their stories and projects in recent years, films made by and about Native Americans rarely, if ever, reach mainstream success. The Hollywood Diversity Report found that Native Americans account for less than 1 percent of on-screen and behind the scenes talent in the U.S. entertainment industry. We talk about Native representation in film and the challenges of making and distributing Native American-centered films.

Indian Filmmaker Anurag Basu has recently won the Best Director Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2021 for his film 'Ludo'. In this candid interview, Mr Basu opens up about his love for Melbourne city, how he earned the nickname 'Yamraj', and OTT platforms which are a new source of entertainment for viewers globally.

Producers and Influencers in Film S3E08 In this week's episode, we revisit four of our recent film interviews focusing on our guests. Karl King talks about being a locations managers and the issues of trying to find people to fill the below-the-line jobs. What he has found is that most media courses promote producers, directors and writers but the craftspeople are missed and would-be filmmakers do not realise the vast array of opportunities in film production. Johnathan Brownlee shares with us the importance of doing other things while you are on your filmmaking journey. He loved making things and finding out how stuff works. This led to him creating a range of television series on carpentry, house renovation and golf, all bringing in a good income leading to broadcasting encouraging him to write more shows. Donna Phillips set up the International Film Producers Networks purely because she found she had a talent for connecting people. Her father was a painter who struggled to get representation which influenced Donna into finding ways to bring people together to promote their crafts. This led her into working on shows such as 'A Place In The Sun' opening up offshoot opportunities because of the popularity of the show. Siraj Zaidi combines acting and producing with running the Indian Film Festival of Ireland bring a diverse cinema and culture that is often neglected as most assume Indian film production is basically Bollywood when it is not. Siraj career as an actor has brought him into contact with most of the Irish film industry and Hollywood, so that what he has learnt he is putting into good use as a producer. A wealth of insights to encourage new and seasoned filmmakers. #FILMACADEMY #FILMFUNDING #FILMPODCAST

After winning the Best Web Series Award for 'Mirzapur Season 2' at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne this year, the writer and director of this popular series say that they are extremely delighted with the glittering outcome and that it is a reflection of persistent hard work. In an exclusive interview with SBS Hindi, they shared that the story of 'Mirzapur' is even older than 'Wasseypur'. - इंडियन फ़िल्म फेस्टिवल ऑफ़ मेलबॉर्न में बेस्ट वेब-सीरीज़ का अवार्ड प्राप्त करने के बाद, सीरीज़ के लेखक और निर्देशक बेहद खुश हैं। एसबीएस हिंदी के साथ किए गए विशेष साक्षात्कार में उन्होंने बताया कि मिर्ज़ापुर की कहानी गैंग्स ऑफ वासेपुर से भी पुरानी है।

The minds behind the IFFLA, senior programmer Thouly Dosios, Executive Director & Founder Christina Marouda, and Director of Programming Ankush Jindal join Quoia and Tish for an all new episode of TLTQT

OUTFEST LA 2021 AUGUST 13 -22 The 39th annual Outfest LA film festival features in-person and digital films, outdoor screenings, galas, special events, talks and more! Mike Dougherty | Director of Festival Programming As Director of Festival Programming Mike is in charge of programming Outfest Los Angeles and ensuring the highest experience of filmmakers and audiences at all Outfest festivals. He has over a decade of experience in the finance, production and distribution aspects of the industry. Mike joins Outfest after five years as Acquisitions and Distribution Executive at Radiant Films International, and five years prior to that as a Creative Executive at Hyde Park Entertainment. Since 2014, he has been the Director of Programming for the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) and is an Associate Programmer for AFI FEST.

An international showcase of films, drama and documentaries, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is currently underway in virtual format after the festival was forced to hit pause for in-cinema screenings due to ongoing COVID-prompted lockdown in Melbourne.

Siraj Zaidi - Producer, Writer, Actor & Film Festival Director S3E05 “In the Room” with Garvin and George is Sarij Zaidi, producer, writer, actor, and film festival director for the Indian Film Festival of Ireland. The 2021 online film festival has recently been launched. Siraj shares his insight on how he is producing his latest production, raising funds for film production, and marketing the project. He shares what he knows about getting pre-sales and the importance of knowing where your audience is and what they want. Garvin brings in his analysis from an accounting perspective and George's job is to ensure all sides are still talking to one another by the end of the show. Bollywood is discussed and Siraj talks about how his work spans both Irish and Indian cultures.  

“What about the artist sentiment. … Where are we? Where do we stand as a society?” - Onir Today I interviewed Onir. Onir is an Indian filmmaker, producer, screenwriter and editor. He is best known for his film My Brother...Nikhil, based on the life of Dominic D'Souza, starring Sanjay Suri, Juhi Chawla and Purab Kohli. It was one of the first mainstream Hindi films to deal with AIDS and same-sex relationships. He won the Indian National Film awards for Best Film (Hindi) for the anthology “I AM” in 2011. I AM is considered as one of the first and largest crowd funded and crowd sourced film through social media in India. The film dealt with single motherhood, child sexual abuse, displacement and LGBTQI rights. Born as Anirban Dhar in Samchi, Bhutan, Onir spent much of his childhood going to the cinema. Earlier, Onir studied comparative literature from Jadavpur University in 1989, he received a scholarship to study film editing at SFB/TTC in Berlin. He later returned to India and worked as an editor, scriptwriter, art director, music album producer and song/music video director. Together with Sanjay Suri, Onir started Anticlock Films, a production company that concentrates on promoting young directors and new ideas. His last release was "Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz" which is currently streaming on Netflix. Onir has received the Diversity Award from Film Victoria Australia and La Trobe University at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2019. In this episode we speak about how: His experience as a gay filmmaker in India Creating stories with heart that transcend boundaries How audiences have changed and how that effects art Then my character Carmella talks to him about his inspiration. Instagram - @ianonir and @anticlock_films If you enjoyed this podcast, could you please kindly consider leaving a short review on your podcast outlet. It takes less than 60 seconds and it really make a difference in helping share the podcasts with other people.  

The Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati is back this year with another virtual presentation of movies.

IFFM returns to the cinema in 2021 with an extended virtual season, for free, via the festival's website. Besides paying tributes to noted director Satyajit Ray, actor Dilip Kumar and singer S P Balasubramanium IFFM will also honour COVID-19 heroes. Festival director Mitu Bhowmick details this year's diverse program of feature films, documentaries, and short films including 7 world premieres.

Bollywood actor Richa Chadha has joined the jury for the Short Film Section of the Indian film festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2021. The 12th edition of the festival will also have National Award-winning filmmaker Onir on the jury panel. This and more in our weekly update from the world of cinema and music.

On the second episode of Season 2, “The resilient Entrepreneurs”, we have Sruti Harihara Subramanian, who has conceived and directed the Amazon Exclusive musical docu-series “Harmony with A. R. Rahman.” Sruti is a National award winning film maker and a theater actor with a deep love for animals and the environment. Her debut feature documentary ‘A Far Afternoon ‘ on eminent painter Krishen Khanna bagged the Rajat Kamal for the best art/cultural film at the 63rd Indian National Film Awards and also the best music for non- feature film. It has been screened across various film festivals and cities including London, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Hyderabad, Stockholm and in the USA. It has been nominated for the best documentary in the New York Indian International Film Festival 2016 and at The Indian Film Festival at Stuttgart. Sruti’s company Happy Wanderer Films has several national and international corporate and ad films to its credit for companies and NGOs like Piramal Enterprises, Vasan Eye Care, Brittania, Amec Foster Wheeler , Craft Council of India, Villgro, Cuomo Foundation an Ngo based in Monaco etc. Sruti is the founder trustee of The Cinema Resource Centre (TCRC) which is a not-for-profit public archive of Indian cinema designed to enable research on the audio-visual cultural artifacts produced by Indian films, especially those made in the regional languages of South India. Sruti also runs golisodastore.com a platform to bring environment-friendly products to the mainstream market. Sruti has been working on a couple of feature film scripts and in her spare time she pursues her love for acting by performing with the Chennai based theatre group Theatre Nisha.

Jessica McGaugh and Roma Sur are two film makers who have been brought together through their mutual love of storytelling. Jessica McGaugh is an award-winning independent film director, cinematographer and editor. Her work has been screened internationally including the Mumbai International Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, NDTV and Rocky Mountain PBS. Jessica received an MFA in Film from Syracuse University and is currently teaching in the Film & Television Program at the University of Colorado Denver.Roma Sur is a filmmaker and faculty member at the Film and Television program at the University of Colorado, Denver. Her feature documentary, "The Golden Hour" won the Best Documentary Award at the Indian Film Festival of Houston, 2013, and was broadcast nationally on NDTV, India in 2015. She recently completed co-editing her feature documentary titled Changing Tides about a paraplegic swimmer reclaiming his life.Together they have created a new film celebrating the way people connect through the performing arts. Three Worlds, One Stage tells the story of three immigrant artists from three regions of the world who have made Colorado their second home. It captures their journey of staying connected with their roots via performing arts. The film is set to be released this month, February 2021.My Diva Squad The WORLD'S best rolling dance bags, dance suitcase, and dance luggage system ever developed.

Creativity & Multicultural Experiences, The Role of Mentors & Assisting Experiences in shaping Creative Professions, Non-Conformity in Society, & Women in Cinema. We’re speaking today with Antara Lahiri, a passionate freelance film editor (whose films have won awards at the South Asian Film Festival in New York and The Indian Film Festival at LA ) born in Kolkata & working in Mumbai with over 13 years of experience. Her work repertoire includes Netflix’s Bard of Blood & Yeh Ballet, Amazon's popular Four More Shots Please along with feature films like Shakuntala Devi & Simran among others. She’s assisted various senior editors for films like Ghajini, & Jhootha hi Sahi before taking up the children’s film Gattu independently.   Skip to your favourite part using the timestamps: 3.12- Childhood & Multicultural experiences influencing Creativity 6.00- Education systems & Sibling Comparisons 10.12- The Career Stream Conflict & Entrance exams helping in decision making 13.12- The absence of plans & fluid mentorships 16.12-Social Constructs & Non-Conformity to Social Norms 18.00- Initial job finding struggles & the finding right jobs for creative careers 25.30- Women in Cinema 28.00- Evolution of Stories, Drafts, and blending your vision with someone else’s 32.00- Freelance Professions & Challenges thereof 34.30- Film Editing - Skill, Talent or Something else 38.00- Skills you need in Editing and most (creative) professions 43.00- Deconstructing Creativity 45.00- Good Films and Good reading – Editor’s Pick   Original Music by Joseph Mc Dade Drop us a note on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter @voice_of_achievers Or write in directly to editor@voiceofachievers.com We’re listening to you. Don’t forget to follow us on Spotify, Sticher, Apple, Google, JioSaavn, Gaana or wherever you’re listening to us! You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @eplogmedia, For partnerships/queries send you can send us an email at bonjour@eplog.media. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed on all the shows produced and distributed by Ep.Log Media are personal to the host and the guest of the shows respectively and with no intention to harm the sentiments of any individual/organization. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

B.Selvi & Daughters is a Tamil Short Film which is showcased in Melbourne Indian Film Festival 2020 - The Short Film director Drishya and producer Tarana share their experience with our producer Selvi - மெல்பேர்ன் இந்திய திரைப்பட விழாவில் B.Selvi & Daughters தமிழ் குறும்படம் காண்பிக்கப்படுகிறது. இக்குறும்படத்தின் இயக்குனர் திரிஷ்யா மற்றும் இதன் தயாரிப்பாளர் தரானா ஆகியோரோடு உரையாடுகிறார் செல்வி.

This year the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2020 is going virtual with multiple regional language films,being screened at the 8 day festival. There are three Tamil films screening at the festival. Oththa Seruppu Size 7, B.Selvi & Daughters and KD (A) Karuppudurai. The festival will go on till October 30 where over 60 films in 17 languages will be screened via IFFM's website. This is an interview with Mr.R.Parthiebhan on his movie Oththa Seruppu Size 7. - இயக்குனர், நடிகர், தயாரிப்பாளர் என பன்முகம் கொண்ட இராதாகிருஷ்ணன் பார்த்திபன் அவர்களது ஒத்த செருப்பு சைஸ் 7 திரைப்படம் மெல்பேர்ன் இந்திய திரைப்பட விழாவில் காண்பிக்கப்படுகிறது. இது தொடர்பில் பார்த்திபன் அவர்களோடு உரையாடுகிறார் றேனுகா துரைசிங்கம்.ஒத்த செருப்பு சைஸ் 7 உட்பட சில தமிழ் திரைப்படங்களை எதிர்வரும் 30ம் திகதி வரை https://iffm.com.au/films.php என்ற இணைய முகவரியில் இலவசமாக பார்வையிடலாம்.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the iconic Indian Film Festival of Melbourne to move online this year. The Festival’s director Mitu Bhowmick-Lange tells SBS Hindi that all movies will be made available to watch online and will be free. - COVID-19 महामारी ने मेलबर्न के प्रतिष्ठित भारतीय फिल्म महोत्सव को इस साल ऑनलाइन स्थानांतरित करने के लिए मजबूर किया है। फेस्टिवल की निर्देशक मितू भौमिक-लांगे ने एसबीएस हिंदी को बताया कि सभी फिल्में ऑनलाइन देखने के लिए उपलब्ध होंगी और यह मुफ्त होगी।

'The Man-Oj Show' brought to you by WhatsUpAus. Host Manoj Sukhrani does an exclusive interview with Festival Director of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne & Founder/Director of Mind-Blowing films 'Mitu Bhomwick Lange. Mind Blowing Films a film production and distribution company that specialises in the distribution of Indian films in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. It also provides local production support to Indian films shot in Australia and New Zealand. IFFM is one of the biggest and most successful Indian film festivals held outside of India. She also produced Spice Girls of India, which was screened at the London Feminist Film Festival. 1:05 - How is Mitu spending her time in COVID? 1:34 - How did she make it and her journey? 5:03- How she got married to the son of former Prime Minister of New Zealand (1980's) 6:40 - What and who motivated her to start mind-blowing films? 8:02 - Top 3 tips from Mitu to all young entrepreneurs 9:15 - Her process on how to deal with issues 11:05 -Darkest fears in her career so far 13:10 - On Women empowerment 14:30- Journey & learnings as being the Festival Director of IFFM 17:57 - On Sushant Singh Rajput & his trip to Melbourne 21:00 - How to understand people when you have made it 22:10 - Three things entrepreneurs shouldn't do 25:10 - Mindset change and the shift for her 26:30 - How does she face criticism 27:50 - Government grant for IFFM 31:00 - Short film productions in Melbourne 32:04 COVID's impact on cinema business

Melbourne’s iconic film festival celebrating the Indian cinema is back, though a tad bit delayed but with ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’, the film festival’s director Mitu Bhowmick Lange has announced.

The London Film Festival 2016 welcomes the incredible film Parched to Birmingham. Listen to our special Q&A conducted by Faisal Shafi with director Leena Yadav and actors Tannishtha Chatterjee, Lehar Khan and Chandan Anand.

DESIblitz met up with Cary Rajinder Sawhney, Director of LIFF, to get an insight into the incredible London Indian Film Festival 2014, the biggest UK festival of its kind. Our very exclusive gupshup highlights what's in store for this feast of cinema in July 2014.

The London Indian Film Festival witnessed a grand opening with the UK premiere of Umrika. Watch our Exclusive Gupshup with the Cast and Director!

This week on Out Takes, we plunged into the world of Indian cinema to celebrate the 10th annual Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. This year’s program features 60 films spanning 21 languages, and focuses on […] http://media.blubrry.com/out_takes/p/joy.org.au/outtakes/wp-content/uploads/sites/310/2019/08/JOY-2019_Outtakes_Aug12_IndianFF2019-1.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:54 — 36.3MB) Subscribe or Follow Us: Apple Podcasts | Android | Spotify | RSS The post Your LGBTIQ Guide to the 2019 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne appeared first on Out Takes.

This week on FC Flash,  Period End of Sentence, a short film about menstrual taboos set in a village in India and executive produced by Guneet Monga won the Oscar in the documentary short subject category. Sara Ali Khan shot her first magazine cover with Filmfare. The actor who is on the cover of the magazine’s March issue shot in Kenya with a few Masai tribesmen and women. However, those pictures have not gone down well with the internet.  Zee Studios, the producers of Sridevi’s last film Mom also announced that they will release the film in China later this month.  Tabu has been chosen to kick off the 17th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles with her film Andhadhun. All India Cine Workers association announced a total ban on Pakistani artists and actors following the Pulwama terror attack.

Check out this episode of We Don't Do Stuff where we watched Sicario 2 and went to the Birmingham Indian Film Festival to watch Venus! Send suggestions for stuff for us to do via Twitter: @wedontdostuff or email wedontdostuff@gmail.com

The 16th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles was this past weekend, and this year, Carlos was part of the Jury! We discuss some of our favorite films at the festival, including award-winners "Village Rockstars," "Ajji" and "Lovesick"! Hosted by Carlos Aguilar & Conor Holt. Music by Kevin MacLeod at www.incompetech.com

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, supporting emerging filmmakers, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora. Each year the festival features a rich mix of film programs designed to build and support the growing interest in the Indian entertainment industry. This includes programming that cultivates an audience for Indian films while supporting filmmakers of Indian descent in career development as they navigate the larger studio system in Hollywood. The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, runs from Wednesday, April 11 - 15 at Regal Live in downtown Los Angeles, featuring programs that include One-on-One program where film industry professionals from major and independent production and distribution companies are invited to participate in meetings with the IFFLA filmmakers; and panel discussions with speakers from the film industry. We are joined by IFFLA’s Director of Programming Mike Dougherty to talk about the past, present and future of Indian cinema and the increasing acceptance among mainstream American film lovers. For news, updates and screening information go to: Indianfilmfestival.org facebook.com/indianfilmfestival

Geeta Malik received her Master of Fine Arts from UCLA’s graduate film program in directing. She wrote and directed the viral narrative short, Aunty Gs, which earned a College Television Award (a “student Emmy”) in comedy production from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Her short film, Beast, played at Method Fest and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Geeta is a recipient of the Edie and Lew Wasserman Film Production Award, the Coppel Screenwriting Award and the Jack Nicholson Distinguished Director Award. Geeta’s first feature film, Troublemaker, premiered at the 2011 Cinequest Film Festival, and was distributed by Asian Crush. In 2012, Geeta was a finalist for the ABC/Disney Directing Fellowship. She was a Film Independent Project Involve Fellow for 2013 – 2014. Her most recent short film, Shameless, has played at over 15 festivals, including the Sedona Film Festival, and won the jury award for best comedy at the Long Beach QFilm Festival. Geeta is a winner of the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting for her latest feature script, Dinner With Friends. She is also the winner of the 2016 Austin Film Festival Feature Comedy Screenplay award, also for Dinner With Friends. "I'll have a lot of times where I'll sit for hours in front of the keyboard and not be able to write anything and be like, "God, this sucks! I'm horrible, I'm never going to get through this," and I'll get up and I'll walk away and literally a minute later I'll be like, "Oh!" and I'll come back in and have an idea. It's just a matter of just leaving that space for a second." • Geeta Malik on Twitter • Shetani Films • 2016 Nicholl Screenwriting Awards: Geeta Malik • 2016 Nicholl Live Read: “Dinner with Friends” • Austin Film Festival   // Pulling Your Hair Out is produced and hosted by Richard Lowe. Music by Joshua Moshier.

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them. This week, the pair are joined by Babu Patel and Giovanna Rampazzo, with thanks to Siraj Zaidi and The Indian Film Festival of Ireland. This time, Nitesh Tiwari's Dangal. When professional wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat fails to fulfill his dream of winning a gold medal by wrestling for India, he vows that his sons will take home that prize in his stead. However, Phogat never fathers any sons; instead, he becomes parent to four girls. Undeterred, Mahavir commits himself to the idea that his daughters Geeta and Babita will realise that dream, regardless of any social pressures that might stand in their way. At time of recording, it was ranked the 72nd best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database. Dangal is being shown as part of the Indian Film Festival of Ireland. It will be shown in Rathmines Public Library at 12pm, next Saturday 16th September 2017. Admission is free. Any Irish listeners of the podcast interested in watching the film are more than welcome; the film is introduced in broad terms at the start of the podcast. Giovanna Rampazzo is also introducing a screening of two short films and the movie Waiting at 1pm, next Saturday 16th September 2017 at DIT Aunger Street.

Film festival in Australia to show award-winning Indian filmmaker's directorial debut in Gujarati. Mikhil Musale, Director of "Wrong Side Raju" speaks with Nital Desai on the eve of Indian Film Festival. - રાષ્ટ્રીય પુરસ્કાર વિજેતા ફિલ્મ નિર્દેશક મીખીલ મુસાળેની ગુજરાતી ફિલ્મ ઓસ્ટ્રેલિયા આવી રહી છે, તે ઉપક્રમે નીતલ દેસાઈએ લીધેલી મુલાકાત

Mitu Bhowmick Lange founded the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in 2010. Seven years later, she shares what it takes to plan such an extravagant festival. - Mitu Bhowmick Lange launched the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in 2010. Seven years later, she shares what it takes to plan such an extravagant festival.

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them. This week, the pair are joined by Babu Patel and Giovanna Rampazzo, with thanks to Siraj Zaidi and The Indian Film Festival of Ireland. This time, Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. During British rule, a small Indian village comes together to play a cricket match against the local British regiment. In a season without rain, the stakes are high. If the villagers win, they will be spared taxation for three years; if the villagers lose, they will have to pay triple tax. It is all to play for. At time of recording, it was ranked the 249th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Hosts Lucy and Will chat to:Jonathan Holloway, Artistic Director of the Melbourne Festival, about the exciting lineup as well as the Kulin nations' Tanderrum ceremony. The festival runs 4-22 OctoberJack Smit, longtime human rights watchdog with Project Safecom (Twitter @PSOffice) about the lack of outrage over the establishment of a super-portfolio in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the threat to Australians' freedoms this presents. Jack was interviewed by Jan Bartlett of Tuesday Hometime, on-air Tuesdays from 4pmJessica Clark, curator of Tell, an exhibition of Indigenous photography on at the 2017 Ballarat International Foto BiennaleMitu Bhowmick Lange, Founder and Director of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne about the festival's lineup as well as the controversy over, censorship of, and then approval of the Festival's opening night film Lipstick Under My BurkhaSongs played during the episode have been edited out for reasons of copyright. These songs were:Walkin' Around by Jade ImagineDon't Vandalise My Van by The 1st Chancers and CrewLes Tantes De La Dimanche by The Zen Circus and Brian RitchSubhumans by Society

One Week Only presents a special Bonus Episode about Indian Cinema! The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles is going on right now, so we talked with Rashad, creator of the blog Bollywood Over Hollywood, to talk about the history & cultural variety of Indian Cinema.

This week we are joined by the funny and always insightful Parvesh Cheena, who you may know from his roles in Barbershop, Outsourced, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and so much more! Listen in as Parvesh provides Minji with sage acting career advice in between discussing his April Fools Day hi-jinks. We also chat about Ghost in the Shell, television binging habits, and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. This week’s intro & outro music is "Beautiful Deception” from Travis Atreo's latest EP, "Keep Hope Alive" As always, send us your listener questions at podcast@kollaboration.org Learn more about the KollabCast and listen to past episodes here Subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher, or via our RSS feed (http://kollaboration.libsyn.com/rss) Follow our guest at: Parvesh Cheena @Parvesh Follow our hosts at: @minjeeeezy @marvinyueh The KollabCast is a podcast about pop culture and the creative life from an Asian American perspective A proud member of the Potluck Podcast Collective Photo Credit: Brian Smith

There is of course an old adage that comedy equals tragedy, plus time. In the case of Cholai, Arun Roy's black comedy about the Bengali hooch fatalities in 2011, not much time apparently is needed for us to be laughing about the thousands of deaths caused by a bad batch of illegal home liquor. Cholai is the local common name for this strongly addictive, very cheap and very lucrative brew. The Bengali government and law enforcement have been known to turn a blind eye to its distribution, until, as it is told in the film at least, the wife of a manufacturer accidentally tampers with the mixture. She only finds out that the results were toxic after it has sold and consumed across the entire village, killing nearly 200 of its most valued middle-aged male drunks. Roy is supremely cynical in his depiction of this tragedy. The death scenes themselves are presented in a cold yet absurd fashion, one that suggests that the men had it coming, that they deserve their punishment for poisoning their minds and body with illicit substances. Their deaths are dealt with very quickly, as Roy is itching to get to the crux of the story: the fallout. The government is of course pressured for a simple explanation and a quick response. They are lightning-quick to offer compensation for the victims’ families, which they hope will also stop all of the questions. The media, of course, spreads this information as far as it possibly can, along with every juicy, gruesome detail about the crisis that they can get their hands on. Where facts are sparse, they clutch at straws to get something that sounds newsworthy. The movies usually portrays television news in one of two ways: docudrama realism or fanciful parody. Cholai definitely does the latter. It judges the media as cruelly as it lambasts the government, but not without a sense of fun. Much of the film is very episodic and emotionally detached from its own story. After the effects of the chemical blunder have fanned out far beyond the small village where this all started, every second scene seems to be a self-contained vignette that tears a particular aspect of Bengali society. It would have probably been too messy to squash all of Roy’s criticisms into the main story, so this colourful collection of hit-and-miss subplots feels like the best way to get in some extra jabs at the region’s welfare system, health care, economy and even a confusingly patriarchal women’s protest movement. For good measure, Roy also throws in some scenes on a bus route frequented by a handful of amateur social commentators, who all seem to be the director’s mouthpieces as they express their profound disillusionment with the present state of the region. There are a few political subplots in particular that leave a strong impression, in terms of both message and story: those that show the families attempting to exploit the bureaucracy around compensation for their own personal gain, and those that reveal the media’s penchant for milking sympathy for a reformed sinner. However, quite a few of Roy’s statements do get lost in all of the chaos. Without the usual cinematic oxygen of emotional investment, some of the longer vignettes are very quick to run out of fuel. Fortunately, there is a consistent thread in the actions and reactions of the cholai manufacturer, Natah, and his wife, Bishu, who started this entire mess. Funnily enough, the two perpetrators are the characters that come out relatively unscathed by Roy’s fierce social satire. He seems to respect their intelligence more than those of the other characters (which still isn’t saying very much though). As mere inhabitants of this farcically defective society, these two are not painted as shameless opportunists, but more as perceptive people with enough common sense to know that they should take something if it is practically being handed to them by people who can well afford to have it taken from them. Unlike Natah’s honest, hardworking brother, whose decency has never been interesting enough to win him fame and fortune, Natah and Bishu are quick to spot and seize the unscrupulous shortcut to success that is staring them in the face. Cholai has a lot of fun delivering uncomfortable truths such as these. By not asking its audience to really care about the characters it puts forward, it has nothing to lose by being as exaggerated and ridiculous as it wants to be, except perhaps the consistent interest of its audience. Written by Christian Tsoutsouvas

There is of course an old adage that comedy equals tragedy, plus time. In the case of Cholai, Arun Roy's black comedy about the Bengali hooch fatalities in 2011, not much time apparently is needed for us to be laughing about the thousands of deaths caused by a bad batch of illegal home liquor. Cholai is the local common name for this strongly addictive, very cheap and very lucrative brew. The Bengali government and law enforcement have been known to turn a blind eye to its distribution, until, as it is told in the film at least, the wife of a manufacturer accidentally tampers with the mixture. She only finds out that the results were toxic after it has sold and consumed across the entire village, killing nearly 200 of its most valued middle-aged male drunks. Roy is supremely cynical in his depiction of this tragedy. The death scenes themselves are presented in a cold yet absurd fashion, one that suggests that the men had it coming, that they deserve their punishment for poisoning their minds and body with illicit substances. Their deaths are dealt with very quickly, as Roy is itching to get to the crux of the story: the fallout. The government is of course pressured for a simple explanation and a quick response. They are lightning-quick to offer compensation for the victims’ families, which they hope will also stop all of the questions. The media, of course, spreads this information as far as it possibly can, along with every juicy, gruesome detail about the crisis that they can get their hands on. Where facts are sparse, they clutch at straws to get something that sounds newsworthy. The movies usually portrays television news in one of two ways: docudrama realism or fanciful parody. Cholai definitely does the latter. It judges the media as cruelly as it lambasts the government, but not without a sense of fun. Much of the film is very episodic and emotionally detached from its own story. After the effects of the chemical blunder have fanned out far beyond the small village where this all started, every second scene seems to be a self-contained vignette that tears a particular aspect of Bengali society. It would have probably been too messy to squash all of Roy’s criticisms into the main story, so this colourful collection of hit-and-miss subplots feels like the best way to get in some extra jabs at the region’s welfare system, health care, economy and even a confusingly patriarchal women’s protest movement. For good measure, Roy also throws in some scenes on a bus route frequented by a handful of amateur social commentators, who all seem to be the director’s mouthpieces as they express their profound disillusionment with the present state of the region. There are a few political subplots in particular that leave a strong impression, in terms of both message and story: those that show the families attempting to exploit the bureaucracy around compensation for their own personal gain, and those that reveal the media’s penchant for milking sympathy for a reformed sinner. However, quite a few of Roy’s statements do get lost in all of the chaos. Without the usual cinematic oxygen of emotional investment, some of the longer vignettes are very quick to run out of fuel. Fortunately, there is a consistent thread in the actions and reactions of the cholai manufacturer, Natah, and his wife, Bishu, who started this entire mess. Funnily enough, the two perpetrators are the characters that come out relatively unscathed by Roy’s fierce social satire. He seems to respect their intelligence more than those of the other characters (which still isn’t saying very much though). As mere inhabitants of this farcically defective society, these two are not painted as shameless opportunists, but more as perceptive people with enough common sense to know that they should take something if it is practically being handed to them by people who can well afford to have it taken from them. Unlike Natah’s honest, hardworking brother, whose decency has never been interesting enough to win him fame and fortune, Natah and Bishu are quick to spot and seize the unscrupulous shortcut to success that is staring them in the face. Cholai has a lot of fun delivering uncomfortable truths such as these. By not asking its audience to really care about the characters it puts forward, it has nothing to lose by being as exaggerated and ridiculous as it wants to be, except perhaps the consistent interest of its audience. Written by Christian TsoutsouvasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For any fans of the fantasy genre, Bhaskar Hazarika's Kothanodi is a great entry point into this year’s Indian Film Festival. For anyone's who's not as keen on swords, dragons and castles, this adaptation of four classic Assamese folk tales is not that kind of fantasy movie. Taken from a compendium entitled Burhi Aair Sadhu (Grandma’s Tales) compiled by Lakshminath Bezbaroa, the stories all have a maternal relationship at their centre and a different harsh truth to deliver about motherhood. The story of Malati, and her husband Poonai, is perhaps the harshest of all. They are a childless couple, but only because Poonai's mystical uncle has told his nephew to kill each of the three babies that Malati has given birth to. Poonai promised his father on his deathbed that he would always follow his uncle's counsel, however difficult it might be. The film's opening scene shows Poonai taking their third screaming infant into the dark forest and burying it alive. It's an unexpectedly horrifying introduction to the world of this film, but one that sets the tone right from the outset. The murder is depicted in a way that is dark and confounding, but not gruesome or gratuitous. It operates within the familiar frame of folk tale logic, and in a very recognisable fantasy setting. While Poonai and Malati are naturally disheartened by what they've had to sacrifice, they are not as traumatised as they would be if this film was striving for realism. Nevertheless, the once again pregnant Malati is determined to keep this next child, no matter what Poonai's uncle says. However, her feeling changes when he eventually shows her a vision of what would have happened if she'd kept her other children.  While the rest of the stories don't start off quite as gruesomely, one way or another they all end up in quite a violent place. The tale of Keteki, a woman who has given birth to a fruit, begins less shockingly but just as strangely. A friendly traveller named Devinath tells her that there is in fact a human son inside the fruit, one who loves his mum as much as any child does but who doesn’t fee safe enough to come out of his shell and into the world. As you can imagine, Keteki is simultaneously overjoyed at this discovery and overcome with maternal guilt. The image of her walking around with her elephant apple rolling behind her is so unashamedly bizarre and eventually so emotionally charged that it works. No doubt much of this production’s local audience would have grown up with these stories and have no impulse to question their believability. As for international audiences such as Australia, surely they will respect a film that feels no need to explain itself too much.  The stories are told with an effective mix of fantasy and magical realism. When Devinath guides Keteki through a ritual that will draw out her son, she certainly reacts as though she is watching something otherworldly. It is definitely the film's most fantastical scene, and yet we still feel that we are in the same "real" world where more mundane happenings are taking place. Keteki’s neighbours react to her fruit child with surprise, but not disbelief. They think she is a witch, and a dangerous one. If it’s her they’re afraid of, they should really meet the other two mothers we see here. While Malati and Keteki are the two understatedly sympahetic characters, the domineering Doneshwari and evil stepmother Senehi are our gloriously fearsome villains. Doneshwari, we hear, has been tricked by a cunning python into selling her daughter's hand in marriage.  He managed to conceal his species from Doneshwari until just after the deal was made, but she is not at all aggrieved. She has heard tell of a girl in a nearby village who was also married off to a python. Apparently the morning after the marriage was consummated she woke up dressed in finery and covered with money, so Doneshwari is convinced that her daughter’s marriage will be a very prosperous union. The snake's con happens offscreen, as Hazarika, who wrote and directed the film, very wisely doesn't go so far as showing us a talking snake. The fact that we only ever see him doing things that a real python would do makes Doneshwari appear all the more deluded and self-centred. That said, the avaricious matriarch has nothing on our evil stepmother, Senehi, who also happens to be Devinath's second wife. She is bitterly envious of the special connection between her new husband and his sweet young daughter. She feels incapable of competing with such a strong familial bond, and decides she wants her stepdaughter gone. The final straw is when the girl borrows , without permission, the dress that used to owned by Senehi's deceased mother. While Devinath is off travelling and helping Keteki connect with her withdrawn child, he has unknowingly left his own child at the mercy of a woman who has resolved to kill her. The film's title roughly translates to "dark waters" in English. On its surface, Kothanodi simply looks like a dark but entertaining mix of traditional fables. While it does conjure a sense of curiosity about what fates these characters will eventually meet, they are all quite clearly illustrations of different vices and virtues. However, Hazarika manages to infuse most of these cautionary tales with a contemporary relevance. The story of a woman who must decide whether or not to keep her child, and who is sick of having men make that decision for her, is anything but otherworldly. There are also many children who are born living in their own little world that they never want to leave, something their mothers sadly can't help but take personally. Unfortunately, there are also still many matchmaking mothers around the world who will turn a blind eye to an abusive son-in-law if he is rich enough.  The odd one out here is the wicked stepmother, who just doesn't have the same social resonance as the other three. As memorable as she is, and even though the real world does actually have a few resentful step-parents, hers is a story that feels overrepresented, especially in folk tales. Nevertheless, she is a delightful addition to what is still a deep and varied exploration of what it means to be a mother, and how hard it is to be a good one. Written by Christian Tsoutsouvas

For any fans of the fantasy genre, Bhaskar Hazarika's Kothanodi is a great entry point into this year’s Indian Film Festival. For anyone's who's not as keen on swords, dragons and castles, this adaptation of four classic Assamese folk tales is not that kind of fantasy movie. Taken from a compendium entitled Burhi Aair Sadhu (Grandma’s Tales) compiled by Lakshminath Bezbaroa, the stories all have a maternal relationship at their centre and a different harsh truth to deliver about motherhood. The story of Malati, and her husband Poonai, is perhaps the harshest of all. They are a childless couple, but only because Poonai's mystical uncle has told his nephew to kill each of the three babies that Malati has given birth to. Poonai promised his father on his deathbed that he would always follow his uncle's counsel, however difficult it might be. The film's opening scene shows Poonai taking their third screaming infant into the dark forest and burying it alive. It's an unexpectedly horrifying introduction to the world of this film, but one that sets the tone right from the outset. The murder is depicted in a way that is dark and confounding, but not gruesome or gratuitous. It operates within the familiar frame of folk tale logic, and in a very recognisable fantasy setting. While Poonai and Malati are naturally disheartened by what they've had to sacrifice, they are not as traumatised as they would be if this film was striving for realism. Nevertheless, the once again pregnant Malati is determined to keep this next child, no matter what Poonai's uncle says. However, her feeling changes when he eventually shows her a vision of what would have happened if she'd kept her other children. While the rest of the stories don't start off quite as gruesomely, one way or another they all end up in quite a violent place. The tale of Keteki, a woman who has given birth to a fruit, begins less shockingly but just as strangely. A friendly traveller named Devinath tells her that there is in fact a human son inside the fruit, one who loves his mum as much as any child does but who doesn’t fee safe enough to come out of his shell and into the world. As you can imagine, Keteki is simultaneously overjoyed at this discovery and overcome with maternal guilt. The image of her walking around with her elephant apple rolling behind her is so unashamedly bizarre and eventually so emotionally charged that it works. No doubt much of this production’s local audience would have grown up with these stories and have no impulse to question their believability. As for international audiences such as Australia, surely they will respect a film that feels no need to explain itself too much. The stories are told with an effective mix of fantasy and magical realism. When Devinath guides Keteki through a ritual that will draw out her son, she certainly reacts as though she is watching something otherworldly. It is definitely the film's most fantastical scene, and yet we still feel that we are in the same "real" world where more mundane happenings are taking place. Keteki’s neighbours react to her fruit child with surprise, but not disbelief. They think she is a witch, and a dangerous one. If it’s her they’re afraid of, they should really meet the other two mothers we see here. While Malati and Keteki are the two understatedly sympahetic characters, the domineering Doneshwari and evil stepmother Senehi are our gloriously fearsome villains. Doneshwari, we hear, has been tricked by a cunning python into selling her daughter's hand in marriage. He managed to conceal his species from Doneshwari until just after the deal was made, but she is not at all aggrieved. She has heard tell of a girl in a nearby village who was also married off to a python. Apparently the morning after the marriage was consummated she woke up dressed in finery and covered with money, so Doneshwari is convinced that her daughter’s marriage will be a very prosperous union. The snake's con happens offscreen, as Hazarika, who wrote and directed the film, very wisely doesn't go so far as showing us a talking snake. The fact that we only ever see him doing things that a real python would do makes Doneshwari appear all the more deluded and self-centred. That said, the avaricious matriarch has nothing on our evil stepmother, Senehi, who also happens to be Devinath's second wife. She is bitterly envious of the special connection between her new husband and his sweet young daughter. She feels incapable of competing with such a strong familial bond, and decides she wants her stepdaughter gone. The final straw is when the girl borrows , without permission, the dress that used to owned by Senehi's deceased mother. While Devinath is off travelling and helping Keteki connect with her withdrawn child, he has unknowingly left his own child at the mercy of a woman who has resolved to kill her. The film's title roughly translates to "dark waters" in English. On its surface, Kothanodi simply looks like a dark but entertaining mix of traditional fables. While it does conjure a sense of curiosity about what fates these characters will eventually meet, they are all quite clearly illustrations of different vices and virtues. However, Hazarika manages to infuse most of these cautionary tales with a contemporary relevance. The story of a woman who must decide whether or not to keep her child, and who is sick of having men make that decision for her, is anything but otherworldly. There are also many children who are born living in their own little world that they never want to leave, something their mothers sadly can't help but take personally. Unfortunately, there are also still many matchmaking mothers around the world who will turn a blind eye to an abusive son-in-law if he is rich enough. The odd one out here is the wicked stepmother, who just doesn't have the same social resonance as the other three. As memorable as she is, and even though the real world does actually have a few resentful step-parents, hers is a story that feels overrepresented, especially in folk tales. Nevertheless, she is a delightful addition to what is still a deep and varied exploration of what it means to be a mother, and how hard it is to be a good one. Written by Christian TsoutsouvasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To say that The New Girl in Class is the weakest offering of the Indian Film Festival would be something of an understatement. Amrita Dasgupta's documentary on the life of a 9-year-old autistic girl is certainly never boring, but for all of the wrong reasons. The story that Dasgupta wants to tell and the story that she has actually documented are so embarrassingly different that the end result approaches the so-bad-it's-good territory. It is so perfect a manual on how not to represent autism that it is, in its own way, highly informative. Roshni is the new girl in question. Her mother, Neeraja, has fought hard to finally get her daughter into a mainstream school. However, she doesn't just want her daughter to get the same opportunities as her non-autistic classmates: she wants her to become them. She wants Roshni to stop flapping her hands, cycling through repetitive actions, and playing with her own saliva (although that last one is certainly justified). She wants her to play ball sports, to play with her toys “appropriately,” just like the other children do. She describes the feeling of grief that she and unfortunately many other parents feel upon receiving an autism diagnosis for their child. Her husband, Shubhashish, talks about it being one of those things that you know happens to other families but never think will happen to yours, about wondering why it had to happen to his family. Listening to them both, you'd think that Roshni had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Shubhashish says that it gets easier, that the reality eventually sinks in. Neeraja says that she has accepted that autism will be with her daughter for life, that Roshni is not and never will be a typical child, and yet she is trying to make her as close to one as she can. She talks about wanting her daughter to become independent and socially connected, and yet there is never a moment at home, or even at school, where Roshni doesn't have her mother with her. When Roshni isn't at home or at school, she is attending Applied Behavioural Analysis therapy sessions that are designed to make her act like a non-autistic child, whatever the cost. Of course, it's easy to see where Roshni's parents are coming from. They want their daughter to be happy, healthy and successful, and autism, like many things, is excluded from the mainstream picture of happiness, health and success. Neeraja rejoiced when Roshni was walking and talking sooner than the other children, but panics as soon as her little girl starts falling behind in the race. Autism might now be widely known, but it is still sparsely understood. It is something that Neeraja had probably heard about but never given a second thought until Roshni was diagnosed. Now she is desperately playing catch-up. She is trying do the right thing. She is researching like crazy, but the immense ocean of literature out there is overwhelming, even to those who’ve been learning about it all their life, simply because just about everyone seems to have something to say about autism. For Neeraja, what floats to the surface is what speaks to what she has already been taught to want for her child: for her to be normal, but not average; special, but not "special". Autism research and services is a huge, lucrative business. There is naturally a lot of money to be made in telling parents that their neurodiverse child is broken, and that you know how to fix them. Similarly, there is much acclaim to be won from making a documentary about a heroic mother on a quest to rescue her child from the disability of the week. What is much harder to sell is acceptance, accessibility, and social and systemic change brought about by some long, hard self-reflection. We do hear at least one person politely challenge Neeraja’s quest. In the closest thing this film has to a climax, where Neeraja finds out if her daughter has passed her first year at her new school, Roshni’s wise school principal reminds her that every child learns at their own pace and in their own way. Sadly though, her tiny bit of screen time is too little, too late. We see interviews conducted with Roshni’s beleaguered parents, her strict therapists, her bewildered classmates, and even her twin sister, Srishti, who knows about Roshni’s diagnosis, but not one of them is taken with Roshni herself. This means that countless important questions are never answered, or even addressed. What does Roshni want? What are her interests? What does she enjoy doing? What does she think of her classmates? What does she think of her new school? How does she feel about having her mum at school with her all day, every day? If her sister knows about her diagnosis, does Roshni also know? Did she overhear it? Did she figure it out? How does she feel about it? Why is it hard for her to focus on playing a ball game? Is it really because she has a short attention span, as her father thinks, or does she just not like playing ball sports? Why does she like playing with her toys differently? What stories is she creating in her head? Why does she sometimes lash out at people? Is it because she feels overwhelmed? Frustrated? Threatened? Scared? Does she know that Srishti discloses her diagnosis and life story to anyone who asks about her? Does she mind her doing that? Is Srishti accurate in her accounts of her sister’s experiences and feelings? Are her parents’ accounts accurate? As both a biography of Roshni and a documentary on autism, The New Girl in Class really shoots itself in the foot, not just by jumping the gun with its production and restricting itself to the first 9 years of her life, but also, more significantly, by not giving Roshni or any other autistic person the space to be heard. Roshni is made the object, not the subject, of what is supposed to be her own documentary. Instead of hearing from actually autistic people about the realities of being on the spectrum, we are stuck listening to closed-minded non-autistic people making uneducated guesses and getting just about everything wrong.Written by Christian TsoutsouvasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To say that The New Girl in Class is the weakest offering of the Indian Film Festival would be something of an understatement. Amrita Dasgupta's documentary on the life of a 9-year-old autistic girl is certainly never boring, but for all of the wrong reasons. The story that Dasgupta wants to tell and the story that she has actually documented are so embarrassingly different that the end result approaches the so-bad-it's-good territory. It is so perfect a manual on how not to represent autism that it is, in its own way, highly informative. Roshni is the new girl in question. Her mother, Neeraja, has fought hard to finally get her daughter into a mainstream school. However, she doesn't just want her daughter to get the same opportunities as her non-autistic classmates: she wants her to become them. She wants Roshni to stop flapping her hands, cycling through repetitive actions, and playing with her own saliva (although that last one is certainly justified). She wants her to play ball sports, to play with her toys “appropriately,” just like the other children do. She describes the feeling of grief that she and unfortunately many other parents feel upon receiving an autism diagnosis for their child. Her husband, Shubhashish, talks about it being one of those things that you know happens to other families but never think will happen to yours, about wondering why it had to happen to his family. Listening to them both, you'd think that Roshni had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Shubhashish says that it gets easier, that the reality eventually sinks in. Neeraja says that she has accepted that autism will be with her daughter for life, that Roshni is not and never will be a typical child, and yet she is trying to make her as close to one as she can. She talks about wanting her daughter to become independent and socially connected, and yet there is never a moment at home, or even at school, where Roshni doesn't have her mother with her. When Roshni isn't at home or at school, she is attending Applied Behavioural Analysis therapy sessions that are designed to make her act like a non-autistic child, whatever the cost. Of course, it's easy to see where Roshni's parents are coming from. They want their daughter to be happy, healthy and successful, and autism, like many things, is excluded from the mainstream picture of happiness, health and success. Neeraja rejoiced when Roshni was walking and talking sooner than the other children, but panics as soon as her little girl starts falling behind in the race. Autism might now be widely known, but it is still sparsely understood. It is something that Neeraja had probably heard about but never given a second thought until Roshni was diagnosed. Now she is desperately playing catch-up. She is trying do the right thing. She is researching like crazy, but the immense ocean of literature out there is overwhelming, even to those who’ve been learning about it all their life, simply because just about everyone seems to have something to say about autism. For Neeraja, what floats to the surface is what speaks to what she has already been taught to want for her child: for her to be normal, but not average; special, but not "special". Autism research and services is a huge, lucrative business. There is naturally a lot of money to be made in telling parents that their neurodiverse child is broken, and that you know how to fix them. Similarly, there is much acclaim to be won from making a documentary about a heroic mother on a quest to rescue her child from the disability of the week. What is much harder to sell is acceptance, accessibility, and social and systemic change brought about by some long, hard self-reflection. We do hear at least one person politely challenge Neeraja’s quest. In the closest thing this film has to a climax, where Neeraja finds out if her daughter has passed her first year at her new school, Roshni’s wise school principal reminds her that every child learns at their own pace and in their own way. Sadly though, her tiny bit of screen time is too little, too late. We see interviews conducted with Roshni’s beleaguered parents, her strict therapists, her bewildered classmates, and even her twin sister, Srishti, who knows about Roshni’s diagnosis, but not one of them is taken with Roshni herself. This means that countless important questions are never answered, or even addressed. What does Roshni want? What are her interests? What does she enjoy doing? What does she think of her classmates? What does she think of her new school? How does she feel about having her mum at school with her all day, every day? If her sister knows about her diagnosis, does Roshni also know? Did she overhear it? Did she figure it out? How does she feel about it? Why is it hard for her to focus on playing a ball game? Is it really because she has a short attention span, as her father thinks, or does she just not like playing ball sports? Why does she like playing with her toys differently? What stories is she creating in her head? Why does she sometimes lash out at people? Is it because she feels overwhelmed? Frustrated? Threatened? Scared? Does she know that Srishti discloses her diagnosis and life story to anyone who asks about her? Does she mind her doing that? Is Srishti accurate in her accounts of her sister’s experiences and feelings? Are her parents’ accounts accurate? As both a biography of Roshni and a documentary on autism, The New Girl in Class really shoots itself in the foot, not just by jumping the gun with its production and restricting itself to the first 9 years of her life, but also, more significantly, by not giving Roshni or any other autistic person the space to be heard. Roshni is made the object, not the subject, of what is supposed to be her own documentary. Instead of hearing from actually autistic people about the realities of being on the spectrum, we are stuck listening to closed-minded non-autistic people making uneducated guesses and getting just about everything wrong. Written by Christian Tsoutsouvas

Militia Vox , aka the Dark Diva and the Black Queen of Metal, is ferocious, badass, loud, honest, existential, hardworking and beautiful.  A multimedia genius in film, music, concert production,soundtracks and television she delivers a message of power, confidence and rebellion.  A classically trained pianist since the age of 7, MilitiaV grew up to become the central figure in bands including Judas Priestess , Swear On Your Life, and Disciples of Astaroth before  going  solo in 2013. Named one of  the nation’s “Ten Fiercest Black Female Rockers,” Militia Vox’s  recent album, BAIT  is riding high and she has just released a new single, Vow. We are welcoming her back to Music FridayLive! RASHMI is a singer, songwriter, actress, screenwriter and Brooklynite.  She has performed in New York City, Austin, Dallas, Toronto, Philadelphia and Los Angeles,  the Prospect Heights Music Festival, Monrovia Arts Festival, American Cancer Society events and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.  Her songs have been commissioned for film and dance and theatre.  Her melodic country rock sound is unique, with her varied & diverse influences, and sound great acoustic or with a band. Her new album, PUZZLE was released in  September 2015 on http://www.rashmisingh.com and we get to listen to it and talk about on music FridayLive!  

SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, and SAMMA, the South Asians in Media, Marketing & Entertainment, present the latest in their series of high-profile webcasts - via BlogTalkRadio.com - with leading names in global media, arts, entertainment, politics and much more... Join us for a show with New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) filmmakers Shonali Bose (Margarita, With a Straw) and Vibha Bakshi (Daughters of Mother India) and actor Kalki Koechlin. The festival’s opening night film this year is Bose’s “Margarita, With a Straw.” The film is a poignant portrayal of a rebellious young woman with cerebral palsy, played by Kalki Koechlin, who leaves her home in India to study in New York, unexpectedly falls in love and embarks on an exhilarating journey of self-discovery.  Bakshi’s “Daughters of Mother India” is this year’s National Award winner for Best Film on Social Issues under the Non-Narrative category. The documentary focuses on the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi rape incident and India’s ban on the broadcast of the documentary “India’s Daughter” by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin. The show will feature candid conversations around topics such as the prevalence of women filmmakers today and the role films can play in raising awareness for mental health and women’s safety issues in India. Hosting the show is SAJA board member Divya Singaravelu.  If you have a question you'd like to submit in advance, please email sajanyiff@gmail.com or tweet to @SAJAHQ with the #SAJANYIFF Official site of NYIFF:  http://www.iaac.us/NYIFF2015/ Margarita, With A Straw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDh7n6bte-c Daughter of Mother India: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em3cFAJotmY