movies we loved Archives - Page 5 of 5 - India Independent Films

“Bureaucracy Sonata” (“Raag Sarkari”) Review

By IIF|2012-10-26T15:50:31+00:00October 26th, 2012|movies we loved, reviews, SAIFF 2012|

A long time ago, India went through an "interesting" time to say the least. From June 26, 1975 through March 21, 1977, democracy was suspended in India allowing Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to rule by decree. It became known as the "emergency era" in India. During that time, a lot of political activists and members of the opposition party were arrested without trial. Eventually members of the opposition party started voluntarily going to jail because they were promised a monthly pension if their party successful overthrew Gandhi's government. This is the setting and premise behind Vinay Shukla's short film "Raag [...]

“B.A. Pass” Review

By IIF|2012-10-31T17:15:36+00:00October 25th, 2012|movies we loved, reviews|

I've been struggling to write this review ever since I saw "B.A. Pass", directed by Ajay Bahl, nearly three weeks ago at the New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest (NJISACF). In fact I had initially written the review rather quickly because I loved the movie. But then I read the short story it was based on called "The Railway Aunty" by Mohan Sikka (You can read the full story at Brooklyn Rail) After that, I knew my approach had to change, even if my assessment of the film didn't. It's still a fantastic movie and reading the short story [...]

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“Greater Elephant” Review

By IIF|2012-10-31T17:16:28+00:00October 23rd, 2012|movies we loved, reviews, upcoming movies|

The following review was done by Dr. Prabhu Jha, an expert on English literature and storytelling in general. His short stories have been published in the literary magazine "Ink" and he runs a blog called Ephemeral Insights. "Greater Elephant", recently premiered in Pune, is a delightful movie, which defies any attempts to label it. Some people might call it a comedy, bordering on the farcical. However, the label of a farcical comedy flies in the face of a very well-done and subtle search for something deeper. And we’re back to square one! In fact, we’re back to a Mahout, who [...]

“Dekh Indian Circus” Review

By IIF|2012-10-31T17:16:46+00:00October 10th, 2012|movies we loved, reviews|

There is something more powerful about a message or story if its conveyed through the perspective of children. A filmmaker or storyteller can talk about the issues of money, greed and power but the impact is always greater when you can see the effect on innocence. "Dekh Indian Circus", the opening night film at NJISACF by Mangesh Hadawale, is an example of a story that holds more weight because of the mechanism of its delivery. The story centers around the life of a family in a small Indian village. When the circus comes into town, brother and sister Ghumroo and [...]

Imtiaz Ali introduces “Dekh Indian Circus” on NJISACF’s opening night

By IIF|2012-10-31T17:17:29+00:00October 6th, 2012|movies we loved, Uncategorized|

Friday night kicked off the New Jersey Independent South Asian Cinefest in Edison, NJ. The theater was packed as acclaimed director Imtiaz Ali was on hand to introduce the opening night film, "Dekh Indian Circus." Ali spoke fondly of the festival's mission to promote good cinema. He cited festival director Sakti Sengupta's vision and all the volunteers' hard work in organizing the event as crucial in spreading the word about South Asian films and filmmakers. "What they do for us is to help popularize the idea of cinema more and more. And to put it in the desi way, humara [...]

THR profiles “Ship of Theseus”

By IIF|2012-09-08T19:08:53+00:00September 8th, 2012|movies we loved, TIFF, upcoming movies|

Anand Gandhi's "Ship of Theseus" is one of the 10 Indian films showcased in this years City to City Program at the Toronto International Film Festival. Nyay Bhushan discusses the film and Gandhi's aspirations in a terrific interview for The Hollywood Reporter. The interview reveals an out of the box mind in Gandhi, especially when he starts talking about the human body. A way of thinking he wants to pose his audience with his new film: The film came about when I was nursing my grandmother and I was surrounded by death and disease. The film began as a question [...]

Mumbai Meets Toronto

By IIF|2012-09-08T06:41:33+00:00September 8th, 2012|movies we loved, TIFF, upcoming movies|

If ever there was evidence of Indian independent films making waves on a global scale, it’s at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). There are 10 films from India showing at the Canadian festival and all of them are getting some great recognition. In fact, Mumbai has been selected as the showcase in this year’s City to City Program. The Huffington Post highlights the importance of the program and the films being presented: This is the fourth edition of the Festival's City to City program, which has featured a different international filmmaking locale every year. The past three years [...]

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