The 11th Osian’s Cine Fan film festival kick-started with the gala opening of the Romanian movie ‘Hooked’ on 24th October and ended on 30th October with ‘Waltz with Bashir’. Did I miss anything? Oh, yes! In between was a whole new world of the best of Asian and Arab cinema, a highly enriching experience for all us cinema lovers. Osian’s Cine Fan included movie from Asia and Arab, some for competition and some for screening. Either way, the quality of cinema was way beyond anything I have seen.
This year, Osian gave special
emphasis to Indian cinema; with the screening of films like Aamir, Kaminey,
Luck By Chance, et al. All the same, world cinema registered its presence with
elegance. The variety of films gave everyone the choice to watch experimental
movie and go through a different experience each time. Apart from the movie
screenings (which were wonderful), there was lots going on. The screenings were
held in the Siri Fort Complex and at Alliance Francaise. This year, there was
an auction of Indian and Asian antiquities and modern art, organised by Osian’s
centre for archiving research and development. There was an exhibition on the
History of Indian Cinema which was awe-inspiring, to say the least. Different
sections were devoted to the legends of Indian Cinema, like Dev Anand, Raj
Kapoor, Guru Dutt, V.Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan and so many others who
carried on the legacy of Indian Cinema. The exhibition included classic stills
of movies of these directors and the actors and actresses, and also the
hand-painted posters of that time. There were booklets containing synopsis of
movies, with the song lyrics in both Hindi and English. A section was devoted
to Satyajit Ray and Bengali cinema, while another showcased different
adaptations of Devdas- right from P.C.Borua’s 1935 version to Anurag Kashyap’s
latest. There was section on the cinematic history of the silent era and also a
section on the chemistry of hearts!
The NewStream section showcased
films that have redefined mainstream Indian cinema last year; and their film
makers and others associated with the film interacted with the audience via
Q&A sessions, lectures, exhaustive panel discussion, etc. Noted lyricist
Gulzar was honoured the Lifetime Achievement award. As for the competition,
‘The Long Night’ (Syria) won the Osian’s Cine Fan award as well as the
NETPAC-FIPRESCI award (Network for The Promotion of Asian Cinema Federation of
International Film Critics). ‘Khargosh’ (India) won the Special Jury award at
both Cine Fan and NETPAC-FIPRESCI; as well as the Audience award. ‘The First
Film’(Iran), won the award for Best Film in the Shorts competition, where
‘Vithal’(India) got special mention.Mr.P.N.Srivastava, an avid cinema
enthusiast, who comes all the way from Lucknow especially for Osian, wisely
comments, “This festival of Asian and Arab films is not reaching the audience
it deserves. Media focuses more on European cinema which has got the tag of
‘world’ cinema. Asian cinema deals with a much better movie concept. These
movies have a cinematic language that transgresses all borders. People should
know the kind of cinema Asia has to offer, especially Iran and China. These
films make us sit back and think. They don’t need any special effects to make
an impact. For me, this is real world cinema.”
This year, Osian gave special
emphasis to Indian cinema; with the screening of films like Aamir, Kaminey,
Luck By Chance, et al. All the same, world cinema registered its presence with
elegance. The variety of films gave everyone the choice to watch experimental
movie and go through a different experience each time. Apart from the movie
screenings (which were wonderful), there was lots going on. The screenings were
held in the Siri Fort Complex and at Alliance Francaise. This year, there was
an auction of Indian and Asian antiquities and modern art, organised by Osian’s
centre for archiving research and development. There was an exhibition on the
History of Indian Cinema which was awe-inspiring, to say the least. Different
sections were devoted to the legends of Indian Cinema, like Dev Anand, Raj
Kapoor, Guru Dutt, V.Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan and so many others who
carried on the legacy of Indian Cinema. The exhibition included classic stills
of movies of these directors and the actors and actresses, and also the
hand-painted posters of that time. There were booklets containing synopsis of
movies, with the song lyrics in both Hindi and English. A section was devoted
to Satyajit Ray and Bengali cinema, while another showcased different
adaptations of Devdas- right from P.C.Borua’s 1935 version to Anurag Kashyap’s
latest. There was section on the cinematic history of the silent era and also a
section on the chemistry of hearts!
The NewStream section showcased
films that have redefined mainstream Indian cinema last year; and their film
makers and others associated with the film interacted with the audience via
Q&A sessions, lectures, exhaustive panel discussion, etc. Noted lyricist
Gulzar was honoured the Lifetime Achievement award. As for the competition,
‘The Long Night’ (Syria) won the Osian’s Cine Fan award as well as the
NETPAC-FIPRESCI award (Network for The Promotion of Asian Cinema Federation of
International Film Critics). ‘Khargosh’ (India) won the Special Jury award at
both Cine Fan and NETPAC-FIPRESCI; as well as the Audience award. ‘The First
Film’(Iran), won the award for Best Film in the Shorts competition, where
‘Vithal’(India) got special mention.Mr.P.N.Srivastava, an avid cinema
enthusiast, who comes all the way from Lucknow especially for Osian, wisely
comments, “This festival of Asian and Arab films is not reaching the audience
it deserves. Media focuses more on European cinema which has got the tag of
‘world’ cinema. Asian cinema deals with a much better movie concept. These
movies have a cinematic language that transgresses all borders. People should
know the kind of cinema Asia has to offer, especially Iran and China. These
films make us sit back and think. They don’t need any special effects to make
an impact. For me, this is real world cinema.”
The 11th Osian’s Cine Fan film festival kick-started with the gala opening of the Romanian movie ‘Hooked’ on 24th October and ended on 30th October with ‘Waltz with Bashir’. Did I miss anything? Oh, yes! In between was a whole new world of the best of Asian and Arab cinema, a highly enriching experience for all us cinema lovers. Osian’s Cine Fan included movie from Asia and Arab, some for competition and some for screening. Either way, the quality of cinema was way beyond anything I have seen.
This year, Osian gave special
emphasis to Indian cinema; with the screening of films like Aamir, Kaminey,
Luck By Chance, et al. All the same, world cinema registered its presence with
elegance. The variety of films gave everyone the choice to watch experimental
movie and go through a different experience each time. Apart from the movie
screenings (which were wonderful), there was lots going on. The screenings were
held in the Siri Fort Complex and at Alliance Francaise. This year, there was
an auction of Indian and Asian antiquities and modern art, organised by Osian’s
centre for archiving research and development. There was an exhibition on the
History of Indian Cinema which was awe-inspiring, to say the least. Different
sections were devoted to the legends of Indian Cinema, like Dev Anand, Raj
Kapoor, Guru Dutt, V.Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan and so many others who
carried on the legacy of Indian Cinema. The exhibition included classic stills
of movies of these directors and the actors and actresses, and also the
hand-painted posters of that time. There were booklets containing synopsis of
movies, with the song lyrics in both Hindi and English. A section was devoted
to Satyajit Ray and Bengali cinema, while another showcased different
adaptations of Devdas- right from P.C.Borua’s 1935 version to Anurag Kashyap’s
latest. There was section on the cinematic history of the silent era and also a
section on the chemistry of hearts!
The NewStream section showcased
films that have redefined mainstream Indian cinema last year; and their film
makers and others associated with the film interacted with the audience via
Q&A sessions, lectures, exhaustive panel discussion, etc. Noted lyricist
Gulzar was honoured the Lifetime Achievement award. As for the competition,
‘The Long Night’ (Syria) won the Osian’s Cine Fan award as well as the
NETPAC-FIPRESCI award (Network for The Promotion of Asian Cinema Federation of
International Film Critics). ‘Khargosh’ (India) won the Special Jury award at
both Cine Fan and NETPAC-FIPRESCI; as well as the Audience award. ‘The First
Film’(Iran), won the award for Best Film in the Shorts competition, where
‘Vithal’(India) got special mention.Mr.P.N.Srivastava, an avid cinema
enthusiast, who comes all the way from Lucknow especially for Osian, wisely
comments, “This festival of Asian and Arab films is not reaching the audience
it deserves. Media focuses more on European cinema which has got the tag of
‘world’ cinema. Asian cinema deals with a much better movie concept. These
movies have a cinematic language that transgresses all borders. People should
know the kind of cinema Asia has to offer, especially Iran and China. These
films make us sit back and think. They don’t need any special effects to make
an impact. For me, this is real world cinema.”
This year, Osian gave special
emphasis to Indian cinema; with the screening of films like Aamir, Kaminey,
Luck By Chance, et al. All the same, world cinema registered its presence with
elegance. The variety of films gave everyone the choice to watch experimental
movie and go through a different experience each time. Apart from the movie
screenings (which were wonderful), there was lots going on. The screenings were
held in the Siri Fort Complex and at Alliance Francaise. This year, there was
an auction of Indian and Asian antiquities and modern art, organised by Osian’s
centre for archiving research and development. There was an exhibition on the
History of Indian Cinema which was awe-inspiring, to say the least. Different
sections were devoted to the legends of Indian Cinema, like Dev Anand, Raj
Kapoor, Guru Dutt, V.Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan and so many others who
carried on the legacy of Indian Cinema. The exhibition included classic stills
of movies of these directors and the actors and actresses, and also the
hand-painted posters of that time. There were booklets containing synopsis of
movies, with the song lyrics in both Hindi and English. A section was devoted
to Satyajit Ray and Bengali cinema, while another showcased different
adaptations of Devdas- right from P.C.Borua’s 1935 version to Anurag Kashyap’s
latest. There was section on the cinematic history of the silent era and also a
section on the chemistry of hearts!
The NewStream section showcased
films that have redefined mainstream Indian cinema last year; and their film
makers and others associated with the film interacted with the audience via
Q&A sessions, lectures, exhaustive panel discussion, etc. Noted lyricist
Gulzar was honoured the Lifetime Achievement award. As for the competition,
‘The Long Night’ (Syria) won the Osian’s Cine Fan award as well as the
NETPAC-FIPRESCI award (Network for The Promotion of Asian Cinema Federation of
International Film Critics). ‘Khargosh’ (India) won the Special Jury award at
both Cine Fan and NETPAC-FIPRESCI; as well as the Audience award. ‘The First
Film’(Iran), won the award for Best Film in the Shorts competition, where
‘Vithal’(India) got special mention.Mr.P.N.Srivastava, an avid cinema
enthusiast, who comes all the way from Lucknow especially for Osian, wisely
comments, “This festival of Asian and Arab films is not reaching the audience
it deserves. Media focuses more on European cinema which has got the tag of
‘world’ cinema. Asian cinema deals with a much better movie concept. These
movies have a cinematic language that transgresses all borders. People should
know the kind of cinema Asia has to offer, especially Iran and China. These
films make us sit back and think. They don’t need any special effects to make
an impact. For me, this is real world cinema.”
No comments:
Post a Comment