More than 15 curated projects by creators with a strong presence in the Indian film industry are being presented at CIFF/market. CIFF will also feature workshops, master classes, and panel discussions for the benefit of festival and industry delegates…reports Asian Lite News
Chandigarh, which is set to host its first international film festival — Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF) from March 27 to 31 — is not just meant to expose the audiences in the region to around 80 of the finest international and Indian films, but will also boast of a CIFF/market to facilitate the business and craft of filmmaking.The film festival will open with the Cannes Award-winning French film ‘The Taste of Things’ starring Juliette Binoche, and close with South Korea’s highest-grossing film of 2024 to date — the Horror-Mystery-Thriller ’Exhuma’ (Pamyo) which premiered at the 2024 Berlinale.More than 15 curated projects by creators with a strong presence in the Indian film industry are being presented at CIFF/market. CIFF will also feature workshops, master classes, and panel discussions for the benefit of festival and industry delegates.“We are expecting a lot of potential producers and filmmakers to come face-to-face. There are also a lot of producers who wish to enter the industry but do not know how to. For filmmakers, it is very tough to raise funds in this industry. And setting up venues and meetings will help,” Nina Lath, Founder & CEO of Cinevesture told IANS in a special interaction.This former MD of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), who joined the organisation in 2006 after quitting the Indian Revenue Service, was instrumental in giving NFDC a new lease on life. It was under her leadership that NFDC produced or co-produced some very fine films — Dibakar Banerjee’s ‘Shanghai’, Qaushiq Mukherjee’s ‘Tasher Desh’, Gurvinder Singh’s debut film, ‘Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan’, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and won three National Awards, Anand Gandhi’s ‘Ship of Theseus’ and Ritesh Batra’s ‘The Lunchbox’.She also set up the successful Film Bazaar, the Screenwriters Labs, and the Viewing Room. Almost every movie in the WIP Lab made it to international film festivals.“Chandigarh is an interesting city with design as its genesis. In terms of logistics too, it makes a lot of sense to hold something of this scale here. Not to mention the huge student population from across the region that comes here to study,” says Lath, revealing that they want CIFF to be an annual feature though this time they are testing waters.With films from India, Serbia, France, Bangladesh, and the US besides many in Indian languages including Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, and Malayalam, she stresses that the audiences will be the main stakeholders. “Precisely why we are doing ‘People Choice awards’ – only they get to decide what works and what does not. Beena Paul, the Artistic Director, and VS Kundu, the former Head of the National Films Division of India as the Director of the Film Festival are great assets for CIFF.”Talking about the Children’s section where they will also be taught how to make films, and a host of workshops and masterclasses that will be organised during the event, Lath adds, “I have always believed that it is paramount for children to be exposed to the arts from a young age. The workshops and masterclasses line-up is very interesting, and we expect excellent participation. For instance, Emmy Award winner Chase Guttman will conduct a workshop on Drone photography and cinematography.”Talk to her about the current state of independent cinema in India, and Lath is optimistic. She is however not in favour of giving subsidies. ”New filmmakers need support. Filmmaking is not like other arts. A lot of careers are at stake, there is an obligation to make a return on investment. Precisely what, at CIFF, we will be doing a lot of workshops and looking at things from the point of view of producers. It is important to understand how people are responding to movies. Investment in the projects, sales, and the director and the writer are not the only people needed. Everyone needs to have a skill set. There is a gap in demand and supply in terms of skill sets. So. how as a producer does one analyse a script, we want to address these questions.”Even as numerous film festivals have started in smaller towns in the country, for example, cities in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, UP, and Madhya Pradesh, Lath feels there is a need for more. “This development is healthy. Audiences get acquainted with the fact that there is another kind of cinema that exists too — beyond the mainstream. Even if the scale is small, more such festivals should come up. They precipitate conversations around independent films which is extremely important.”Lamenting the demise of the film club culture, she feels while there is a need to revive them, they must not restrict their conversations to analysing the films just on the thematic level but also look at production values.
A New Era of Film Culture
Chandigarh is set to host its first international film festival — Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF) from March 27 to 31. The opening film of the festival is Cannes Award-winning French film ‘The Taste of Things’ starring Juliette Binoche. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Anh Hung Tran, the historical romantic drama won the award for Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
The closing film is South Korea’s highest-grossing film of 2024 to date — the Horror-Mystery-Thriller ’Exhuma’ (Pamyo), which premiered at the 2024 Berlinale. Both the opening and closing films will have their India premieres at the festival and shall be open-air screenings in the Government Museum & Arts Gallery, Sector 10, the main venue of CIFF 2024.The festival will showcase 24 award-winning international features in the World Cinema section, 17 indie gems in the India Unveiled, 27 shorts in Brief Encounters, a curated section of children’s films and timeless classics. Programming highlights include internationally acclaimed films like 2024 Oscar contender Holocaust drama, ’The Zone of Interest’, Palme d’Or Winner and Academy Nominee Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster, 2023 Academy Award-winner, ’The Whale’ starring Brendan Fraser, a gripping documentary which won at Berlinale, ’Seven Winters in Tehran’, Singapore’s Oscar entry, ’Breaking Ice’, the Roshan Mathew starrer ’Paradise’, and the animation feature ’Sultana’s Dreams’ among others. Award-winning Indian features and docs such as Toronto International Film Festival winner Marathi film ‘Sthal’, Venice Film Festival film ‘Stolen’, Rima Das’ Assamese film ’Tora’s Husband’, Deepa Mehta’s TIFF film, ’I am Sirat’, auteur filmmaker Gurvinder Singh’s Punjabi feature ’Adh Chanani Raat’, Harjit Singh’s documentary on the late Punjabi painter and writer’ Imroz-A Walk Down The Memory Lane’, Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Malayalam film ’Malaikottai Vaaliban’, Sreemoyee Singh’s documentary, ’And, Towards Happy Alleys’, an ode to Iranian cinema and poetry featuring Jafar Panahi, Varun Grover’s short ’Kiss’ and the Riz Ahmed starrer short ’Dammi’. International features, ‘Roleless’, ’The Tenants’ will have India premieres at the festival and short films Dammi and Suddenly TV will have their Asia premiere.
A host of stars will be attending the festival including Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal, Roshan Mathew, Gulshan Devaiah, Varun Grover, Rasika Duggal, Rashmeet Kaur (singer), Hansal Mehta, Shekhar Kapur, Sudhir Mishra, and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, among others. The opening and closing films will be open air screenings in the Government Museum & Arts Gallery, Sector 10, the main venue of CIFF 2024. Three more Open Air screenings are scheduled of the classics ’Jalsaghar’ (Satyajit’s Ray’s 1958 musical), Guru Dutt’s ’Kaagaz Ke Phool’ (1959) and ’The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone’ (2020), a recut of the original Godfather 3 by Francis Ford Coppola to mark the 30th anniversary of the film. The open air screen is 60 feet wide. An experiential cinema exhibition to celebrate the centenary of Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand is being set up in the Rose Garden Underpass in collaboration with National Film Archives (NFDC) and students of Chandigarh College of Architecture. A screening of Children’s films is open to all children from the ages of 10-17 years at 9 a.m. from March 27-31 at Cinepolis Jagat. This inaugural edition of the festival will also feature CIFF/market to facilitate the business and craft of filmmaking. More than 15 curated projects by creators with a strong presence in the Indian film industry are being presented at CIFF/market. CIFF will also feature workshops, master classes and panel discussions for the benefit of festival and industry delegates. The festival is being organised by Cinevesture Pvt. Ltd. Nina Lath is the Founder and CEO of the company. The festival is supported by the Government Museum & Art Gallery, Chandigarh, Department of Tourism Chandigarh, and Chandigarh Administration. VS Kundu IAS (Retd) and a former Head of the National Films Division of India has come aboard as the Director of the Film Festival and industry veteran Bina Paul as the Artistic Director of CIFF. The advisory board of CIFF has the presence of Bahubali star and leading film producer, Rana Daggubati, Jerome Paillard, who served as Head of the Cannes Film Market, Festival de Cannes from 1995 to 2022, Nicole Guillemet, former Co-Director of Sundance Film Festival, the celebrated Indian filmmaker Ajitpal Singh (Fire in the Mountains and Tabbar) and other experts in the field of film making.
The main venues of CIFF will be the Government Museum and Art Gallery (GMAG), Sector 10 and Cinepolis theatres in Sector 17 Chandigarh. Nina Lath, Founder and CEO of Cinevesture said: “Cinevesture International Film Festival is envisaged as a platform for the two key stakeholders, namely audiences and producers. Its various verticals have been designed keeping the same in mind. We trust that in time, CIFF will serve as a reliable festival offering high-quality content for audiences and enhanced business opportunities for the film industry.” CIFF Director, V. S. Kundu said: “CIFF is the first global-scale cinema event to ever happen in Chandigarh with the support of Chandigarh Tourism, the Department of Culture and Chandigarh Administration. It is a truly international film festival designed to match the best international film festivals.” “We endeavour to build a strong foundation for an annual event that the global film industry will look forward to, and which will foster effective business relationships between producers and distributors and the filmmakers of the region,” he said. Bina Paul, Artistic Director of CIFF said: “This year at the launch of the Cinevesture film festival, the focus of programming is to bring a potpourri of cinema to the people of Chandigarh. There will be something for everyone. Festival favourite International and Indian films for film buffs and for students, and the latest trends in Korean, Japanese and French cinema will be on show.
Children will get a chance to see films from many parts of the world, hearing stories they may otherwise not. Attending filmmakers, producers, and technicians will interact with audiences and share their experiences, thus enriching the viewing experience. A film festival opens up the world.” Naveen, Director, Government Museum & Arts Gallery Chandigarh said: “While the museum has been attracting diverse audiences and promoting cultural understanding through its exhibitions, its support for the Cinevesture International Film Festival marks a significant step forward in positioning itself in Chandigarh as a hub of cultural exchange and enrichment. This will not only lead to an increase in footfalls but also provide an opportunity to showcase the museum’s facilities as a venue for cultural events, potentially attracting future collaborations and partnerships.”
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