Flickering Lights review – how the arrival of electricity heralded peace in a turbulent Indian state
Years in the making, this documentary shows preparations for the arrival of mains power in a village in Nagaland as part of a deal with the Indian government
With great patience over a period of years, Indian film-makers Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan recorded an interesting cultural footnote to history, happening ever so slowly in the tiny, remote village of Tora in Nagaland in north-eastern India near the border with Myanmar. The Naga Peace Accord, signed in 2015 between Narendra Modi’s government and the separatist-insurgent National Socialist Council of Nagaland, theoretically resolved tension which had existed since the Naga people proclaimed independence in 1947. As a result of this peace process, the little village of Tora and surrounding communities were going to get something very new: electricity.
We see a shopkeeper look forward to getting a refrigerator and her children excitedly talking about the Bollywood movies they can watch on TV.
With great patience over a period of years, Indian film-makers Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan recorded an interesting cultural footnote to history, happening ever so slowly in the tiny, remote village of Tora in Nagaland in north-eastern India near the border with Myanmar. The Naga Peace Accord, signed in 2015 between Narendra Modi’s government and the separatist-insurgent National Socialist Council of Nagaland, theoretically resolved tension which had existed since the Naga people proclaimed independence in 1947. As a result of this peace process, the little village of Tora and surrounding communities were going to get something very new: electricity.
We see a shopkeeper look forward to getting a refrigerator and her children excitedly talking about the Bollywood movies they can watch on TV.
- 5/13/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The nature documentary is inherently preservationist, but Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s “Nocturnes” offers environmental persuasions not through verbal arguments, or even an aesthetic appreciation. Rather, its meditative, hyper-fixated approach to process — as seen through the eyes of seasoned lepidopterists — proves so hypnotic that any appeals or augments the movie makes are deeply felt before they’re intellectually understood. The pieces snap into place eventually, but the “how” is foregrounded so forcefully and poetically throughout that viewers will likely come to care about these creatures, and this field of study, well before they understand the very real and pressing reasons they should.
In northeastern India, bordering Bhutan, scientist Mansi and her indigenous assistant Bicki (belonging to the local Bugun tribe) partake in the nightly ritual of suspending a cloth sheet and illuminating it with bright lights in the middle of the forest. Slowly, but surely, hundreds of moths flock to this makeshift station,...
In northeastern India, bordering Bhutan, scientist Mansi and her indigenous assistant Bicki (belonging to the local Bugun tribe) partake in the nightly ritual of suspending a cloth sheet and illuminating it with bright lights in the middle of the forest. Slowly, but surely, hundreds of moths flock to this makeshift station,...
- 3/15/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
Taking place just weeks after the historic passage of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Greece, the 26th edition of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival — which runs March 7 – 17 — pays tribute to that watershed moment in the long-running fight for equal rights for the country’s LGBTQ community, while also issuing a rallying cry for diversity, inclusion and empowerment across the globe.
“Our festival aspires to map out a detailed and thorough overview of our world’s complexity, welcoming films from the four corners of the world, which outline the radical changes, the challenges and the problems of our times,” says festival general director Elise Jalladeau. The program spotlights “the urgent call for diversity, stories of women’s empowerment [and] the visibility not only of the Lgbtqi+ community, but of all marginalized and oppressed groups of people who have suffered discrimination due to their identity,” she adds.
Following on the historic victory for...
“Our festival aspires to map out a detailed and thorough overview of our world’s complexity, welcoming films from the four corners of the world, which outline the radical changes, the challenges and the problems of our times,” says festival general director Elise Jalladeau. The program spotlights “the urgent call for diversity, stories of women’s empowerment [and] the visibility not only of the Lgbtqi+ community, but of all marginalized and oppressed groups of people who have suffered discrimination due to their identity,” she adds.
Following on the historic victory for...
- 3/7/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The 26th edition of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (TiDF) kicks off today (March 7) with 12 features screening in international competition.
Several titles are making their world premiere at the festival including Johatsu - Into Thin Air from Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori about the thousands of people who disappear in Japan each year.
Also playing is Sundance award-winner A New Kind Of Wilderness from Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. The Norweigan film, which won the grand jury prize in documentary, follows a family living in the wild who are forced to confront contemporary society after a tragic event.
Fellow Sundance-award winner Nocturnes...
Several titles are making their world premiere at the festival including Johatsu - Into Thin Air from Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori about the thousands of people who disappear in Japan each year.
Also playing is Sundance award-winner A New Kind Of Wilderness from Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. The Norweigan film, which won the grand jury prize in documentary, follows a family living in the wild who are forced to confront contemporary society after a tragic event.
Fellow Sundance-award winner Nocturnes...
- 3/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
From the Himalayas to the Rockies, “Nocturnes” flew from one mountain range to the next with its premiere at Sundance last month. The mesmerizing tone poem centers an unusual subject – moths – in the Eastern Himalayan forest, as seen through the eyes of researcher Mansi Mungee and Bicki, a temporary employee from the indigenous Bugun community. The duo returns time and time again to their silvery white moth screen, a reflective surface that attracts moths for study in the forest. The film delights in extreme close-ups of these winged friends, accompanied by their ambient sounds: the delicate flutter of wings, the gentle whisper of rain, the loving murmurs of Mansi as she studies them.
The sheer dexterity of the documentary was recognized at Sundance, winning the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft. For me, “Nocturnes” also seemed to resonate with two other Indian nature documentaries that had premiered at...
The sheer dexterity of the documentary was recognized at Sundance, winning the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft. For me, “Nocturnes” also seemed to resonate with two other Indian nature documentaries that had premiered at...
- 2/17/2024
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The Sundance Film Festival announced its 2024 winners on January 26, two days before the festival’s end date. The Awards Ceremony took place at The Ray Theater in Park City, Utah. This year marks its 40th annual festival run taking place from January 18 to January 28.
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
- 1/27/2024
- by Ann Hoang
- Uinterview
Sundance announced its winners on Friday morning, with Alessandra Lacorazza’s In The Summers took the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Brendan Bellomo’s Porcelain War the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sundance announced its winners on Friday morning, with Alessandra Lacorazza’s In The Summers took the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Brendan Bellomo’s Porcelain War the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival awards ceremony revealed winners Friday honoring the best of this year’s lineup in Park City.
The U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury prize went to Alessandra Lacorazza’s In the Summers, about two sisters who navigate their loving but volatile father during their yearly summer visits to his home in Las Cruces, Nm. Lacorazza also won a special jury prize for directing.
See the full list of winners below.
Other Grand Jury winners unveiled today in the ceremony at the Ray Theatre included Porcelain War in the U.S. Documentary competition, A New Kind of Wilderness in the World Cinema Documentary competition, and Sujo in the World Cinema Dramatic competition.
Angela Patton and Natalie Rae’s documentary Daughters received the Festival Favorite Award, which Park City audiences select across all new feature films presented at the festival, as well as the Audience Award for the U.
The U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury prize went to Alessandra Lacorazza’s In the Summers, about two sisters who navigate their loving but volatile father during their yearly summer visits to his home in Las Cruces, Nm. Lacorazza also won a special jury prize for directing.
See the full list of winners below.
Other Grand Jury winners unveiled today in the ceremony at the Ray Theatre included Porcelain War in the U.S. Documentary competition, A New Kind of Wilderness in the World Cinema Documentary competition, and Sujo in the World Cinema Dramatic competition.
Angela Patton and Natalie Rae’s documentary Daughters received the Festival Favorite Award, which Park City audiences select across all new feature films presented at the festival, as well as the Audience Award for the U.
- 1/26/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro and Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival awards were announced today at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah.
See the list of 2024 winners below, and congrats to all the winners.
Festival Favorite Award
Daughters (USA) – Angela Patton and Natalie Rae
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Grand Jury Prize
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
Directing Award
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance
Suncoast (USA) – Nico Parker
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble
Dìdi – Sean Wang
Audience Award
Dìdi – Sean Wang
U.S. Documentary Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Porcelain War – Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
Directing Award
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Special Jury Award for Sound
Gaucho Gaucho (USA, Argentina) – Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
Special Jury Award for The Art of Change
Union (USA) – Stephen Maing and Brett Story
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award
Frida...
See the list of 2024 winners below, and congrats to all the winners.
Festival Favorite Award
Daughters (USA) – Angela Patton and Natalie Rae
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Grand Jury Prize
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
Directing Award
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance
Suncoast (USA) – Nico Parker
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble
Dìdi – Sean Wang
Audience Award
Dìdi – Sean Wang
U.S. Documentary Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Porcelain War – Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
Directing Award
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Special Jury Award for Sound
Gaucho Gaucho (USA, Argentina) – Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
Special Jury Award for The Art of Change
Union (USA) – Stephen Maing and Brett Story
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award
Frida...
- 1/26/2024
- by Prem
- Talking Films
The Sundance Film Festival welcomed a new class of indie film stars on Friday, handing out its annual awards in Park City, Utah.
Taking the festival’s grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic competition was “In the Summers” from writer-director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio. The film tells of two daughters who come of age navigating a turbulent but loving father during yearly visits to his home in New Mexico. “Porcelain War” won the U.S. Documentary competition, for its portrait of artists-turned-soldiers in the Ukraine.
Top prizes in the world cinematic category went to “A New Kind of Wilderness” for documentary, the tale of a wild-living family who must return to the modern world after an untimely death; “Sujo” won for narrative feature, about a 4-year-old orphan who may find it impossible to escape a future working for a drug cartel.
Incoming Sundance Film Festival director Eugene Hernandez began...
Taking the festival’s grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic competition was “In the Summers” from writer-director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio. The film tells of two daughters who come of age navigating a turbulent but loving father during yearly visits to his home in New Mexico. “Porcelain War” won the U.S. Documentary competition, for its portrait of artists-turned-soldiers in the Ukraine.
Top prizes in the world cinematic category went to “A New Kind of Wilderness” for documentary, the tale of a wild-living family who must return to the modern world after an untimely death; “Sujo” won for narrative feature, about a 4-year-old orphan who may find it impossible to escape a future working for a drug cartel.
Incoming Sundance Film Festival director Eugene Hernandez began...
- 1/26/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the IndieWire team is endeavoring to take you into the heart of the festival experience, thanks to a series of rolling roundups that aim to synthesize each day, all the action, most of the drama, and the stuff everyone is talking about, in Park City and beyond.
Day Five
We’ll admit it: Day 5 at Sundance started on a bit of a slower note, at least over at IndieWire Editorial Condo No. 2, whose inhabitants were still processing both our (In)Famous Chili Party and/or Aaron Schimberg’s wild “A Different Man.” The first day after the festival’s opening weekend tends to spell a slower vibe, with many leaving after the first flush of premieres and parties, and Park City easing, ever so slowly, back into a more normal pace.
Though I’d already seen Richard Linklater’s sexy action comedy “Hit Man...
Day Five
We’ll admit it: Day 5 at Sundance started on a bit of a slower note, at least over at IndieWire Editorial Condo No. 2, whose inhabitants were still processing both our (In)Famous Chili Party and/or Aaron Schimberg’s wild “A Different Man.” The first day after the festival’s opening weekend tends to spell a slower vibe, with many leaving after the first flush of premieres and parties, and Park City easing, ever so slowly, back into a more normal pace.
Though I’d already seen Richard Linklater’s sexy action comedy “Hit Man...
- 1/23/2024
- by Kate Erbland, Ryan Lattanzio and Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? The opportunity to be in this incredibly rich and stunning forest in the Eastern Himalayas and make a film here has been life-altering for us. How to share what we saw with our eyes, heard with our ears, and felt with our being? Could […]
The post “The Lush Forest, Throbbing With a Vast Diversity of Life, Emerges as a Character” | Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan, Nocturnes first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Lush Forest, Throbbing With a Vast Diversity of Life, Emerges as a Character” | Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan, Nocturnes first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? The opportunity to be in this incredibly rich and stunning forest in the Eastern Himalayas and make a film here has been life-altering for us. How to share what we saw with our eyes, heard with our ears, and felt with our being? Could […]
The post “The Lush Forest, Throbbing With a Vast Diversity of Life, Emerges as a Character” | Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan, Nocturnes first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Lush Forest, Throbbing With a Vast Diversity of Life, Emerges as a Character” | Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan, Nocturnes first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
This isn’t a meteorology blog. We’re under no obligation to inform you that–despite a historically slow ski season start–the snow now falling across Northern Utah’s Wasatch Valley is voluminous and omnipresent. All the better excuse for sequestering oneself inside the weatherproofed walls of Park City’s myriad Sundance screening venues. And whether you’re a Sundance programmer, filmmaker, critic, industry wonk or civilian attendee, one thing is certain: there are currently a lot of granola bars getting smushed in a lot of people’s pockets.
Of course, our favorite among these snowblind wretches are our own Film Independent Fellows proudly debuting their new works at the festival. And by “Fellows” here we of course mean filmmakers who have been directly supported by Film Independent’s Lab Programs, Project Involve, Fast Track and Fiscal Sponsorship programs, as well as Emerging Filmmaker Award winners and grant recipients.
Of course, our favorite among these snowblind wretches are our own Film Independent Fellows proudly debuting their new works at the festival. And by “Fellows” here we of course mean filmmakers who have been directly supported by Film Independent’s Lab Programs, Project Involve, Fast Track and Fiscal Sponsorship programs, as well as Emerging Filmmaker Award winners and grant recipients.
- 1/20/2024
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
The 40th edition of Sundance Film Festival kicks off today, and notably, queer and Himalaya-themed films take over the Asian/Asian diaspora slate of the mountain festival. In previous years, Sundance has been a frontier for Asian diaspora films. Last year alone saw a full slate of Asian diaspora films, with “Past Lives” (Celine Song), “Shortcomings” (Randall Park), “The Persian Version” (Maryam Keshavarz), and more, among others – there are considerably less Asian American films in the primary competition. This year, in the US Dramatic Competition, only one film, “Didi (弟弟)” by Sean Wang stands out amid the crowd.
Films about the Himalayas have taken center-stage in the World Cinema Competitions, however, with three titles this year: “Girls will be Girls” (Shuchi Talati), “Agent of Happiness” (Arun Bhattarai), and “Nocturnes” (Anirban Dutta). Queer Asian diaspora cinema is front and center this year as well, with “Layla” (Amrou Al-Khadi) and “Desire Lines...
Films about the Himalayas have taken center-stage in the World Cinema Competitions, however, with three titles this year: “Girls will be Girls” (Shuchi Talati), “Agent of Happiness” (Arun Bhattarai), and “Nocturnes” (Anirban Dutta). Queer Asian diaspora cinema is front and center this year as well, with “Layla” (Amrou Al-Khadi) and “Desire Lines...
- 1/20/2024
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The 53rd edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will take place from January 25 to February 4, 2024. The full festival programme is available here and official ticket sales will commence on January 12. Here is an overview of the selection of Asian films screening this year at IFFR 2024 (synopses summarised from the IFFR 2024 website):
Harbour Trolley Times
Gurvinder Singh
153′ | India | 2023 | International Premiere
IFFR regular Gurvinder Singh returns to the festival with his first documentary feature “Trolley Times”, an unvarnished grassroots record of the protests that borrows its title from the newspaper printed and distributed at the camping site. The farmers recount their grievances directly to the camera, their words conveying a truth absent from state-aligned mainstream media, their timeworn, dignified faces familiar from Singh's fictional work.
100 Yards
Xu Haofeng, Xu Junfeng
108′ | China | 2023 | European Premiere
The 1920s, Tianjin. Master Shen has passed on, bequeathing his martial arts academy to star apprentice Qi,...
Harbour Trolley Times
Gurvinder Singh
153′ | India | 2023 | International Premiere
IFFR regular Gurvinder Singh returns to the festival with his first documentary feature “Trolley Times”, an unvarnished grassroots record of the protests that borrows its title from the newspaper printed and distributed at the camping site. The farmers recount their grievances directly to the camera, their words conveying a truth absent from state-aligned mainstream media, their timeworn, dignified faces familiar from Singh's fictional work.
100 Yards
Xu Haofeng, Xu Junfeng
108′ | China | 2023 | European Premiere
The 1920s, Tianjin. Master Shen has passed on, bequeathing his martial arts academy to star apprentice Qi,...
- 1/13/2024
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: London-based sales and production outfit Dogwoof has boarded world sales for Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s Nocturnes, which will get its world premiere in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Set in the Eastern Himalayas, the eco-doc sees two curious observers shine a light on a secret universe, transporting audiences to a rarely-seen place where moths help knit together an important ecosystem.
Oscar-nominated Sandbox Films (Fire of Love) is producing.
In addition to co-directing, Dutta is producing along with executive producers Boustead and Harrop. Yaël Bitton (Advocate) is editor; Satya Rai Nagpaul is director of photography; original score is by BAFTA Breakthrough composer Nainita Desai (For Sama). The movie is a production of Sandbox Films and the directors’ Delhi-based Metamorphosis Films Junction.
Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s latest documentary, Flickering Lights, competed in the International Competition at the 2023 edition of IDFA, where it...
Set in the Eastern Himalayas, the eco-doc sees two curious observers shine a light on a secret universe, transporting audiences to a rarely-seen place where moths help knit together an important ecosystem.
Oscar-nominated Sandbox Films (Fire of Love) is producing.
In addition to co-directing, Dutta is producing along with executive producers Boustead and Harrop. Yaël Bitton (Advocate) is editor; Satya Rai Nagpaul is director of photography; original score is by BAFTA Breakthrough composer Nainita Desai (For Sama). The movie is a production of Sandbox Films and the directors’ Delhi-based Metamorphosis Films Junction.
Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s latest documentary, Flickering Lights, competed in the International Competition at the 2023 edition of IDFA, where it...
- 12/7/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Documentaries about the impact of war claimed two of the top prizes as the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam handed out awards Thursday night.
1489, directed by Armenian filmmaker Shoghakat Vardanyan, won Best Film in International Competition. The film revolves around the disappearance of the director’s 21-year-old brother, Soghomon Vardanyan, who went missing in the early days of the renewed fighting in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area Armenians refer to as Artsakh.
The award comes with a €15,000 cash prize. The jury members of the International Competition were Emilie Bujès, Francesco Giai Via, Tabitha Jackson, Ada Solomon, and Xiaoshuai Wang.
‘1489’
Jurors called 1489, “A film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival—to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see.
1489, directed by Armenian filmmaker Shoghakat Vardanyan, won Best Film in International Competition. The film revolves around the disappearance of the director’s 21-year-old brother, Soghomon Vardanyan, who went missing in the early days of the renewed fighting in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area Armenians refer to as Artsakh.
The award comes with a €15,000 cash prize. The jury members of the International Competition were Emilie Bujès, Francesco Giai Via, Tabitha Jackson, Ada Solomon, and Xiaoshuai Wang.
‘1489’
Jurors called 1489, “A film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival—to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see.
- 11/17/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Shoghakat Vardanyan’s “1489,” which follows the director’s family after her brother goes missing while serving in the Armenian army, won documentary festival IDFA’s best film prize Thursday.
The jury of the International Competition section said the film “acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence.”
The jury added that it was “cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all to look at the things we would rather not see, and ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The best directing award went to Mohamed Jabaly for “Life Is Beautiful,” in which the Palestinian filmmaker documents his life in 2014 when he was visiting Norway and was prevented from returning home to Gaza because the border was closed.
“Life Is Beautiful”
The jury members said the film was “a...
The jury of the International Competition section said the film “acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence.”
The jury added that it was “cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all to look at the things we would rather not see, and ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The best directing award went to Mohamed Jabaly for “Life Is Beautiful,” in which the Palestinian filmmaker documents his life in 2014 when he was visiting Norway and was prevented from returning home to Gaza because the border was closed.
“Life Is Beautiful”
The jury members said the film was “a...
- 11/16/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will open with the world premiere of “A Picture to Remember” by Olga Chernykh. The film, which received the support of the IDFA Bertha Fund in 2022, is a deeply personal account of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its violent history, seen through the prism of three generations of women.
The full program for the festival’s 36th edition was announced earlier today by IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, who stated the festival’s opening film is “both personal and political,” adding that “the director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger worldview.”
Before announcing this year’s full lineup, Nyrabia took a moment to acknowledge the current Israel-Hamas war: “To us, respecting the human...
The full program for the festival’s 36th edition was announced earlier today by IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, who stated the festival’s opening film is “both personal and political,” adding that “the director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger worldview.”
Before announcing this year’s full lineup, Nyrabia took a moment to acknowledge the current Israel-Hamas war: “To us, respecting the human...
- 10/18/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
New Delhi, Aug 22 (Ians) The League Committee of the All India Football Federation (Aiff) has decided to increase the maximum number of players allowed in a squad in the I-League from 30 to 35 and to introduce a youth players’ quota, by dint of which, the clubs will have to sign eight U-22 players in their respective squads.
The League Committee, which met over video conferencing on Tuesday, also decided to maintain the status quo in terms of the number of foreigners a club can sign in the I-League.
The meeting was chaired by Lalnghinglova Hmar, and attended by Committee Members Arif Ali, Caitanno Jose Fernandes, Dr Reginold Varghese, and Anirban Dutta. Aiff Vice President Na Haris, Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran and Deputy Secretary General Satyanarayan M were present at the meeting.
Addressing the meeting, Dr Prabhakaran said, “We have important agendas to discuss and decide upon regarding the new Third Division League,...
The League Committee, which met over video conferencing on Tuesday, also decided to maintain the status quo in terms of the number of foreigners a club can sign in the I-League.
The meeting was chaired by Lalnghinglova Hmar, and attended by Committee Members Arif Ali, Caitanno Jose Fernandes, Dr Reginold Varghese, and Anirban Dutta. Aiff Vice President Na Haris, Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran and Deputy Secretary General Satyanarayan M were present at the meeting.
Addressing the meeting, Dr Prabhakaran said, “We have important agendas to discuss and decide upon regarding the new Third Division League,...
- 8/22/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Here in Asian Movie Pulse, we have been following Anirban Dutta’s mostly experimental cinematic journey since his 2018 works, frequently being impressed with his efforts. It was also rather interesting, in that fashion, to check his first (our first at least) endeavor into documentary filmmaking, in a movie that remains, though, rather experimental.
“Ghumjeeling : A Meeting by the Railways” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
According to his words: “My first encounter with this magical narrow gauge railway was in 2010 when the first of a trilogy of a documentary on India’s Mountain Railways was broadcast on UK TV. The Darjeeling film was directed by Tarun Bhartiya. It was not until 2017 that I finally visited the line and started to develop ideas for artworks and began documentation. Whilst in Darjeeling, I saw several handmade models of B Class steam engines at The New Elgin Hotel lounge and at the Ghum Museum.
“Ghumjeeling : A Meeting by the Railways” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
According to his words: “My first encounter with this magical narrow gauge railway was in 2010 when the first of a trilogy of a documentary on India’s Mountain Railways was broadcast on UK TV. The Darjeeling film was directed by Tarun Bhartiya. It was not until 2017 that I finally visited the line and started to develop ideas for artworks and began documentation. Whilst in Darjeeling, I saw several handmade models of B Class steam engines at The New Elgin Hotel lounge and at the Ghum Museum.
- 4/3/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
In its biggest single showcase, Visions du Réel staged a three-hour showcase on Saturday where directors and producers delivered online presentations of nine doc features in post. Some will undoubtedly hit major festivals in the months to come. Following, bare bones profiles of the nine Wip titles:
“About Everything There Is to Know,” dir: Sofía Velázquez (Peru)
Produced by Carolina Denegri (Cultural Mercado Central)
A group of filmmakers arrive in Santiago de Chuco, a remote village perched high in the Peruvian Andes which was the birthplace of Cesar Vallejo, the most revolutionary of Latin American poets. Their casting for a play, inspired by Vallejo characters, provides the doc feature’s storyline. It also allows Velazquez to depict the village inhabitants and a mix of
“fantasy and reality” that builds as an equal part celebration of Vallejo and more nuanced portrait of Peru, where village life is rapidly eclipsed by emigration to nearby big cities.
“About Everything There Is to Know,” dir: Sofía Velázquez (Peru)
Produced by Carolina Denegri (Cultural Mercado Central)
A group of filmmakers arrive in Santiago de Chuco, a remote village perched high in the Peruvian Andes which was the birthplace of Cesar Vallejo, the most revolutionary of Latin American poets. Their casting for a play, inspired by Vallejo characters, provides the doc feature’s storyline. It also allows Velazquez to depict the village inhabitants and a mix of
“fantasy and reality” that builds as an equal part celebration of Vallejo and more nuanced portrait of Peru, where village life is rapidly eclipsed by emigration to nearby big cities.
- 4/18/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary film festival Visions du Réel, which runs April 15-25, has unveiled the 29 projects that will be presented in its industry program, VdR-Industry.
The project will participate in the three key forums in the industry section: VdR-Pitching, VdR-Work in Progress and VdR-Rough Cut Lab. Industry activities will take place from April 14-22, both online and on site in Nyon, Switzerland – if sanitary measures permit.
The VdR-Industry Awards, including three new cash awards, will be granted by an international jury gathering Eurimage’s executive director Roberto Olla, Italian film director Roberto Minervini and Rasha Salti, independent film and visual arts curator, as well as commissioning editor for La Lucarne, Arte France.
“This year’s selection depicts not only the incredible diversity of contemporary documentary filmmaking, but also its ever wider ranging influence,” said Madeline Robert, new head of industry and artistic advisor of Visions du Réel.
VdR-Industry is designed as a springboard for projects,...
The project will participate in the three key forums in the industry section: VdR-Pitching, VdR-Work in Progress and VdR-Rough Cut Lab. Industry activities will take place from April 14-22, both online and on site in Nyon, Switzerland – if sanitary measures permit.
The VdR-Industry Awards, including three new cash awards, will be granted by an international jury gathering Eurimage’s executive director Roberto Olla, Italian film director Roberto Minervini and Rasha Salti, independent film and visual arts curator, as well as commissioning editor for La Lucarne, Arte France.
“This year’s selection depicts not only the incredible diversity of contemporary documentary filmmaking, but also its ever wider ranging influence,” said Madeline Robert, new head of industry and artistic advisor of Visions du Réel.
VdR-Industry is designed as a springboard for projects,...
- 3/19/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Line-up also includes the new project from two-time Oscar nominee Lucy Walker.
Danish documentary festival Cph:dox has revealed the 35 projects set to be presented at Cph:forum, its financing and co-production event that will take place online-only from April 26-30.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The selection includes new projects from two-time Oscar nominee Lucy Walker (Waste Land), Sundance winners Mads Brügger (Cold Case Hammarskjöld) and Eugene Jarecki (The House I Live In), Berlin Crystal Bear winner Geneviève Dulude-De Celle (A Colony) and Venice Horizons winner Lech Kowalski (East Of Paradise).
Further notable filmmakers include Radu Ciorniciuc, whose Acasa,...
Danish documentary festival Cph:dox has revealed the 35 projects set to be presented at Cph:forum, its financing and co-production event that will take place online-only from April 26-30.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The selection includes new projects from two-time Oscar nominee Lucy Walker (Waste Land), Sundance winners Mads Brügger (Cold Case Hammarskjöld) and Eugene Jarecki (The House I Live In), Berlin Crystal Bear winner Geneviève Dulude-De Celle (A Colony) and Venice Horizons winner Lech Kowalski (East Of Paradise).
Further notable filmmakers include Radu Ciorniciuc, whose Acasa,...
- 3/3/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan currently shooting moth feature in India.
Documentary company Sandbox Films, whose credits include Werner Herzog’s Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds, has signed on to produce Nocturnes, an Indian film about moths that was one of 10 recipients of the Sundance Institute Sandbox Fund in 2020.
Directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan are currently shooting the feature on the sub-continent and Sandbox Film’s head of production Jessica Harrop and director and executive producer Greg Boustead plan to be on site with the filmmakers this winter.
Nocturnes centres on a young female scientist studying moths in...
Documentary company Sandbox Films, whose credits include Werner Herzog’s Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds, has signed on to produce Nocturnes, an Indian film about moths that was one of 10 recipients of the Sundance Institute Sandbox Fund in 2020.
Directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan are currently shooting the feature on the sub-continent and Sandbox Film’s head of production Jessica Harrop and director and executive producer Greg Boustead plan to be on site with the filmmakers this winter.
Nocturnes centres on a young female scientist studying moths in...
- 2/1/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The success of our Submit Your Film Initiative continued this year in the same pace, with the restrictions implemented by the quarantines around the world actually functioning as both a challenge and inspiration for many filmmakers, and us ending up with even more submissions than last year, much more than 100. Furthermore, as the initiative became more well known, a number of bigger profile movies were also submitted, as in the case of “76 Days” and “Nina Wu”.
This year, we also asked the directors to allow us to screen both their trailers and their whole films in our YouTube Channel, through another initiative, Amp Cinema for Free, with a number of them responding positively and even benefiting by the exposure, eventually finding distribution in various streaming platforms.
Our cooperation with Vienna Shorts Festival that allows the films that we suggest to them to be submitted with a 70% price off (final...
This year, we also asked the directors to allow us to screen both their trailers and their whole films in our YouTube Channel, through another initiative, Amp Cinema for Free, with a number of them responding positively and even benefiting by the exposure, eventually finding distribution in various streaming platforms.
Our cooperation with Vienna Shorts Festival that allows the films that we suggest to them to be submitted with a 70% price off (final...
- 12/27/2020
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Leading with a strong visual aesthetic and perfectly crafted soundscapes, Director Anirban Dutta has been featured through our Submit Your Film initiative, with such works as “Jahnabi“, “Outside the Burning Ghats” and “The Twilight Zone“. Working within his own definitive style, we decided to reach out to Anirban Dutta to discuss his artistic approach, Importance of nature in his work, and his plans for the future.
Director Bio:
A visual artist and filmmaker having loved traveling and exploring landscapes through his films on nature and humans’ intangible relationship, took his debut feature Jahnabi – a personification of a river as a woman, across the globe. His experimental works on image-making in films have earned critical acclaim from many renowned artists across the globe. His work in progress project is a fiction based on a colour blind girl nestled in a village of Bengal, trying to co-exist alongside her alternate sphere of dreams and allusions.
Director Bio:
A visual artist and filmmaker having loved traveling and exploring landscapes through his films on nature and humans’ intangible relationship, took his debut feature Jahnabi – a personification of a river as a woman, across the globe. His experimental works on image-making in films have earned critical acclaim from many renowned artists across the globe. His work in progress project is a fiction based on a colour blind girl nestled in a village of Bengal, trying to co-exist alongside her alternate sphere of dreams and allusions.
- 10/30/2020
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
A montage of images scored with atmospheric noise and music act to capture moments of clarity, where the image in front of us takes precedent over all of life’s problems. The short also acts as a travelogue, of sorts, for director Anirban Dutta conveying the love of exploring new places.
“We and Our Time” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
Director Anirban Dutta explores his fascination with still images and the power they can hold over the observer. A sentiment which feels reflective of his previous work “The Twilight Zone” and “Veins- A Film on Evolution“, with both projects focusing on singular moments to define the narrative. Consequently, “We and Our Time” works to highlight the directors influences in both aesthetic and philosophical approach.
Similar to previous features, the short film also highlights the directors talent and detail for creating engaging soundscapes. With only still images for visuals,...
“We and Our Time” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
Director Anirban Dutta explores his fascination with still images and the power they can hold over the observer. A sentiment which feels reflective of his previous work “The Twilight Zone” and “Veins- A Film on Evolution“, with both projects focusing on singular moments to define the narrative. Consequently, “We and Our Time” works to highlight the directors influences in both aesthetic and philosophical approach.
Similar to previous features, the short film also highlights the directors talent and detail for creating engaging soundscapes. With only still images for visuals,...
- 10/10/2020
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Cinemapreneur is a pay-per-view Ott with a library of independent films available to stream online globally.
India has made its mark in world cinema with the work of talented filmmakers like Chaitanya Tamahe, which recently got into the list of competing films for the Venice International Film Festival. However Indian independent films remain limited to festivals as avenues for a proper release and monetization are localised and few. A traditional release through theatres is very expensive and it’s tougher for small-budget films to find a place in major Ott platforms. Many are available for viewing outside India but there is a lack of spaces within the country itself which can take these films to the right audience.
To change this, Cinemapreneur decided to launch an online pay-per-view platform exclusively for Indian independent films. While the Ott was being set up, they also organised offline screenings for films like Achal...
India has made its mark in world cinema with the work of talented filmmakers like Chaitanya Tamahe, which recently got into the list of competing films for the Venice International Film Festival. However Indian independent films remain limited to festivals as avenues for a proper release and monetization are localised and few. A traditional release through theatres is very expensive and it’s tougher for small-budget films to find a place in major Ott platforms. Many are available for viewing outside India but there is a lack of spaces within the country itself which can take these films to the right audience.
To change this, Cinemapreneur decided to launch an online pay-per-view platform exclusively for Indian independent films. While the Ott was being set up, they also organised offline screenings for films like Achal...
- 8/5/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
From the film’s synopsis: Man is nature’s child. Life is a metaphor to understand the greater space that we are all part of and to realise that one must be unhappy. His reasons of happiness may not come often, but when they come, they last for the nature embedded in him. They last for his world. The greatest happiness is in the beauty of nature. There is nothing like listening to a quail at half past two in the night and following her until five. There is nothing like staring at raindrops forever until they soak his glasses. Apart from nature whatever the rest exist today, they are for a mere period.
Anirban Dutta uses a rather experimental approach to make the aforementioned comments, which, however, would be quite difficult to understand without the synopsis given. The short is comprised of a series of vignettes that combine the movement of water,...
Anirban Dutta uses a rather experimental approach to make the aforementioned comments, which, however, would be quite difficult to understand without the synopsis given. The short is comprised of a series of vignettes that combine the movement of water,...
- 6/11/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“The Twilight Zone” is imagining humans as birds. Here’s their attempt to break free and run off to faraway in quest of their destinies and leave behind the natural catastrophes. In search of their discovery in a peaceful solitary world humans see themselves as birds of the twilight.”
With a synopsis that can only really be well described by the director, “The Twilight Zone” is an experimental interpretation on human interaction and perception. Oscillating images between birds on a roof and cold mechanical lighting offer the only thematic elements in the production. Consequently, the narrative strength of the short film rests largely on the viewer’s own personal interpretations; where some find depth, others may find a frustrating lack of content.
However, with a lack of narrative to comment on, there are other elements of the production which can be addressed from a critical standpoint, notably in the sound design.
With a synopsis that can only really be well described by the director, “The Twilight Zone” is an experimental interpretation on human interaction and perception. Oscillating images between birds on a roof and cold mechanical lighting offer the only thematic elements in the production. Consequently, the narrative strength of the short film rests largely on the viewer’s own personal interpretations; where some find depth, others may find a frustrating lack of content.
However, with a lack of narrative to comment on, there are other elements of the production which can be addressed from a critical standpoint, notably in the sound design.
- 5/31/2020
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Yeh Saali Aashiqui
Starring Vardhan Puri, Shivaleeka Oberoi
Directed by Cherag Ruparel
Yeh Saali Aashiqui is a film that chooses to stay many steps ahead of our expectations. For starters, one would hardly expect a debutant from a distinguished film family to start his career with a pitch-dark thriller where he is shown in far from flattering light.
But here he is, Vardhan Puri, consumed by a kind of death wish that comes to seasoned actors who are fearless in their quest for orginal and untried adventures. In his very first film Vardhan cracks it as Sahil a traumatized hotel –management recruit who looks for nothing but true love. He meets the devi from the Devil’s own private harem (newcomer Shivaleeka Oberoi).
What follows is a plot never seen before in Bollywood, as layer after layer of frightening psychological disorder, brutal betrayal and violent vindication are laid open in...
Starring Vardhan Puri, Shivaleeka Oberoi
Directed by Cherag Ruparel
Yeh Saali Aashiqui is a film that chooses to stay many steps ahead of our expectations. For starters, one would hardly expect a debutant from a distinguished film family to start his career with a pitch-dark thriller where he is shown in far from flattering light.
But here he is, Vardhan Puri, consumed by a kind of death wish that comes to seasoned actors who are fearless in their quest for orginal and untried adventures. In his very first film Vardhan cracks it as Sahil a traumatized hotel –management recruit who looks for nothing but true love. He meets the devi from the Devil’s own private harem (newcomer Shivaleeka Oberoi).
What follows is a plot never seen before in Bollywood, as layer after layer of frightening psychological disorder, brutal betrayal and violent vindication are laid open in...
- 11/30/2019
- by Subhash K Jha
- Bollyspice
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