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March 22, 2006
IFFLA to honor acclaimed Indian actor NASEERUDDIN SHAH
March 22, 2006 (Los Angeles, CA) – Establishing itself as the only U.S. festival entirely dedicated to presenting Indian cinema by showcasing films by Indian and international filmmakers, the fourth IFFLA is set to open on Wednesday, April 19, with a Gala Presentation of Deepa Mehta’s WATER distributed by Fox Searchlight. During the Gala reception, IFFLA will co-present with the LA Philharmonic a Lifetime Achievement Award to RAVI SHANKAR. IFFLA will take place at ArcLight, Hollywood , the official home of the festival. "There has been a tremendous growth in Indian cinema and our 2006 program reflects that with the participation of films from 13 countries including 12 films from the UK ; and five films from Canada ,” said Christina Marouda, IFFLA Festival Director. This year’s line up includes a number of exciting discoveries such as the US premiere of IN THE NAME OF GOD (Daivanamathil) from director Jayaraj about a woman who witnesses the rise of a fundamentalist movement and the transformative effect it has on her husband; as well as box office successes as Nishikant Kamat’s US premiere of DOMBIVLI FAST; a taste of Bollywood with THE MARRIED WOMAN (Parineeta); and controversial fare with Anurag Kashyap’s FIVE (Paanch) and Deepa Mehta’s WATER that have not been released in India. The three world premieres include two documentaries - MEN OF BURDEN f rom directors Raghu Jeganathan and Kousalya Jeganathan who take a compassionate look at the lives of cycle-rickshaw drivers in Pondicherry as they try to survive in a dwindling trade; and BOMBAY CALLING from directors Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal about the young, ambitious telemarketers who assume western names and accents in the name of customer service and a burgeoning new economy in an examination of call center culture in India. In the KidsFest section, Prakash Kovelamudi’sfeature BELLY FULL OF DREAMS tells the story of nine-year old Ramu, a poor rag picker, who has a simple dream – to go to school. The film will have its world premiere at the festival. The festival program also includes the documentary I FOR INDIA which made its debut at Sundance, and DREAMING LHASA, executive produced by Richard Gere and produced by Jeremy Thomas that had its world premiere at Toronto . The film is about political refugees from Tibet who meet an enigmatic ex-monk, and become entangled in his quest to fulfill his mother’s last wish. IFFLA will be presenting this year’s honorary tribute to NASEERUDDIN SHAH - one of India ’s most prolific actors today who has starred in over 120 films. In celebration of his work, IFFLA will host the LA premiere of Shah’s latest film PARZANIA. Uma Da Cunha, IFFLA Programmer in India who was instrumental in putting together this special tribute also announced that as part of the tribute, the festival will showcase two of Shah’s most memorable performances: MONSOON WEDDING which won the Golden Lion and Laterna Magica Prizes at Venice when it premiered there in 2001. The film went on to win the Producers Spirit Award and earn Golden Globe, Broadcast Film Critics Association and BAFTA nominations for Best Foreign Language Film. For the second feature THE CHURNING (Manthan), SHAH received the Indian Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 1976. A 30-minute discussion with Shah moderated by renowned film critic and journalist David Chute will follow the screening of THE CHURNING on Friday, April 21. Best known to Western audiences for his roles in THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, MONSOON WEDDING, and THE PERFECT MURDER, SHAH received the Padma Shri Civilian Award in 1987, and the revered Padma Bhushan Civilian Award for his contribution to Indian society in 2002. Shah has also won numerous awards for his work, earning three Filmfare Awards, two National Awards for Best Actor, and the prestigious The Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for the film PAAR. He most recently was bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Mumbai International Film Festival. The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles is the only film festival in North America dedicated entirely to presenting the cinema of India – the world’s most prolific motion picture industry – by showcasing features, documentaries and short films from and about India . Tickets for IFFLA will go on sale this Friday, March 24 at ArcLight Hollywood’s box office, located at 6360 W. Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood , and online at: www.arclightcinemas.com . Ticket prices are $11 for general admission and $9 for discounted admissions (students, seniors, and AFI and ArcLight members). Gala ticket prices are $60 each for Opening and Closing nights and $25 for the Tribute on April 21. Festival Passes are priced at $75 for the Fest Pass (includes all regular screenings), and $200 for the All-Access Pass (includes all screenings, Galas and Seminars). Both passes offer access to the festival’s Cinema Lounge. For more information on IFFLA please go to www.indianfilmfestival.org. About IFFLA: IFFLA 2006 runs April 19-23, presented by the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of India's cinema and diverse culture by providing the public with a selection of films from and about India by Indian and international filmmakers. About ArcLight CinemasArcLight Cinemas, created by Pacific Theatres, represents a new evolution in the movie going experience. The beautifully designed flagship facility in Hollywood , which opened in March 2002, offers an unprecedented combination of technology, amenities, comfort, and customer service. Facilities include the historic Cinerama Dome and 14 state-of-the-art "black box" auditoriums as well as a café bar and a cinema-focused gift shop. Tickets can be purchased online without a fee and printed at home, at the theaters automated ticketing kiosks, lobby box office and over the phone. Plus, ArcLight offers a free membership program with purchasing rewards and other members-only benefits. ArcLight Hollywood is located at 6360 W. Sunset Boulevard, between Vine and Ivar. For more information about ArcLight, visit www.arclightcinemas.com. IFFLA 2006 FULL PROGRAM Complete information on IFFLA’s 2006 programming, including play dates, program notes, cast and crew credits, running times and technical specifications will be available beginning March 23 on the festival’s website www.indianfilmfestival.org Wednesday, April 19, 2006- 7:30PM WATER (Dir: Deepa Mehta / Canada-Sri Lanka/2005/117 min/35mm) Thursday, April 20- 6:30PM MEN OF BURDEN Pedaling Towards a Horizon (Dir: Raghu Jeganathan, Kousalya Jeganathan/ USA-India/2005/78 min/Beta S) Thursday, April 20- 7:15PM PARZANIA ( Dir: Rahul Dholakia/India/2005/123 min/35mm) Thursday, April 20- 9:30PM Shorts Program 1 ALL ROADS LEAD TO HERE (Dir: Richie Mehta and Stuart McIntyre/UK/2005/5 min/Beta SP) THE LAST DANCE (Dir: Akshay Roy/India/2005/15 min/ Beta SP) 5x1=5 (Dir: Kamal Raghani / India/2005/5 min/Beta SP) LUCKY (Dir: Avie Luthra/South Africa-UK/2005/20 min/Beta SP) FLOWER GIRL ( Dir: Rajan Khosa/India/2005/12min/Beta SP) CATARACT (Dir: Sainath Choudhury/Germany/2005/9 min/Beta SP) PRIA (Dir: Theadore Bezaire/Canada/2005/12 min/Beta SP Thursday, April 20- 10:00PM DREAMING LHASA ( Dir: Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam/ India - UK /2005/90 min/35mm) Friday, April 21- 7:00PM BOMBAY CALLING (Dir: Ben Addelman & Samir Mallal/ Canada/2005/72 min/Beta SP) Friday, April 21- 7:30PM Tribute to Naseeruddin Shah: THE CHURNING (MANTHAN) - ( Dir: Shyam Benegal/India/1976/134 min/35mm) Friday, April 21- 8:30PM DOMBIVLI-FAST ( Dir: Nishikant Kamat/India/2005/110 min/35mm) Friday, April 21- 9:30PM Shorts Program 2 BULLA KI JAANA ( Dir: Anand Surapur/India/2005/5 min 16 sec/Beta SP) THE GRINDING MACHINE (GIRNI) ( Dir: Umesh Kulkarni/India/2005/22 min/35mm) G-23 (Dir: Anthony Chen/ Singapore/2005/19 min/35mm) FLEETING BEAUTY ( Dir: Virginia Pitts / New Zealand /2004/10 min/35mm) LITTLE PRINCESS (Dir: Victoria Harwood/UK-India/2005/19 min/Beta SP) 6 Ft In 7 Min (Dir: Rafael Del Toro/USA /2005/15 min/Beta SP) Saturday, April 22- 12:00PM BELLY FULL OF DREAMS ( Dir: Prakash Kovelamudi/India/2005/94 min/35mm) Saturday, April 22- 1:00PM Shorts Program 1 (encore) Saturday, April 22- 3:00PM IN THE NAME OF GOD (DAIVANAMATHIL) ( Dir: Jayaraj/India/2005/105 min/35mm) Saturday, April 22- 3:30PM THE WIDOW COLONY ( Dir: Harpreet Kaur/ India-USA/2005/70 min/Beta SP) Saturday, April 22- 6:00PM DANCE OF LOVE (SRINGARAM) ( Dir: Sharada Ramanathan/ India/2005/117 min/35mm) Saturday, April 22- 6:30PM I FOR INDIA ( Dir: Sandhya Suri/ UK-Germany /2005/70 min/Beta SP) Saturday, April 22- 8:30PM FIVE (PAANCH) ( Dir: Anurag Kashyap/India/2003/145 min/35mm) Saturday, April 22- 9:30PM THE MARRIED WOMAN (PARINEETA) ( Dir: Pradeep Sarkar/India/2005/130 min/35mm) Sunday, April 23- 12:00PM KidsFest CHAKACHAK ( Dir: Chetan Sharma/ India/2005/5 min/Beta SP) THE PEACE TREE ( Dir: Mitra Sen/ Canada/2005/47 min/Beta SP) Sunday, April 23- 1:30PM Documentary Program RUNAWAY GROOMS ( Director: Ali Kazimi/ Canada/2005/52 min/Beta SP) WAITING... ( Director: Atul Gupta,& Shabnam Ara/ India/2005/39 min/Beta SP) Sunday, April 23- 3:00PM MONSOON WEDDING –(Dir: Mira Nair/India/2001/114 min/35mm) Sunday, April 23- 3:30PM Shorts Program 2 (encore) Sunday, April 23- 7:00PM CLOSING NIGHT GALA TBA Additional information: Nichola Ellis / Z Ikkery ###
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