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March 09, 2006
Press Contact:
Nichola Ellis / Z. Ikkery - The Lighthouse Company
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DEEPA MEHTA’S “WATER” TO OPEN
THE 4 th ANNUAL INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles Philharmonic and IFFLA to co-present Lifetime Achievement Award to acclaimed sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar
March 9, 2006 ( Los Angeles , CA ) – Deepa Mehta’s provocative ensemble WATER will open the 4 th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) on April 19, festival Executive Director Christina Marouda announced today. At the same time, Marouda revealed that the festival will honor Ravi Shankar Grammy award winning and Academy Award nominated sitarist and composer at the Gala reception following with the Los Angeles Philharmonic co-presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to him. This year the festival will run from April 19 through April 23, 2006 at ArcLight Cinemas, Hollywood .
“We are truly delighted to be hosting the Los Angeles premiere of this powerful film. Our intention is to highlight the best of Indian cinema and WATER exemplifies just that,” Marouda said in making this announcement. “We are ecstatic about working with a major studio like Fox Searchlight, which clearly shows the growth of Indian cinema in North America .”
Deepa Mehta (“Fire,” “Earth”) and star Lisa Ray (“Bollywood Hollywood”) will be in town for the festival premiere, which will be released by Fox Searchlight on April 28. An intimately profound moving story, WATER explores the religious implications of India ’s “widow houses” where, even today, women of all ages are taken to live apart from society following the deaths of their husbands. The story follows three widows who dared to stand up for themselves during the liberating time of Mahatma Gandhi.
The third film in Mehta's “trilogy of the elements,” WATER s tars Seema Biswas (“Bandit Queen”); Lisa Ray (“Bollywood Hollywood”); John Abraham (“Dhoom”) and Sarala who plays the young 8-year old widow Chuyia. WATER is written and directed by Deepa Mehta, produced by David Hamilton who also executive produced along with Mark Burton, Ajay Virmani and Doug Mankoff.
WATER , which opened the Toronto International Film Festival, has earned nine Canadian GENIE Award nominations including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Seema Biswas). The GENIE’s will be announced on March 13 in Toronto .
During the Gala reception The Los Angeles Philharmonic will co-present the Lifetime Achievement Award to world-renowned sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar. In addition, acclaimed artists Paul Livingstone and Pedro Eustache of the Arohi Ensemble and Barry Phillips will perform one of Shankar’s ragas in tribute to their former teacher.
Shankar, who earned international recognition when he received nominations for a Grammy and an Academy Award for Sir Richard Attenborough’s GANDHI has become one of India’s most prolific music composers with over 26 feature films, including the Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy. He has won nine Filmfare Awards (“Anari,” “Mera Naam Joker”) and three Grammy Awards for “West Meets East” in 1967; “Concert for Bangladesh” (1972 Album of the Year); “Full Circle-Carnegie Hall 2000” (2001 Best World Music Album). The late George Harrison who collaborated with Shankar, referred to him as the Godfather of World Music.
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.
Ticket prices for the Opening Night Gala are $60 each and include a gala-reception following the film.
Tickets will go on sale on March 24. The full festival line-up will be announced on March 21. Tickets will be available at ArcLight Hollywood box-office and online at www.arclightcinemas.com.
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 Cinemas
ArcLight Cinemas, created by Pacific Theatres, represents a new evolution in the movie going experience. The beautifully designed facility, 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.
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