Latest news with #RaamReddy
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New York Indian Film Festival Highlights Include Shyam Benegal and James Ivory Tributes: What to See
The 25th anniversary edition of the New York Indian Film Festival — one of the nation's leading showcases of independent Indian cinema — unspools at New York's Angelika through Sunday, June 22. Officially opening Friday, June 20 with Raam Reddy's 2024 Berlinale selection 'The Fable,' the festival includes Anurag Kashyap's intense Hindi-language thriller 'Kennedy' as the Centerpiece on June 21. Kashyap will also host a master class on the challenges facing Bollywood and the future of independent cinema in India. More from IndieWire Apple TV+ Signs First-Look Film Deal with North Road's Chernin Entertainment 'You Kind of Have to Fight for More Room': Melissa Barrera Says Diverse Casting Has Net Effect on Productions There's also a tribute to late, great Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal, with a 4K restoration of his 1976 landmark 'Manthan,' about India's White Revolution and revived by the Film Heritage Foundation. As part of a program of films honoring master storytellers, the New York Indian Film Festival will also screen Dev Benegal's 2024 short for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 'An Arrested Moment.' The film explores Oscar-winning director James Ivory's fascination with Indian art and culture. Ivory established Merchant-Ivory with his creative and personal partner Ismail Merchant, the Indian film producer who died in 2005. Early indie films made out of India from the director/producer pair include 'The Householder,' 'Shakespeare Wallah,' and 'Bombay Talkie' before they transitioned famously to adapting classic, canonical English-language novels. 'An Arrested Moment' plays June 22 with Taira Malaney's documentary 'Turtle Walker,' which explores the population of enigmatic sea turtles living along the coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This year's New York Indian Film Festival actually kicked off on Thursday, June 19 with the North American premiere of 'Tanvi the Great,' which marks Anupam Kher's first directing effort in two decades; the political and personal epic, about a young woman confronting her father's military legacy, premiered at the Cannes Market earlier this year. Kher has worked as a lauded actor on Indian productions since the early 1980s, best known for his onscreen performances and acting school (he previously directed 2002's 'Om Jai Jagadish'). Robert De Niro surprised Kher with an appearance at the Angelika screening. Kaushal Oza's directorial debut, the coming-of-age film 'Little Thomas,' closes the festival, and it follows an only child in 1990s Goa trying to help his parents give him a baby brother. Other highlights include Aditya Kriplani's fiction-and-reality-blurring fame critique 'I'm Not an Actor' with 'Sacred Games' star Nawazuddin Siddiqui; an LGBTQ double feature for Pride Month' with the gay romance 'Riptide' followed by the short 'IYKYK'; Nikhil Mahajan's climate change tale 'The Tiger,' about the struggle between human and tigers in a remote village; and much more. See the full schedule and buy tickets via New York Indian Film Festival's official website here. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See
Mint
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Free for Reel: Mumbai's free-to-attend film screening clubs
On Tuesday afternoon, I found myself in a packed theatre at the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in Mumbai for a screening of Thithi, Raam Reddy's award-winning 2015 Kannada feature. Two hours later, as the credits rolled, Reddy launched into a workshop about his journey as a filmmaker and the making of Thithi, warning the audience that it would last at least an hour and a half. Very few people left their seats. Towards the end, he screened an unreleased trailer for The Fable, saying his upcoming film is in the 'magic realism genre". During the Q&A, an audience member asked what that meant. Reddy explained: magic realism treats the magical not as spectacle but as fact, woven into the everyday setting of the plot. Also read: What to watch this week: 'Thug Life', 'The Living End' and more It struck me that the person asking the question likely wasn't 'from the scene". This was a free, public screening. Anyone who saw the announcement on the Instagram feeds of the organisers—NMIC, NFDC (National Film Development Corporation) or the VHS (Versova Homage Screening) collective—could attend. In that room, newcomers and cinephiles, students and artists sat side by side, drawn not by exclusivity or ticket prices but by a shared love for cinema. Over the past year, I've seen more such scenes emerge in Mumbai: film screenings that are free and accessible, and spaces where community grows alongside cinema. VHS has been hosting such screenings for over a year, followed by informal Q&As with directors. 'When we started, we invited friends, collaborators, fellow filmmakers," says Rohan K. Mehta, writer/director and co-founder of VHS. 'But word spread quickly. Demand far outgrew venue size, so we moved to a form-based RSVP system." The audience today is a mix of regulars and curious newcomers. Most of their screenings happen in and around Andheri, the heart of the film industry in Mumbai. 'Down south, places like G5A and the Film Heritage Foundation also screen rare and exceptional films," Mehta adds. These screenings are either free or priced between ₹100-250. Then there's started by Apan Singhal, a Delhi-based product designer and software developer. It curates film screenings across Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, sharing updates via city-specific WhatsApp groups. 'The idea came two years ago when I realised film viewing had become a solitary activity in the post-OTT world," says Singhal. 'Fillum tries to bring back the community aspect." The Mumbai group now has over 200 members. 'Around 50% of all film events in Mumbai are free, and most of the rest are under ₹250," he says. Also read: 'Loal Kashmir': Stories of love and longing from Kashmir More recently, there's Secret Cinema, a club that began just two months ago. Each session hosts about 20-25 people who debate between two classic films, vote, and watch the winner together. Everyone introduces themselves before the screening, with one fun fact and one life tip. 'People need third spaces," says the club's co-founder, who prefers to stay anonymous. 'Places where you show up as you are, do something together, maybe meet someone new. Free screenings matter not just for the films, but for the feeling of belonging. That's the whole point." These spaces are becoming less gate-kept. I've lived in Mumbai long enough to feel like a local, but not long enough to take these pockets for granted. It's heartening that anyone can walk into a room full of strangers, find a seat, and be part of something cinematic. All it takes is following the right Instagram handle. Also read: 'Stolen' review: No good deed does unpunished in this bleak, impressive thriller
