| +Power
sector news EXCISE
: Tariff 41, 42
|
CINEMAX EXPANDS NATIONAL PRESENCE UP TO 21 Thesynergyonline Entertainment Bureau NEW DELHI,
AUG 15 : Speaking about the new property Mr Devang Sampat, Senior Vice President, Cinemax India Ltd said, “We at Cinemax have been providing cinema lovers in Maharashtra and Gujarat with the best movie-viewing experience, be it due to our screen size, picture, sound quality or the innovative offers for our consumers." " With CINEMAX Faridabad, we are aiming to make a grand entry into the North of the country which is a very important market for us. "We are here to provide the movie enthusiasts of Faridabad, a state of the art entertainment complex as entertainment and comfort are the hallmarks of Cinemax and will be for years to come , " he added. Cinemax Faridabad, is a fine three screen multiplex which can seat 730 patrons with 16 recliner seats in Screen 2, where one can sink into cozy sofas that recline up to 150 degrees. Patrons can also savor personalized café service here while enjoying their favorite movies. Cinemax Faridabad is a symphony of style with a front foyer and intelligent lighting, along with top-of-the-line amenities. The three-screen multiplex will also offer patrons an out-of this-world experience. Superb acoustic systems will enhance the experience of watching a movie. Besides boasting of up to date technology, CINEMAX Faridabad will also host shows, special screenings and film festivals of regional films to suit the preferences of all its patrons. Starting this week are the three screens - Screen 1 capacity - 217 patrons, Screen 2 capacity - 265 patrons (Recliner – 16, Normal – 249) & Screen 3 capacity - 248 patrons. True to its byline of “Enjoy Relax: Cinemax”, Cinemax Multiplex so far has hosted number of high flying Bollywood movie premieres and regional films at its properties in Maharashtra and Gujarat. These multiplex experts aim to conduct similar successful and glamorous events in Faridabad as well. (npsinha@thesynergyonline.com) Thesynergyonline Entertainment Bureau NEW
DELHI, JULY 22 : NDTV Imagine the favourite entertainment destination announced its association with the Unforgettable Tour featuring the brightest stars from Indian cinema.As official Global Broadcast Partners of the tour, NDTV Imagine has lined up an exciting variety of programming that promises to capture the magic of the tour and present it to viewers across India. The Unforgettable tour brings together the greatest icons of Indian Cinema - Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Ritiesh Deshmukh, on one common global platform. The first leg of the tour kicks off in Toronto on July 18th and then travels to other exotic destinations including Trinidad, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Atlantic City, Chicago, New York, Vancouver, London and Amsterdam. Adding to the star-power, each show will feature celebrity guest performers such as heartthrob action man Akshay Kumar, the evergreen dancing queen Madhuri Dixit and the vivacious Shilpa Shetty. NDTV
Imagine will capture the best of the action, both on and off the stage
for each show and will present it through an exciting line up of programming:
The Unforgettable Tour Diaries – Daily update capsules that will capture all the behind the scenes action from the minute they land in each city, their experiences from shopping to sight-seeing, interactions with fans and leading up to each concert. The Tour Diaries will also present special features which capture interesting trivia about the stars and their memories of various performances and tours. - Curtain raiser– An exciting sneak-peak into the all the concerts including the rehearsals and other events… leading into the main gala show. - The Grand Finale – A spectacular, unforgettable night presenting power-packed performances by all the stars. Detailing the association with the Unforgettable Tour, Sameer Nair, CEO, NDTV Imagine, said, "A once-in-a-lifetime, never before seen concert with all Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan performing alongside a galaxy of stars, promises to be nothing less than Unforgettable. As Global Broadcast Partners to the tour, NDTV Imagine is taking the audience on a round-the-world tour, giving them the opportunity to witness these spectacular concerts in all their glory. In addition, we have plans for many exciting and innovative properties that will revolve around the whole tour, bringing alive the entire experience for our audience." (npsinha@thesynergyonline.com) A DAZZLING FINALE MARKS CLOSE OF 10TH OSIAN'S-CINEFAN FESTIVAL OF ASIAN AND ARAB CINEMA Thesynergyonline Entertainment Bureau NEW
DELHI , JULY 20 :
Even as the award-winners were congratulating each other on their awards, they and the viewers looked back at ten days when they got to see some of the best in Asian and Arab cinema and some from even other parts of the world.
The awards were given away at an event by the Chairpersons of the various juries, including well known Indonesian actress and producer Christine Hakim presided over the international jury, and Sai Paranjpye who headed the Indian competition, at function conducted by renowned actress Koel Purie and Raman Chawla from Osian's. Filmmakers received loud ovation as they to receive their awards, and became the cynosure of the large media as they stepped out after the award ceremony.
Those present at the event included Ramesh Sippy, Sudhir Mishra, Girish Kasarvalli Kundan Shah, Rahul Dholakia, Revathy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Shashanka Ghosh, Tara Sharma, Raima Sen, and Shibani Kashyap from India. The foreign dignitaries included Amos Gitai, Annamarie Jacil and Saleh Bakre.
As the Festival was marking ten years of its inception, it introduced several new features that have not only given the event a special boost but will help filmmakers all over Asian and Arab countries.
In addition to the annual award for writing, the Festival this year bestowed an additional award: the Osian's Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Cinema, given to renowned filmmaker Mrinal Sen. The writer's award, renamed the Aruna Vasudev Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Cinema, was presented to Jose "Pete" F. Lacaba from the Philippines.
The Festival was organized at Siri Fort complex and the Alliance Francaise in New Delhi from 10 to 20 July 2008 by Osian's Connoisseurs of Art in association with the Government of Delhi. Committed to bringing the finest films from India, Asia and Arab countries, it aims to break down artistic hierarchies of the popular and the highbrow to reinvent a thoughtful and creative film culture. Cinefan began in 1999 as a small festival of Asian Cinema with just 27 films, but grew after it was acquired by and merged into Osian's Connoisseurs of Art in 2004 and became Osian's-Cinefan.
The award money this year was raised to over Rs. One crore (approximately $ 250, 000) for the Competition Sections and Lifetime Achievement Awards. The winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award were presented Rs. 800,000 (approx. $ 20,000) each.
The two new Joint Festival Directors Ms Latika Padgaonkar and Ms Indu Shrikent took over the reigns of the Festival from renowned critic Aruna Vasudev – who founded the Cinefan Festival of Asian Cinema in 1999. She has decided to step down, though will continue to support the festival from outside as an advisor.
The Hong Kong films 'Sparrow' by maverick filmmaker Johnny To and 'My Blueberry Nights' by the eminent Wong Kar-wai were the opening and centrepiece films, while the Indian 'Mumbai Cutting' which has been directed by eleven prominent directors was the closing film of the Festival.
The Festival collectively had six juries comprising twenty-two distinguished individuals from the global film community, each of whom brought a unique perspective from every sphere of filmmaking. Esteemed directors, screenwriters, actors and cinematographers together presided over the awards selection for the films in competition, deciding the winners in four categories - Asian and Arab, Indian, First Features and In-Tolerance.
In addition, there were three-member juries each for the NETPAC (Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema) and FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics).
The Best Films in the Asian-Arab and Indian Competition sections were awarded Rs two million each ($ 50,000) and the Best Director in each section won Rs 800,000 ($ 20,000). The Special Jury Award and the Best Actor and Actress took away Rs 200,000 ($ 5000). An Audience Award set up for a film in competition won Rs 200,000 (approx $ 5000).
The new competition section dealing with themes of In-Tolerance has been created this year to showcase feature and documentary films that respond to or deal with the intolerance of our times. The Best Film in this category will take home a cash award of Rs 800,000 (approx. $ 20,000).
The Festival also saw the introduction of the first-ever Competition for First Features. The Best First Feature received Rs 200,000 (approx $ 5000) in addition to a guaranteed support of Rs 800,000 (approx $ 20,000) from fFOOD: The Film Fund - Osian's Originating Development, created by Osian's, for the next feature film.
Well known Indonesian actress and producer Christine Hakim presided over the international jury of the Festival. The Indian members of the juries are: Ketan Mehta, Sai Paranjpye, Nagesh Kukunoor, Bappaditya Bandopadhyay, Arun Khopkar and Meena Karnik.
A major highlight of the event was the unveiling of the scale model of the Osianama, Osian's flagship cultural complex and the most expensive Raja Ravi Varma painting bought to be housed in the Osianama. One new feature was FILMCRAFT: SCREENPLAY (WORLD CINEMA) showing films chosen with a view to opening a debate on whether the screenplay is a necessary evil and whether the verbal document called the screenplay can presage the living reality of images and sounds in cinema.
In a NEW FOCUS, the festival for the first time had short Fiction Films of less than 40 minutes duration from Asian and Arab countries. There was a special collection of films from Israel, and another on Palestinian cinema.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (WORLD CINEMA) celebrated the significance of the number 10 on the occasion of the festival's 10th anniversary. The films shown explored the manner in which cinema has navigated the narrow alley between censorship, transgression and pleasure throughout its history.
A new section, SPRINGBOARD, has been introduced to pay a tribute to other film festivals. As part of the tenth anniversary, this section comprised of films from earlier editions, selected by the Festival's Founder Aruna Vasudev.
The Festival, which saw the premiere of a large number of new feature films from Asia and Arab countries including Pakistan, also had its usual features like ASIAN FRESCOES with new films from Asian and Arab countries and INDIAN MOSAIC that showcased the richness and diversity of their cinemas, and CROSS-CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS with films that show a cross-cultural connection between Asian, Arab and other cultures.
However, the Festival has gone beyond merely good films. While films are the ultimate stress busters and the most reliable source of entertainment, film festivals provide the platform to argue, agree, learn, challenge and ignite one's imagination. In 2005, Osian's launched IBM2 – a series of seminars, conferences, exhibitions, auctions and panel discussions to draw attention to the entire cycle of a film's life. This year, IBM2 included: Talent Campus India – a six-day workshop for thirty-one aspiring filmmakers from South Asia (including 28 from India) in collaboration with Berlinale Talent Campus, Berlin International Film Festival and Max Mueller Bhavan; ABC Series IV, an Art, Book & Film Memorabilia Auction, which was a huge success; and the Osian's Asian II Exhibition that brought together the world's largest collection of Japanese Samurai armour and Kabuto helmets alongside a focus on Asian erotica; Lectures and Panel Discussions. The discussions included one on 'A Matter of life and Death', to ascertain whether critics can make or mar a film.
Paul Schrader, one of the world's most famous screenplay writers, delivered a Masterclass on Screenwriting at the Festival where two films written by him, 'Mishima' and Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' were screened at the festival.
In keeping with its central theme of LITERATURE IN CINEMA, there was a discussion on Writing and Cinema about the Novel in Adaptation. The Festival had films based on novels and adaptations, meetings with directors and novelists, a tribute to Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz and Alain Robbe-Grillet's Gradiva – directed and scripted by the author himself. Tributes were also paid to two other renowned cinema personalities - Taiwanese director Edward Yang and Indonesian actress Christine Hakim who presided over the Asian-Arab jury. A Shakespeare corner was created where children from various schools came together to enact Shakespeare each evening.
Apart from informal interactions, the Festival saw around twenty press conferences with Indian and foreign delegates.
Earlier in a preview event in Mumbai, the original 'yahoo' star of India, Shammi Kapoor, was felicitated in grand style with a Lifetime Achievement Award in a grand finale to a two-day Festival held on 13 and 14 June.
The Best Films in the Asian-Arab and Indian Competition sections were awarded Rs two million each ($ 50,000) and the Best Director in each section won Rs 800,000 ($ 20,000). The Special Jury Award and the Best Actor and Actress took away Rs 200,000 ($ 5000). An Audience Award set up for a film in competition won Rs 200,000 (approx $ 5000).
The new competition section dealing with themes of In-Tolerance has been created this year to showcase feature and documentary films that respond to or deal with the intolerance of our times. The Best Film in this category will take home a cash award of Rs 800,000 (approx. $ 20,000).
The Festival also saw the introduction of the first-ever Competition for First Features. The Best First Feature received Rs 200,000 (approx $ 5000) in addition to a guaranteed support of Rs 800,000 (approx $ 20,000) from fFOOD: The Film Fund - Osian's Originating Development, created by Osian's, for the next feature film.
Asian and Arab Competition
1. Best Film Award: Tokyo Sonata by Kiyoshi Kurosawa 'For its sensitive and panoramic portrayal of dramatically changing socio-economic and family values,'
2. Best Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan For the film Three Monkeys For his cinematic treatment of intense internal human conflicts in difficult situations and for his deep understanding of human nature and excellent handling of actors.
3. Best Actor: Amor Hakkar in his own film The Yellow House 'For being the soul of the film and for giving a sensitive, elegant and understated performance in the film,'
4. Best Actress Award: Hiam Abbas and Rona Lipaz- Michael in The Lemon Tree 'For portraying complex emotions in conflicting situations and for balancing and complementing each other'
5. Special Jury Award: 'Salt of This Sea' by Annamarie Jacir 'For her courage as a film maker and for her intensely personal journey of self discovery through one of the most complex conflicts of our time,'
FIRST FEATURES
6. Confessional by Ruel Dahis Antipuesto and Jerrold Viacrucis Tarog
INDIAN COMPETITION:
7. Best Film Award: Gulabi Talkies directed by Girish Kasarvalli by Basanikumar Patil and Amrita Patil For its multi-layered portrayal of a vibrant people being dragged unknowingly into an important socio-economic transition of recent times, and for its deft and masterful blending of artistic sensitivity with stunning realism.
8. Best Director: Remo for A Story of Red Hills For effectively transposing his magnificent obsession about a dying folk art into a cinematic form and for successfully reaching out with his first film told straight from the heart
9. Best Actor: Shared by two actors Rajat Kapur for The Prisoner by Pryas Gupta for powerfully bringing out the inner angst of a troubled soul – a social misfit who remains a captive even when released from jail, and Govind Namdeo for his role in Kabootar by Maqbool Khan For a stunning performance as an under world don bringing a new dimension and meaning to the term "Menace"
10. Best Actress Award: Umashree for Gulabi Talkies by Girish Kasarvalli for bringing to life Gulabi, a fisher mid-wife, a truly multi-faceted character, for her effort less portrayal of a women at once wise and childlike, brave and vulnerable, strong and compassionate.
11. NETPAC JURY AWARD: Bioscope by K.M. Madhusudhanan
12. FIPRESCI COMPETITION: Ramchand Pakistani by Mehreen Jabbar and Salt Of This Sea by Annemarie Jacir for the quality of their cinematic treatment in depicting the cause to humanity through the futility of politics
13.
The Audience Award: The Band's Visit by Eran Kolirin. OSIAN'S-CINEFAN SHOWCASES TO THE BEST IN ASIAN AND ARAB CINEMA Thesynergyonline Entertainment Bureau NEW
DELHI, JULY 14 : In the programme compered by actor Rajat Kapur, Mr Tuli presented Ms Vasudev with a shawl as a mark of respect. Ms
Vasudev said when she had launched the 'Cinemaya', the world's first film
quarterly on Asian cinema in 1988, people had been sceptical. She later
launched the Cinefan Film Festival of Asian Cinema in 1999 on a meagre
budget of Rs 600,000 given by the Delhi Government. Joining hands with
Osian's did not mean a surrender of independence, but the coming together
of minds. Mr Sen said in his acceptance speech that he was receiving the award with quiet dignity. This was because he felt that he could still do a lot more to justify the honours bestowed on him. Mr Lacaba said after receiving the Aruna Vasudev Lifetime Achiement Award that it was very rare for a script writer to get acknowledged for his work, since the credit for a film went either to the director or the stars. Members of the six juries were also presented to the audience during the ceremony. Three audio-visuals were shown on the occasion, on OSIAN's, the Mumbai festival last month, and on actor Shammi Kapoor who was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award in Mumbai. The
Hong Kong film 'Sparrow' by maverick filmmaker Johnny To was the opening
film. 'My Blueberry Nights' by the eminent Wong Kar-wai will be the centrepiece
film, while the Indian 'Mumbai Cutting' which has been directed by eleven
prominent directors will be the closing film of the Festival. The 10th Osian's-Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema opened with a Hong Kong film Sparrow, directed by the maverick filmmaker Johnny To, starring Simon Yam, Kelly Lin, Ka Tung Lam, Hoi-Pang Lo and Kenneth Cheung. Johnny To addressed a press conference at Siri Fort and answered a volley of questions with conviction. Extremely happy to have been invited to the Osian's-Cinefan Festival, he said this was his first visit to India. While he was generally impressed by the strides made by Indian cinema to preserve their culture, he felt there was a need for more films from here to reach out to his country. Johnny specializes in black humour, and that is what he had tried in his films. Asked about the use of minimal dialogues in his film, he said visuals appealed to him more than words. This was also his way of reaching out to a larger audience. Commenting on the lack of big stars, he pointed out that with them the director had no role as they virtually took over the film. It took him three years to complete Sparrow and his star cast gave him their dedicated time. While his movie was about pickpockets, it was almost lyrical in content and the sequences appeared choreographed. Music was integral to his style of film making. Johnny said the film industry in Hong Kong had not changed very much after the British handed over the island nation to China, but the standard of films remained low since the majority of films were commercial blockbusters. However, one encouraging sign of the last ten years was that some serious and personalized cinema was now also being made. He said the word Sparrow represented the struggle for freedom, but the Hong Kong word for sparrow also meant a pickpocket. He said he had taken the services of a retired pickpocket to train his actors. Born in Hong Kong in 1955, Johnnie To began his film career in 1973 as a producer for Television Broadcast Ltd. Following his directorial debut with the martial arts fantasy The Enigmatic Case, To's career gained recognition in the late 1980s. Through the trademark realism of his company, Milky Way Films, the maverick filmmaker created a new tone in Hong Kong cinema which instilled a creative energy into a stagnant Hong Kong genre. If there's one name that has kept Hong Kong cinema alive from its post-handover hangover to today, it's Johnnie To. From comedies to romantic melodramas, gangster shoot-em-ups to bizarre fantasies, To has made nearly fifty films in his illustrious career, often at a rate of three or four a year. He's living proof that the best genre films are now made in Hongkong. Osian's announced the acquisition of the Leonard Schrader Collection, the private collection of early Hollywood Lobby Cards. For the Osian's Collection, the acquisition of this archive is another step towards becoming the world's largest repositories of film memorabilia material. While it already possesses the world's largest collection of Indian cinema publicity material, with the Leonard Schrader Collection coming in, the Osian's archive further expands its history of Hollywood cinema, an endeavor that is unmatched in its scale and vision. This collection will be housed at the Osianama, Osian's flagship arts and culture complex due to open in Mumbai in 2009. The Leonard Schrader collection consists of 8462 vintage lobby cards of early cinema, many of the films now lost irretrievably, and 5000 related items that were put together and painstakingly preserved by the late screenwriter/filmmaker Leonard Schrader over 27 years. Leonard Schrader was the well-known writer of films such as The Yakuza and Mishima and The Kiss of the Spiderwoman (the last two being shown at this year's Osian's-Cinefan) and was the brother of Paul Schrader. He also earned an Academy Award Nomination for his screenplay for Kiss of the Spider Woman. Having studied writing with the likes of Nelson Algren, Richard Yates, Kurt Vonnegut and Jorge Luis Borges, he had an abiding interest in Japanese history and culture. Few knew about the extent of the collection although his propensity to acquire film memorabilia was a well-known fact. The collection was discovered in its full glory only after his death in 2006. The historian of early cinema, Anthony Slide has described it as the largest collection of its kind built by a private individual. Others have praised Leonard Schrader for the meticulous care with which he put together his collection showing a great sensitivity to historical nuance and aesthetic considerations. Mr. Neville Tuli, Founder Chairman, Osian's Connoisseurs of Art says, "This is another important step in making India the knowledge center for the arts and cinema. Without acquiring such a collection, no great visual and textual library can be built for world-class research, attracting the finest scholars and creative minds to India." David Weisman who has known and worked with Leonard Schrader for 28 years added, "Even though a number of museums had approached us, we decided to give this collection to Neville Tuli as he was the only one with the vision who understood its importance and wanted to keep the entire collection together". Indian audiences will now be able to feast their eyes on a veritable carnival of colours, forms and figures that make up the liveliness of cinema in its earliest years. Beyond the beauty and creativeness of design that went into the publicity material, many here will be introduced to the careers of some of the legends of early film, many of whom are little known in India today. Almost every important personality of early Euro-American cinema is represented here making the Leonard Collection an invaluable trove of knowledge about the history of film for our times. The collection's real pleasure lies in re-discovering the frontiers of cinema's childhood established by figures who were once well known (even in India) but have now been forgotten due to selective historical memory. The collection promises to transport us into a unique aesthetic and intellectual adventure with its mix of comedy, horror, action, suspense and romance in many shapes and forms and in many locations of the world. It promises a new engagement with the history of cinema in an unprecedented way, an engagement with the excitement that the medium has always brought into our lives and opened up our imaginations to the most fantastic futures.(npsinha@thesynergyonline.com) |
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||