IFFM is an eleven day feast for the eyes, ears and mind. The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne was established in 2012 as an initiative of the Victorian Government.
The festival presents a world-class program overflowing with gala events, master classes with India’s leading film figures, and over 50 films screenings in 17 languages across four Melbourne venues. The festival is delighted to announce a number of India’s biggest stars as special guests for 2016.
Besides the best stars from Bollywood like Ranveer Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and a lot more, Amrinder Gill will be present to represent in the "Beyond Bollywood" category of films.
The best part is that only two Punjabi films will be showcased in this festival. One of them is Angrej and the other one is Chauthi Koot - 4th Direction, directed by Gurvinder Singh.
The festival is going to take place from 11th - 21st August. On 12th August, the awards event will take place wherein a jury consisting both Indian and Australian film & TV personalities, will be conferring awards in different categories.
With “Women’s Empowerment” as its unifying theme, this year’s festival explores the richness of contemporary cinema from India and the sub-continent, featuring films spanning Bollywood box-office hits to documentaries and arthouse festival favourites, as well as hosting the third edition of the annual Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards.
OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHTS IFFM
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kicks off on 11 August with Parched, a contemporary melodrama set in an isolated north Indian village where long upheld customs are slowly evolving. Parched premiered at TIFF and has taken the international film festival circuit by storm, winning the prestigious IMPACT Award at Stockholm, Audience and Best Actress award at The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and more. “Parched is my reaction to a misogynistic society that treats women as objects of sex, where their greatest role is to serve men. Giving my women characters a voice that observes, absorbs and reacts was what drove me to write this drama about ordinary women who are driven to extraordinary ends,” said director Leena Yadav, who is an IFFM Festival Guest. Lead actress Radhika Apte is also in attendance.
The opening week coincides with the Indian Independence Day celebrations and the Festival is thrilled to commemorate this event through ceremony, dance and the recognition of excellence in India’s film culture. Celebrations will include the raising of the Indian flag on Saturday 13 August at Federation Square by Bollywood veteran Rishi Kapoor, followed by the Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition judged by actresses Richa Chadda, Shakun Batra and Malaika Arora Khan.
As its closing film on Aug 21, IFFM is delighted to host the Victorian premiere of Angry Indian Goddesses with key cast in attendance. Directed by Pan Nalin, the film follows a riotous weekend in Goa experienced by a bride-to-be and her best female friends.
WESTPAC IFFM AWARDS & NOMINEES
IFFM is proud to once again host the Westpac Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards (IFFM Awards), the first Indian cinema awards of their kind in Australia. A jury panel of leading Indian and Australian film industry figures including director Paul Ireland, producer Sue Maslin, screenwriter Andrew Anastasios, editor Jill Bilcock, Indian critic Rajeev Masand, and the timeless “lady in white”, Simi Garewal, will honour winners in five categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Film, and Best Independent Film.
The winners will be announced at a red carpet gala event on 12 August at the Melbourne Recital Centre with a host of Indian stars and industry leaders in attendance. The awards will feature the Empowerment Concert, a performance of song and dance featuring renowned Pakistani singer-songwriter Sarah Haider, award-winning Indian singer Shalmali Kholgade, the multi-talented Anushka Manchanda and other notable local performers in an unforgettable night of glamour, song and dance.
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT
With a special focus on this year’s theme of “Women’s Empowerment”, IFFM presents new and classic films from India and the subcontinent, with a special selection of films, panels and roundtable discussions based around the theme.
Festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange said, “This theme was an obvious choice for us with so many of this year’s films portraying strong and vibrant female characters, while female directors turn the focus on inequality and liberation. We are delighted to have some really inspiring pioneers including Vidya Balan, Simi Garewal and Leena Yadav as special guests.’
The ‘Women’s Empowerment’ theme is explored in a number of critically lauded features and documentaries across six program streams, including the opening and closing night films Parched and Angry Indian Goddesses, as well as a roundtable discussion with critic Rajeev Masand exploring ‘Wild Women in Cinema’ (Sat 13 Aug), and two ‘In Conversation’ events: Richa Chadda on ‘Bollywood and Body Positivity’ (Sat 13 Aug) and Rajeev Masand In Conversation With Rishi Kapoor’ (Sun 14 Aug). Academy Award-winning Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy's films are honoured with a special Festival focus in the Masterstrokes section. The Festival will present a full retrospective of her documentaries, including the Victorian premiere of A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers, which follows 160 predominantly Muslim Bangladeshi policewomen on a difficult mission overseas, and her Oscar-winning short films about issues facing Pakistani women: A Girl In The River: The Price Of Forgiveness, exploring contemporary honour killings, and Saving Face, about the horrendous practice of acid attacks.
