The 4th Indo German Film Festival is giving an opportunity to city cinephiles to eat, sleep and breathe cinema over six whole days
The 4th Indo German Film Festival is giving an opportunity to city cinephiles to eat, sleep and breathe cinema over six whole days
In the world of abundant torrents, quick downloads and online DVD acquisitions at the click of the mouse, possessing world cinema might no longer be a mean feat.
But it can hardly beat the feeling of watching films from all over the world, together with other film buffs on the big screen as part of a film festival.
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The whole act of queuing up to acquire precious passes, making time in between work, travelling to the end of the earth just to watch a film is an old fashioned pleasure that many of us have forgotten.
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The 4th Indo German Film festival called Two Nations- A Single Screen that is coming to town this weekend will make sure that you catch the big screen bug for atleast the next six days.
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The Max Mueller Bhavan in association with Suchitra Film Society, Asian Film Foundation and the Taj Enlighten Film Society among others, is not only bringing award-winning cinema from Germany but also from all over India and some childrens films too.
"After Mumbai and Delhi, our next target was Bangalore and what better way to introduce ourselves to the city than to associate ourselves with the 4th Indo German Film festival," Pranav Ashar, the founder of Mumbai-based Taj Enlighten Film Society, says.
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A non-profit organisation that screens world cinema, the Taj Enlighten Society will also launch cult German science fiction film Metropolis by Fritz Lang at this festival in the form of a home video.
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Award winning Kannada director Girish Karasavalli's Kanasembo Kudureyaneri and Paresh Mokashi's Harishchandrache Factory are the films to look out for at this festival according to Ashar.
With twenty films in the pipeline including last year's critically acclaimed Marathi films like Bioscope, Harishchandra's Factory, Gabhricha Paus and the works of well known filmmakers like Fatih Akin, the line up is exciting to say the least.
Film Synopsis
Films from Germany
When we leave (Die Fremde)
Director: Feo Aladag, 123 minutes, Germany
Umay has returned to Berlin with her son Cem from an unhappy marriage in Istanbul. She has come back to her parents' place to lead her life on her own terms.u00a0
A Year Ago in Winter
Director Caroline Link, 128 minutes, Germany
The perfect life of Eliane and Thomas Richter suddenly shatters one day when their son Alexander dies in a tragic car crash. To get over their immense loss, Eliane commissions the famous artist Max Hollander to paint a portrait of Alexander and his sister Lili.u00a0
Jerichow
Director: Christian Petzold, 93 minutes, Germany
The lives of three strangers cross each other's paths in a small village called Jerichow in North East Germany. Thomas, a dishonoured former soldier, Ali a Turkish businessman and Laura, Ali's wife who has a difficult past, meet each other.u00a0u00a0u00a0
John Rabe
Director Florian Gallenberger, 134 minutes, Germany
John Rabe, a businessman from Hamburg in Germany has lived with wife Dora in Nanking in China for nearly thirty years. After spending many years as the head of a multinational company there, Rabe is now about to return to Berlin. Just before leaving, however Nanking is bombed by the Japanese and his life changes forever.
Lila Lila
Director Alain Gsponer, 108, Germany
Lila Lila traces the life of a young waiter, David who is secretly in love with the beautiful Maria. David is scared to approach Maria until one day when he presents her with a manuscript of a book.u00a0
Soul Kitchen
Director Fatih Akin, 99 minutes, Germany
Zinos owns a restaurant called Soul Kitchen which is not doing good business currently because of the introduction of a gourmet chef to his eatery. To make matters worse, his girlfriend has also moved to Shanghai. Things improve when a hip crowd of youngsters embrace his new menu, but Zinos is heart broken.u00a0
Storm
Director Hans-Christian Schmid, 110 minutes, Germany
Hannah Maynard is a prosecutor leading a trial against Goran Duric, who is accused of deportation and killing of Bosnian-Muslim civilians in a Serbian small town.u00a0
Whisky with Vodka
Director Andreas Dresen 108 minutes, Germany
Fimstar Otto Kullberg loves adulation and his drink. One day he forgets to make it to the sets of his new film because of a hangover and realises that he is not really indispensable.u00a0
Indian Feature Films
Riding the Stallion of a Dream (Kanasembo Kudureyaneri)
Director Girish Kasaravalli, 105 minutes, Kannada
Irya, a gravedigger possesses a strange power. Whatever he dreams of, the next day it comes true. Until one day Irya realises that he has lost this power.
Liberation (Vimukti)
Director P. Sheshadri, 110 minutes, Kannada
Madhavi, the only daughter of painter Keshavrao is obsessed with her father due to early life deprivation of motherly love. Madhavi cannot stand anyone getting close to her father. Even after getting married, Madhavi's marital life remains unfulfilled because of her fixation with her father.u00a0
Kanchivaram
Priyadarshan, 112 minutes, Tamil
This film is set against the backdrop of Kanchivaram's handloom silk industry from the 1920's to the 40's. Vangadam, a silk weaver, promises his daughter on her birth that he would spin a beautiful silk sari for her wedding. But to make this dream into reality, his meagre salary is not enough. He resorts to stealing a silk thread each day and continues weaving the sari.u00a0u00a0u00a0
Bioscope
Director K M. Madhusudhanan, 94 minutes, Malayalam
Diwakaran, a villager, has been in the shackles colonial slavery for years. Suddenly he gets a bioscope from a Frenchman called DuPont, who does bioscope shows on the coasts of Tamil Nadu. A new friendship develops between them and the world opens up for Diwakaran.
The Man Beyond the Bridge (Paltadacho Munis)
Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, 96 minutes, Konkani
Vinayak, a forest guard lives a lonely life in the dense forests of the Goa-Karnataka border. He is frustrated as his appeal for transfer is always rejected. One day, a mad woman enters his life. A romantic relationship develops between them.
The Damned Rain (Gabhricha Paus)
Director Satish Manwar, 100 minutes, Marathi
Kisna, a Marathi farmer tries his best to feed his family through all odds. His wife gets worried that he will commit suicide and puts their six-year old son to watch Kisna.
Harishchandra's Factory (Harishchandrache Factory)
Director Paresh Mokashi, 96 minutes, Marathi
Dhundiraj Phalke abandoned his well-established printing business after a quarrel with his partner. In those pre-independence days, motion pictures were screened in tents. Unemployed, one day he landed in one such tent and here the idea of India's first feature film Raja was born.
A Cup of Tea (Ek Cup Chya)
Director Sunil Sukthankar/Sumitra Bhave, 120 minutes, Marathi
Kashinath Sawant, a bus conductor is slammed with a huge electricity bill of Rs.73,000. Nobody listens to his plea of checking the bill. With the help of an RTI activist, Sawant files an RTI appeal and learns to correct the system.
Children's Feature Films
Hen in a Boat
Director Arend Agthe, 111 minutes, Germany
One day Robert and Johanna's grandfather finds a note saying that they have left home for a secret mission. Grandpa hops onto a boat and goes in search of them. What follows is a tale of adventure, fun and more.
Hands off Mississippi
Director Detlev Buck, 98 minutes, Germany
Ten-year-old Emma visits her grandmother Dolly in the countryside during her vacation. But once there, she realises that her neighbour old Klipperbusch is dead and his greedy nephew Albert is selling the mare Mississippi to make money.u00a0
Sparrows
Director Abhaya Simha, 95 minutes, Kannada
Ila and Anirudha with a guilty conscience set out to find their missing sparrow amidst the hustle-bustle of the city. But they soon land up in a strange and unknown land.u00a0
Foto
Director Virendra Saini, 91 minutes, Hindi
Everyone calls eleven-year-old Foto abnormal, as he likes living in his own world of image, colour, sound and music. And then one day, Foto discovers the key to a new world, where he meets a magician and a devil.
At Lavanya Theatre, St John's Road
On from August 20 to 26, 6 pm onwards
Call 2520 5305
Entry on the basis of delegate passes. Registration forms are available at Max Mueller Bhavan, Suchitra Film Society and Alliance Francaise
Log on to www. goethe.de
In conversationwith Girish Karasavalli
Award winning Kannada filmmaker Girish Karasavalli's film Kanasembo Kudureyaneri or Riding the Stallion of a Dream will premiere at the film festival. Karasavalli's was also a part of the Indian film committee that chose and recommended the German films that are being screened at the festival, to Max Mueller Bhavan. He spoke to us about his film and what to look out for at the festival.
How does it feel to be associated with the 4th Indo German Film festival?
It is an honour that my new film is premiering at the festival. It is a great privilege for any filmmaker when his film manages to reach out to a wider audience through a festival.
Tells us a bit about your film Kanasembo Kudureyaneri?
The film is based on a short story by Amaresh Nugadoni. A village gravedigger posseses a strange power. What he dreams turns into reality the next day. Until one day he loses this power. I found the story structurally fantastic.
What is the politics behind your film?
My film tries to show the difference between dreams and reality. How people of a certain class are pushed to the corner by those who are privileged, for their own gains. How these people convince a poor man that his dreams are not real. How the affluent make use of those who are marginalised.
Among the films being shown at the fest, which ones would you recommend and why?
At this festival you will get a chance to see filmmaker Fatih Akin's latest film Soul Kitchen. Whiskey and Vodka is a particularly interesting film about what goes into filmmaking. It's a film within a film.
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