New York Indian Film Fest to join with film schools

The oldest festival for Indian cinema in the United States will partner with three prestigious film schools in New York and India to help directors to have their stories reach a wider platform. The partnerships aimed at helping foster a new generation of filmmakers are with award-winning filmmaker Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods International (WWI)in Mumbai, The Department of Cinema Studies at Tisch, New York University, and the New York Film Academy. Organized by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), the 11th annual New York Indian Film Festival will run from May 4 to May 8 in Manhattan.

WWI, an institute for film, television, animation, and media arts, awards the top short films from its film students each year. These award-winning shorts will now travel to New York and screen at NYIFF each year allowing emerging filmmakers to reach audiences and industry professionals in the US. This year's line-up includes "Incerto", "Flip", "Punha", "Daily Soap", "Kalapaani", and "Uss Paar". "These graduates will be part of India's next generation of filmmakers and have commenced their filmmaking journey with these films. I am extremely happy to see the quality of their work," says Subhash Ghai, founder and chairman of Whistling Woods.

"I am thrilled about the association between the Mukta Arts group and the 11th annual New York Indian Film Festival," he said. For the last two years, NYIFF has teamed up with the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University with students of Professor Karl Bardosh creating one-minute cell phone films on themes at the film festival. This programme will continue for a third year and Richard Allen, Professor of Cinema Studies at Tisch School of the Arts, will once again host post-screening discussions with key filmmakers during the five-day festival.

"The Department of Cinema Studies at Tisch, NYU, again looks forward to collaborating with the NYIFF in its cutting edge programme of screenings and events which brings the best of the New Indian Cinema to New York City by staging a series of in-depth discussions with key directors and actors in the industry," Allen said. In addition, the New York Film Academy has offered a one-week scholarship valued at $1,575 for film study to an emerging filmmaker whose work will be screened at the film festival. "The New York Film Academy is proud to associate with the New York Indian Film Festival; we share a deep passion for film," said NYFA's Jack Newman.

Sachin, the movie buff

Sachin Tendulkar has been persuaded to become a serious movie buff. The legendary Indian cricketer has been provided an opportunity to see with his family, friends and in the comfort of his home, virtually all movies produced and distributed in India through the UFO Moviez network. He will have access to all titles from the day it's released. After leading Mumbai Indians to victory in the IPL VI against Royal Challengers at Bangalore on Tuesday, the World Cup hero flew to Mumbai by a private jet the same night and kept a commitment here on Wednesday to accept the Honorary Lifetime membership of Club X, a division of Valuable Group and parent company of UFO Moviez. UTV has also offered him a one-year free access to all films produced under its banner.

Membership to the Club X is by invitation. Now Tendulkar is part of the elite drawn from a cross section of the rich and famous. He signed the membership in the presence of Sanjay Gaikwad, MD and Founder, Valuable Group, and Ameya Hete, Executive Director. Valuable Group. Tendulkar will turn 38 on April 24, and for nearly 25 years he has now allowed the game of cricket to be far removed from his almost everyday routine. Right from the time as a skinny lad he rode pillion on his coach Ramakant Achrekar's scooter to play more than a match in a single day to get accustomed to batting and till now, he's played the game with abiding passion and following his immense success has become the darling of the nation.

Not that he was disinterested in other activities including snatching time to see movies in a cinema hall; according to Marcus Couto, a BCCI panel umpire and close friend of Tendulkar for two and half decades, the budding batsman of the 1980s liked entertainment in the form of movies. “Probably Guide was the first movie I saw and that's with the entire family,” he said, adding that he doesn't remember the hits from Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman film. Over a period of time, Tendulkar developed more than ordinary interest to see films in English, Hindi and Marathi. Here are the excerpts from a media conference: