2017 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne
The 2017 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), the southern hemisphere's greatest annual celebration of Indian cinema unveiled details of the 2017 program. Taking place from 10-22 August with "Diversity" as its unifying theme, this year"s festival explores the richness of contemporary cinema from India and the sub-continent - featuring 60 films in 20 different languages, spanning Bollywood box-office hits to documentaries and art-house festival favourites, as well as hosting the fourth edition of the annual Westpac Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards.
Date: 10-22 August 2017
Web: www.iffm.com.au
: https://www.facebook.com/IndianFilmFestivalOfMelbourne
: https://twitter.com/IFFMelb
Web: www.iffm.com.au
: https://www.facebook.com/IndianFilmFestivalOfMelbourne
: https://twitter.com/IFFMelb
Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley has said "The Indian Film Festival once again promises to deliver the best cinema from India and the sub-continent. We look forward to welcoming some of the world"s biggest screen stars to Victoria and encourage new audiences to discover for themselves why this festival has become one of Australia"s most significant foreign language film events."
The festival is delighted to announce a number of India"s biggest stars as special guests for 2017. The stellar list features Alankrita Shrivastava, director of award winning Lipstick Under My Burkha, the film"s star and director of A Death in the Gunj, Konkona Sen Sharma; Onir, director of Shab, and one of the few openly gay directors in Bollywood; world renowned, director and celebrity Karan Johar who has over one million twitter followers; Shobu Yarlagadda producer of the blockbuster Baahubali series; Rajeev Masand, leading entertainment journalist; actress Tannishtha Chatterjee from UnIndian and Lion, and the festival"s patron and superstar Vidya Balan, a tireless champion for challenging female stereotypes in Indian cinema.
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 12 August at Federation Square, followed by the Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition judged by Malaika Arora and a special surprise guest.
Shab, as the closing film on August 22, IFFM is delighted to have Raveena Tandon, Ashish Bisht, Onir and the IFFM"s festival ambassador Vidya Balan in attendance. Directed by Onir, Shab is a story of people coming from different walks of life, some in search for love and some towards realisation of their dreams. It is the story of how destiny and the city shapes their lives.
The festival is delighted to announce a number of India"s biggest stars as special guests for 2017. The stellar list features Alankrita Shrivastava, director of award winning Lipstick Under My Burkha, the film"s star and director of A Death in the Gunj, Konkona Sen Sharma; Onir, director of Shab, and one of the few openly gay directors in Bollywood; world renowned, director and celebrity Karan Johar who has over one million twitter followers; Shobu Yarlagadda producer of the blockbuster Baahubali series; Rajeev Masand, leading entertainment journalist; actress Tannishtha Chatterjee from UnIndian and Lion, and the festival"s patron and superstar Vidya Balan, a tireless champion for challenging female stereotypes in Indian cinema.
OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHTS
IFFM opens on 10 August with Lipstick Under My Burkha, the highly acclaimed and controversial drama exploring social taboos and personal struggles of four Indian women from diverse backgrounds.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 12 August at Federation Square, followed by the Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition judged by Malaika Arora and a special surprise guest.
Shab, as the closing film on August 22, IFFM is delighted to have Raveena Tandon, Ashish Bisht, Onir and the IFFM"s festival ambassador Vidya Balan in attendance. Directed by Onir, Shab is a story of people coming from different walks of life, some in search for love and some towards realisation of their dreams. It is the story of how destiny and the city shapes their lives.