Indian Film Festival of Melbourne

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is a Victorian Government initiative that aims to strengthen ties between the Indian film industry and Victoria. It is presented by Film Victoria and the State Government of Victoria, and produced by Mind Blowing Films, a Melbourne-based distributor of Indian cinema across Australia and New Zealand. It was established in 2012 as an initiative of the Victorian Coalition Government. Bollywood actress, Vidya Balan ^[1] is the ambassador for the Indian Film Festival Melbourne, and has been since its initiation. IFFM is an important fixture in the local arts calendar: permitting a local audience to rub shoulders with some of Bollywood's best.^[2] The festival presents a diverse array of film and events: with cinema: both indie and Bollywood, curated from across both India and the diaspora, and strives to foster an inclusive cultural collaboration.

Previous Festivals

2016

The 2016 Festival boasted 51 films and documentaries from all across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia. The festival included movies in over 15 different languages from India and the subcontinent.

IFFM 2016 started with its Opening Night on Thursday the 11th of August with theme of Female Empowerment and the screening of Parched at Hoyts Melbourne Central. Parched director Leena Yadav along with Radhika Apte, who starred in the film, were in attendance for a Q&A session for the film. Richa Chadha, Kapoor & Sons actor Fawad Khan and director Shakun Batra were also in attendance.

The following night, the third IFFM Awards Night^[3] was held at the Melbourne Recital Centre, where 900+ guests and many Bollywood celebrities where in attendance. Surprise guests included rising star Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sonam Kapoor who were also awarded the Best Actor and Actress of 2016. The Jury for 2016 were Simi Garewal, Jill Bilcock, Ranjeev Masand, Sue Maslin, Paul Ireland and Andrew Anastasios.

Singers Sara Haider, Shalmali Kholgade and Suzanne D'Mello set the stage alight with their own collections of songs from the subcontinent.

Best Actor: Nawazuddin Siddiqui - Raman Raghav 2.0

Best Actress: Sonam Kapoor - Neerja

Best Director: Leena Yadav - Parched

Best Film: Kapoor & Sons

Best Indie Film: Parched

IFFM Excellence in Cinema: Rishi Kapoor

Western Union Short Film Competition Winners (FEMALE EMPOWERMENT)

Out on a Lim - Joshua Walker

The Flag Hoisting ceremony took place at Federation Square on the 13th of August. Bollywood legend Rishi Kapoor had the honour of hoisting the flag. This was followed by the Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition, where Malaika Arora Khan, Richa Chahda, and Shakun Batra judged the best and brightest future dance talents from Melbourne. The events of the day were live streamed to Harmony Square in City of Greater Dandenong.

On Friday the 19th of August Vidya Balan arrived at La Trobe University in Bundoora to launched the Educate the Educators initiative^[4] with the University's acting Vice Chancellor, Jane Long.

The festival concluded on the 21st of August with the screening of the critically acclaimed film Angry Indian Goddesses. This was followed by a Q&A with star Tannishtha Chatterjee

Other guests in attendance at IFFM 2016 included Anurag Kashyap, Amrindar Gill, Rituparna Sengupta and Srijit Mukherjee.

2015

In April 2015, IFFM ambassador Vidya Balan launched the theme of IFFM2015 as ‘Equality’,^[2] citing the theme as “reflecting a dialogue that's on in every which way, that's happening in theatre and dance as well as cinema. And not just in art, but in everyday lives".^[5]

IFFM 2015 was the largest and most ambitious yet: with 50+ screenings, Q&As and masterclass sessions, a flag-hoisting by Anil Kapoor for Indian Independence Day, the Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition (with dance groups from across Australia performing across the afternoon to a crowd of 1000s at Federation Square); and the second IFFM Awards Night, with the inaugural Equality Fashion Show. The festival showcased 29 Australian premieres, and films in 11 languages. Nagesh Kukunoor and Kiku Sharda shared filmmaking insights at masterclass sessions, and filmmakers from across India and Australia, including Paul Cox, Srijit Mukherji and B. S. Lingadevaru, participated in Q&As following screenings of their films. Guests of the festival included Bollywood actress and international model, Sonam Kapoor, the timeless Simi Garewal, and Katti Batti trio, Kangana Ranaut, Imran Khan and Nikhil Advani.

2015 saw the hosting of the second IFFM Awards Night,^[6][7] with the inaugural Equality Fashion Show,^[8] hosted at the Great Hall, National Gallery of Victoria. A silent auction of preeminent Indian and Australian designers' pieces, including items by Anamika Khanna and Gaurav Gupta, was held to benefit the Royal Children's Hospital Fund. The jury for the 2015 IFFM Awards consisted of Simi Garewal, Rajeev Masand, Andrew Anastasios, Jill Bilcock, and Nikhil Advani.

Best Actor: Irrfan Khan – Piku / Shahid Kapoor – Haider

Best Actress: Bhumi Pednekar – Dum Laga Ke Haisha^[9]

Best Director: Shoojit Sircar – Piku^[10]

Best Film: Piku

Best Indie Film: Kaaka Muttai (Crows Eggs)

IFFM Excellence in Cinema: Anil Kapoor

Telstra People's Choice Award: PK

Western Union Short Film Competition Winners (EQUALITY)

Rape: It’s Your Fault - All India Bakchod

Road to Grand Final - Mark Hellinger and Jesse Heskell

CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand provided coverage of the event to an audience of 58 million.

Awards

In 2015, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne was nominated for the City of Melbourne Awards, the city's highest accolade dedicated to individuals and organizations who change Melbourne for the better. IFFM hosted by Mind Blowing Films were finalists in the category,"CONTRIBUTION TO PROFILE BY A CORPORATION."

2014

IFFM 2014 saw over 45 screenings exploring the richness of Indian cinema across four program streams: Hurrah Bollywood, Beyond Bollywood, New Voices and Films From the Subcontinent.^[11] Bollywood legend, the so-called Godfather of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan was a guest of IFFM 2014, along with national award-winning arthouse star Konkona Sen Sharma; iconic filmmakers Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Rajkumar Hirani; Bollywood siren Malaika Arora Khan; popular actress, director, producer and writer, Suhasini Maniratnam; celebrated writer and director of the record-breaking Dhoom 3, Vijay Krishna Acharya; and from Lollywood, Pakistani producer Hassan Wagas Rana (Waar) and acclaimed Pakistani actor, writer and director Shaan Shahid.

The inaugural IFFM Awards Night was held at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, and attended by Amitabh Bachchan,^[12] who received the IFFM Award for Excellence in Cinema. The jury, composed of Australian and Indian film practitioners, included Jill Bilcock, Rajkumar Hirani, Simi Garewal, Rajeev Masand, Phillip Noyce and Suhasini Maniratnam, selected the inaugural winners of the IFFM Awards.

Best Actor: Farhan Akhtar - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag / Irrfan Khan - The Lunchbox

Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut - Queen

Best Director: Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Best Film: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Best Indie Film: The Lunchbox

Telstra People’s Choice Award: Dhoom 3

IFFM Excellence in Cinema Award: Amitabh Bachchan

Western Union Short Film Competition Winners (HOPE)

Chasni - Abhishek Verma

Makeover – Don Percy

2013

IFFM 2013 celebrated the 100th anniversary of Indian cinema.^[13] The lineup of films during the 20-day festival included the 100-year-old silent film ‘Raja Harish Chandra’ and the colour version of ‘Mughal-E-Azam’, Bombay Talkies, Sholay, Talaash, and a curation of new and engaging cinema. The guest line-up included IFFM Ambassador Vidya Balan, Pamela Chopra – film doyenne late Yash Chopra’s wife, Prabhu Deva, Farah Khan, Simi Garewal, Kabir Khan and Girish Kumar.

2012

Former Miss World and screen goddess Priyanka Chopra; Bollywood superstar Shahid Kapoor; producer/director Kunal Kohli, producer Vicky Bahri, acclaimed designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee and animation director Jugal Hansraj were special guests at the Opening Night of the inaugural Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).

Festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange said, “We feel truly honoured to have such an extraordinary wealth of talent in Melbourne for the festival. It’s a fantastic opportunity for Melbourne film lovers to not only feast on the best new films from India but also engage with some of the industry’s leading talents in Q&As, master classes and discussions”.^[14]

Over its twelve days, IFFM screened 40 films including 20 Australian premieres, all of which celebrated the dizzying breadth of Indian film culture. The films range from Bengali arthouse to Hindi mass entertainment and South Indian action; from “masala” movies (lots of ingredients all cooked in the same pot) to regional arthouse, plus a program of rarely seen films from the wider subcontinent including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, specially curated for the festival by acclaimed Indian New Wave director, Onir.

References