Tag: cinema

  • Films are effective medium of creating awareness and spreading sensibility: President Murmu

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said that films are not just an industry limited to trade and mode of entertainment but an effective medium of creating awareness and spreading sensibility.

    Addressing the film fraternity and the artists as change-makers, she said that through their films, they pen a lively introduction to the diverse reality of Indian society. “Cinema is both; a document of our society and also a medium to improve it and their (filmmakers) work connected the people with each other,” Murmu said.

    She was speaking at 69th edition of the national film awards ceremony in the national capital. Besides different category awards, the president conferred prestigious DadaSaheb Phalke Award to veteran actor Waheeda Rehman on the occasion.

    Extending her wishes to noted actor, who has acted in several cult movies such as Pyasa and Guide, Murmu said that she had established herself at the pinnacle of the film industry with her art and personality. 

    “Even in her personal life, she had made her mark as a woman of dignity, self-confidence and originality. She chose many films in which her roles broke many barriers typically associated with women. Waheeda ji has set an example that women themselves should also take initiative for women empowerment,” said the president.

    ALSO READ | ‘Want people to remember me as good human being’: Waheeda Rehman over Dadasaheb Phalke Award

    The film about the mass exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir—The Kashmir Files (TKF)—has won the Nargis Dutt award for best film on national integration at the National Film Awards. Pallavi Joshi bagged the best actress award in a supporting role for the same film. Telugu film actor Allu Arjun was accorded the best actor award for Pusha-The Rising Part 1 while Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon shared the best actress award for their role in Gangubai Kathiyawadi, a biographical crime drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Mimi, comic drama based on a social issue, respectively.   

    R Madhavan’s Rocketry: The Nambi Effect bagged the Best Feature Film award. However, SS Rajamouli’s RRR was adjudicated best popular film providing wholesome entertainment.

    ALSO READ | 69th National Film Awards: Allu Arjun, Kriti Sanon, Alia Bhatt honoured

    Murmu said that the award ceremony paints a picture of the diversity of India and the unity inherent in it. She added that the talented people present at the ceremony had given meaningful expression to many languages, regional characteristics, social beliefs, achievements and problems and that people from many generations and classes came together at the National Film Awards.

    Speaking on the occasion, union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur said, “today nothing is regional, if the content is good, regional content will find a global audience.” Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

    NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said that films are not just an industry limited to trade and mode of entertainment but an effective medium of creating awareness and spreading sensibility.

    Addressing the film fraternity and the artists as change-makers, she said that through their films, they pen a lively introduction to the diverse reality of Indian society. “Cinema is both; a document of our society and also a medium to improve it and their (filmmakers) work connected the people with each other,” Murmu said.

    She was speaking at 69th edition of the national film awards ceremony in the national capital. Besides different category awards, the president conferred prestigious DadaSaheb Phalke Award to veteran actor Waheeda Rehman on the occasion.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Extending her wishes to noted actor, who has acted in several cult movies such as Pyasa and Guide, Murmu said that she had established herself at the pinnacle of the film industry with her art and personality. 

    “Even in her personal life, she had made her mark as a woman of dignity, self-confidence and originality. She chose many films in which her roles broke many barriers typically associated with women. Waheeda ji has set an example that women themselves should also take initiative for women empowerment,” said the president.

    ALSO READ | ‘Want people to remember me as good human being’: Waheeda Rehman over Dadasaheb Phalke Award

    The film about the mass exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir—The Kashmir Files (TKF)—has won the Nargis Dutt award for best film on national integration at the National Film Awards. Pallavi Joshi bagged the best actress award in a supporting role for the same film. Telugu film actor Allu Arjun was accorded the best actor award for Pusha-The Rising Part 1 while Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon shared the best actress award for their role in Gangubai Kathiyawadi, a biographical crime drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Mimi, comic drama based on a social issue, respectively.   

    R Madhavan’s Rocketry: The Nambi Effect bagged the Best Feature Film award. However, SS Rajamouli’s RRR was adjudicated best popular film providing wholesome entertainment.

    ALSO READ | 69th National Film Awards: Allu Arjun, Kriti Sanon, Alia Bhatt honoured

    Murmu said that the award ceremony paints a picture of the diversity of India and the unity inherent in it. She added that the talented people present at the ceremony had given meaningful expression to many languages, regional characteristics, social beliefs, achievements and problems and that people from many generations and classes came together at the National Film Awards.

    Speaking on the occasion, union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur said, “today nothing is regional, if the content is good, regional content will find a global audience.” Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

  • Hope ignited in Kashmir as movie halls reopen after three decades in former militancy hotbeds

    The reopening of cinema halls after three tumultuous decades in Baramulla and Kupwara, the frontier districts in north Kashmir, is a sign that these former hotbeds of militancy in the 1990s are inching back towards normalcy.

    Located close to the Line of Control (LoC), both districts were used by different militant outfits to infiltrate into the Valley and also help members go in the opposite direction for arms training. At the height of the insurgency in the Valley, militants used these two districts as their premier routes to keep in touch with their minders in neighbouring Pakistan.  

    Two multipurpose cinema halls with 100 seats each have recently been thrown open for the public in Baramulla and Kupwara.

    “Cinema won’t be an overnight success in Kashmir,” Kashmir-born Bollywood director Tariq Bhat explains. “It is a big challenge for filmmakers but everyone is ready to deal with it. Cinema will again rise in Kashmir. It will open ample opportunities for local artists,” he said.

    “Cinemas used to be houseful all over the state back in the 1990s. That era is coming back now. Youth in Kashmir don’t know about cinema halls as they have not experienced them for the last three decades,” he said, adding that just 5 to 10 per cent of the young population had been to movie halls when they were living or studying outside J&K.

    “Apart from local artists and technicians, a sizable number of people engaged in different services in cinema halls will get job opportunities as well,” said Bhat.

    Bhat believes that the reopening of cinema halls will also help revive the film industry in Kashmir. He said that a number of J&K based artists aren’t able to find work in Mumbai because their accents were different. “They are not surviving there. It would be good if they used their talent here instead,” he said.

    Noted historian of the Kashmir Valley Zareef Ahmad Zareef, while recalling the 1990s era, said that initially wine shops and bars were attacked following which cinema halls were also set ablaze. “There was no other source of entertainment back in the 1990s. People were very fond of cinema then, especially the middle class, and would visit movie halls in large numbers,” he said, reeling off names of famous theatres such as Paladium, Regal, Amrohi, Neelum, Sheeraz, Firdous, Khyber and Samad.

    “The government of India would send news reels which were translated in the local language for the general public. Some programs like Ehsaas were shown back then which highlighted social issues like dowry,” he added.

    The reopening of cinema halls has ignited hopes among local artists as well. They believe that more opportunities will come their way with the revival and are hoping that cinemas are once again a major success in the Valley.

    Muteen Rajput, an actress from Kashmir, said she was happy. “It feels really good to have a local audience and makes every artist feel very special,” she said.

    It would be even more encouraging, she said, to have a movie completely shot and directed locally and shown in cinemas here. She believes that the reopening of theatres will give an additional boost to local artists. “Everyone is very excited. Cinemas in Kashmir are going to be a major success in times to come,” she said.

    Saqib Wani, another Kashmir based actor, said that the reopening of cinema halls is a step in the right direction. “Kashmiris haven’t watched movies for the last three decades in a cinema hall. We even want PVR, not just INOX. It should happen on a fast-track basis.” He said that movies with a local cast and crew should also be revived.  

    “Kashmir is now ready for cinema related activities, which will be a major success in the Valley. Youth are inclined towards these types of things now,” he said.

    Meanwhile, locals are also excited and happy with the reopening of cinema halls in the Valley, saying it will once again provide opportunities for outings.

    Masoor Banday, a north Kashmir resident, said, “Entertainment sources must be there like in the 1990s. It was the turmoil that forced the closure of cinemas in the Valley. Everything is available on smartphones now but cinemas would allow family outings and help friends to enjoy movies together,” he said.

    Recalling his college days, Banday said that they used to witness huge queues outside every cinema hall. “Getting a ticket back then was an uphill task,” he said.

    Rahul Nehra, director of Jadooz Media which is operating cinema halls in Kupwara and Baramulla, said they are receiving an encouraging response from the public. “The Shahrukh Khan starrer Pathan is being showcased these days. People are eagerly waiting for new releases,” he said.

    He said that they are reporting 30 to 50 per cent occupancy. “Cinemas are going to be a big success. We had not expected this kind of response,” he added. 

    Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha has repeatedly said that every district of the region will have a separate cinema hall. As per the administration, these multipurpose cinema halls under public partnership are aimed at providing recreational facilities to the people, reviving vibrant cultural spaces for the young generation to discuss and deliberate through seminars. 

    However, both districts are now fighting a different battle — this time against the increasing illicit trade of drugs, narcotics and other banned substances through the Line of Control (LoC), despite the February 2021 ceasefire agreement between the armies of India and Pakistan. The districts have witnessed several infiltration attempts, with 15 infiltrators having been killed along the Line of Control (LoC) this year, mostly in Kupwara.

    Can the movies bring about a picture perfect ending that everyone is yearning for? We’ll have to wait and see.

    The reopening of cinema halls after three tumultuous decades in Baramulla and Kupwara, the frontier districts in north Kashmir, is a sign that these former hotbeds of militancy in the 1990s are inching back towards normalcy.

    Located close to the Line of Control (LoC), both districts were used by different militant outfits to infiltrate into the Valley and also help members go in the opposite direction for arms training. At the height of the insurgency in the Valley, militants used these two districts as their premier routes to keep in touch with their minders in neighbouring Pakistan.  

    Two multipurpose cinema halls with 100 seats each have recently been thrown open for the public in Baramulla and Kupwara.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “Cinema won’t be an overnight success in Kashmir,” Kashmir-born Bollywood director Tariq Bhat explains. “It is a big challenge for filmmakers but everyone is ready to deal with it. Cinema will again rise in Kashmir. It will open ample opportunities for local artists,” he said.

    “Cinemas used to be houseful all over the state back in the 1990s. That era is coming back now. Youth in Kashmir don’t know about cinema halls as they have not experienced them for the last three decades,” he said, adding that just 5 to 10 per cent of the young population had been to movie halls when they were living or studying outside J&K.

    “Apart from local artists and technicians, a sizable number of people engaged in different services in cinema halls will get job opportunities as well,” said Bhat.

    Bhat believes that the reopening of cinema halls will also help revive the film industry in Kashmir. He said that a number of J&K based artists aren’t able to find work in Mumbai because their accents were different. “They are not surviving there. It would be good if they used their talent here instead,” he said.

    Noted historian of the Kashmir Valley Zareef Ahmad Zareef, while recalling the 1990s era, said that initially wine shops and bars were attacked following which cinema halls were also set ablaze. “There was no other source of entertainment back in the 1990s. People were very fond of cinema then, especially the middle class, and would visit movie halls in large numbers,” he said, reeling off names of famous theatres such as Paladium, Regal, Amrohi, Neelum, Sheeraz, Firdous, Khyber and Samad.

    “The government of India would send news reels which were translated in the local language for the general public. Some programs like Ehsaas were shown back then which highlighted social issues like dowry,” he added.

    The reopening of cinema halls has ignited hopes among local artists as well. They believe that more opportunities will come their way with the revival and are hoping that cinemas are once again a major success in the Valley.

    Muteen Rajput, an actress from Kashmir, said she was happy. “It feels really good to have a local audience and makes every artist feel very special,” she said.

    It would be even more encouraging, she said, to have a movie completely shot and directed locally and shown in cinemas here. She believes that the reopening of theatres will give an additional boost to local artists. “Everyone is very excited. Cinemas in Kashmir are going to be a major success in times to come,” she said.

    Saqib Wani, another Kashmir based actor, said that the reopening of cinema halls is a step in the right direction. “Kashmiris haven’t watched movies for the last three decades in a cinema hall. We even want PVR, not just INOX. It should happen on a fast-track basis.” He said that movies with a local cast and crew should also be revived.  

    “Kashmir is now ready for cinema related activities, which will be a major success in the Valley. Youth are inclined towards these types of things now,” he said.

    Meanwhile, locals are also excited and happy with the reopening of cinema halls in the Valley, saying it will once again provide opportunities for outings.

    Masoor Banday, a north Kashmir resident, said, “Entertainment sources must be there like in the 1990s. It was the turmoil that forced the closure of cinemas in the Valley. Everything is available on smartphones now but cinemas would allow family outings and help friends to enjoy movies together,” he said.

    Recalling his college days, Banday said that they used to witness huge queues outside every cinema hall. “Getting a ticket back then was an uphill task,” he said.

    Rahul Nehra, director of Jadooz Media which is operating cinema halls in Kupwara and Baramulla, said they are receiving an encouraging response from the public. “The Shahrukh Khan starrer Pathan is being showcased these days. People are eagerly waiting for new releases,” he said.

    He said that they are reporting 30 to 50 per cent occupancy. “Cinemas are going to be a big success. We had not expected this kind of response,” he added. 

    Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha has repeatedly said that every district of the region will have a separate cinema hall. As per the administration, these multipurpose cinema halls under public partnership are aimed at providing recreational facilities to the people, reviving vibrant cultural spaces for the young generation to discuss and deliberate through seminars. 

    However, both districts are now fighting a different battle — this time against the increasing illicit trade of drugs, narcotics and other banned substances through the Line of Control (LoC), despite the February 2021 ceasefire agreement between the armies of India and Pakistan. The districts have witnessed several infiltration attempts, with 15 infiltrators having been killed along the Line of Control (LoC) this year, mostly in Kupwara.

    Can the movies bring about a picture perfect ending that everyone is yearning for? We’ll have to wait and see.

  • Cabinet approves Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill that proposes to introduce more categories for film certification and also brings in stricter penal provisions to prevent film piracy. The Bill will be presented in the Parliament in the upcoming session.

    The purpose of the Bill is to ensure that content is not affected by piracy and safeguards the interest and investments of producers and filmmakers.

    The Bill proposes imprisonment ranging from three months to three years and a fine of Rs 3-10 lakh which may extend to a sum of up to 5 per cent of the audited gross production cost of the film, to prevent film piracy.

    Under the proposed amendments pertaining to the certification of films under the ‘unrestricted public exhibition’, the Bill has introduced new film certification categories including ‘U’ or universal, ‘U/A 7+’, ‘U/A 13+’, and ‘U/A 16+’, besides an ‘A’ rating for content restricted for viewing by only adults.

    At present, under the Indian Cinematograph Act, three categories of film certification exist – unrestricted public exhibition or ‘U’, parental guidance required for children under 12 or ‘U/A’, and adult films or ‘A’.

    The proposed amendments allowing the sub-categorisation for film certification purposes, appear to be in line with the age-based restrictions recently implemented for over-the-top (OTT) content providers under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (Intermediary Rules).

    In June 2021, the government had issued a notification seeking public comments on the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021, proposing two further amendments to the Cinematograph Act than those already proposed in 2019.

    The purpose was to make the process of sanctioning films for exhibition more effective, in tune with the changed times and curb the menace of piracy. These were the introduction of age-based categories for film certification and penal provisions imposed for film piracy.

    Earlier in February 2019, the Government had introduced the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha, with the objective of curbing and punishing large-scale film piracy.

    Also, the 2019 version proposed prohibiting a person from using a recording device to make a copy or transmit a film, without the written authorisation of the copyright owner of the film.

    It aimed to tackle film piracy by including penal provisions for unauthorised cam-cording and duplication of films in an exhibition facility.

    However, after the parliamentary committee on IT had made a slew of changes to the 2019 bill, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting brought its 2021 version, which has now been cleared by the Union Cabinet.

    NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill that proposes to introduce more categories for film certification and also brings in stricter penal provisions to prevent film piracy. The Bill will be presented in the Parliament in the upcoming session.

    The purpose of the Bill is to ensure that content is not affected by piracy and safeguards the interest and investments of producers and filmmakers.

    The Bill proposes imprisonment ranging from three months to three years and a fine of Rs 3-10 lakh which may extend to a sum of up to 5 per cent of the audited gross production cost of the film, to prevent film piracy.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Under the proposed amendments pertaining to the certification of films under the ‘unrestricted public exhibition’, the Bill has introduced new film certification categories including ‘U’ or universal, ‘U/A 7+’, ‘U/A 13+’, and ‘U/A 16+’, besides an ‘A’ rating for content restricted for viewing by only adults.

    At present, under the Indian Cinematograph Act, three categories of film certification exist – unrestricted public exhibition or ‘U’, parental guidance required for children under 12 or ‘U/A’, and adult films or ‘A’.

    The proposed amendments allowing the sub-categorisation for film certification purposes, appear to be in line with the age-based restrictions recently implemented for over-the-top (OTT) content providers under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (Intermediary Rules).

    In June 2021, the government had issued a notification seeking public comments on the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021, proposing two further amendments to the Cinematograph Act than those already proposed in 2019.

    The purpose was to make the process of sanctioning films for exhibition more effective, in tune with the changed times and curb the menace of piracy. These were the introduction of age-based categories for film certification and penal provisions imposed for film piracy.

    Earlier in February 2019, the Government had introduced the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha, with the objective of curbing and punishing large-scale film piracy.

    Also, the 2019 version proposed prohibiting a person from using a recording device to make a copy or transmit a film, without the written authorisation of the copyright owner of the film.

    It aimed to tackle film piracy by including penal provisions for unauthorised cam-cording and duplication of films in an exhibition facility.

    However, after the parliamentary committee on IT had made a slew of changes to the 2019 bill, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting brought its 2021 version, which has now been cleared by the Union Cabinet.

  • A scathing stab at class divides

    Express News Service

    Swedish filmmaker Rubin Ostland believes in the power of provocation. His cinema is all about deploying satire as a tool for sociological exploration, putting human behaviour under the scanner, dredging out the most wretched and depraved characteristics in people and portraying them candidly, in all their explicit sordidness. Call them bitter pills or truth bombs, Ostlund films are nothing if they don’t perturb or unsettle their audience. Triangle of Sadness also treads on the same ground.

    A luxury cruise ship becomes the perfect playing field for Ostlund to take a scathing stab at the entrenched class divides in the western world. The film left the house divided when it premiered in May last year at Cannes and won the Palme D’Or. Ever since it has polarized viewers the world over. The most divisive has been the drawn-out, stomach-turning Captain’s dinner sequence. As the storm hits the yacht, almost all of the wealthy, privileged guests get seasick. There’s a deluge of retching and a volcano of filth that explodes both literally and metaphorically. Many have found it an excessive, tawdry, and nauseating device with Ostlund trying too hard to drive home a point. 

    However, between all that precedes and follows the scene, lies an extremely well-thought-out arrangement, a cinematic design conceived and executed with bluster and audacity. The seeds of materialism that he hits out at get sown in the first part called Carl and Yaya, named after the two protagonists played by Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean respectively. It’s the world of models and influencers, of brands and consumption, of money and the insatiable appetite for it, of the triangle of sadness aka worry wrinkle between the brows that can be easily fixed with botox.

    It’s essentially about “cynicism masquerading as optimism”. This “stuffy” world and its inhabitants are then made to congregate with kindred souls in part two, called The Yacht, that is set on the luxury cruise ship. Here, the word of the guests is the command for the crew. The power structure, dynamics, and hierarchies aside, Ostlund builds his script remarkably on banal conversations, all centred on money and the lower depths to which the rich have fallen in their pursuit of it, even trading in grenades and making profits from war. He is biting in showing us a British couple—Clementine and Winston—holding forth on the “hardships”they had to face when the UN regulations came in the way of their “personal exploding device” aka landmine business.

    There are absurd complaints and demands—about a crew member not wearing a shirt or the dirty sails being an eyesore. Even their acknowledgement of their own privileged birth and trying to make it less unfair and more equal for the crew is strangely fixated on self-obsession. Letting the crew go out for a swim is more an act of whim than a genuine concern for their rest and relaxation. To borrow a line from Shakespeare’s King Lear, “like flies to wanton boys” are the crew members to the guests, objects of their own games and sports. Captain’s Dinner scene is where their vanities and egos peak and where they are also forced to drown in their own filth. It progresses towards a fitting culmination (also the high point of the film) in the debate on socialism, communism and capitalism between the drunken American communist, Captain Thomas (Woody Harrelson), and the Russian capitalist Dimitry (Zlatko Buric).

    As the boat capsizes so do the class divides and hierarchies. Stranded on an island in the third part, the role reversal comes to play with the cleaning woman Abigail now commanding the survivors because, ironically, it’s she alone who has the survival skills to face the worst of storms. However, Ostlund remains cynical than optimistic. About the yawning gap between those “swimming in abundance” and the ones “drowning in misery”, Triangle of Sadness keeps things ambiguous.

    What options do the poor truly have in the real world other than being at the mercy of the privileged? Is the island where they can rule a real possibility or just a temporary respite from reality? Can the roles ever be overturned, and divides be bridged? Ostlund leaves us with questions than providing us with any ready answers. Triangle of Sadness has been nominated for the best film, director, and original screenplay categories at the Oscars. Ostlund as recently said in a podcast that he wants his next film to create the “biggest walkout in the history of Cannes”. Amen to that.

    Swedish filmmaker Rubin Ostland believes in the power of provocation. His cinema is all about deploying satire as a tool for sociological exploration, putting human behaviour under the scanner, dredging out the most wretched and depraved characteristics in people and portraying them candidly, in all their explicit sordidness. Call them bitter pills or truth bombs, Ostlund films are nothing if they don’t perturb or unsettle their audience. Triangle of Sadness also treads on the same ground.

    A luxury cruise ship becomes the perfect playing field for Ostlund to take a scathing stab at the entrenched class divides in the western world. The film left the house divided when it premiered in May last year at Cannes and won the Palme D’Or. Ever since it has polarized viewers the world over. The most divisive has been the drawn-out, stomach-turning Captain’s dinner sequence. As the storm hits the yacht, almost all of the wealthy, privileged guests get seasick. There’s a deluge of retching and a volcano of filth that explodes both literally and metaphorically. Many have found it an excessive, tawdry, and nauseating device with Ostlund trying too hard to drive home a point. 

    However, between all that precedes and follows the scene, lies an extremely well-thought-out arrangement, a cinematic design conceived and executed with bluster and audacity. The seeds of materialism that he hits out at get sown in the first part called Carl and Yaya, named after the two protagonists played by Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean respectively. It’s the world of models and influencers, of brands and consumption, of money and the insatiable appetite for it, of the triangle of sadness aka worry wrinkle between the brows that can be easily fixed with botox.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    It’s essentially about “cynicism masquerading as optimism”. This “stuffy” world and its inhabitants are then made to congregate with kindred souls in part two, called The Yacht, that is set on the luxury cruise ship. Here, the word of the guests is the command for the crew. The power structure, dynamics, and hierarchies aside, Ostlund builds his script remarkably on banal conversations, all centred on money and the lower depths to which the rich have fallen in their pursuit of it, even trading in grenades and making profits from war. He is biting in showing us a British couple—Clementine and Winston—holding forth on the “hardships”they had to face when the UN regulations came in the way of their “personal exploding device” aka landmine business.

    There are absurd complaints and demands—about a crew member not wearing a shirt or the dirty sails being an eyesore. Even their acknowledgement of their own privileged birth and trying to make it less unfair and more equal for the crew is strangely fixated on self-obsession. Letting the crew go out for a swim is more an act of whim than a genuine concern for their rest and relaxation. To borrow a line from Shakespeare’s King Lear, “like flies to wanton boys” are the crew members to the guests, objects of their own games and sports. Captain’s Dinner scene is where their vanities and egos peak and where they are also forced to drown in their own filth. It progresses towards a fitting culmination (also the high point of the film) in the debate on socialism, communism and capitalism between the drunken American communist, Captain Thomas (Woody Harrelson), and the Russian capitalist Dimitry (Zlatko Buric).

    As the boat capsizes so do the class divides and hierarchies. Stranded on an island in the third part, the role reversal comes to play with the cleaning woman Abigail now commanding the survivors because, ironically, it’s she alone who has the survival skills to face the worst of storms. However, Ostlund remains cynical than optimistic. About the yawning gap between those “swimming in abundance” and the ones “drowning in misery”, Triangle of Sadness keeps things ambiguous.

    What options do the poor truly have in the real world other than being at the mercy of the privileged? Is the island where they can rule a real possibility or just a temporary respite from reality? Can the roles ever be overturned, and divides be bridged? Ostlund leaves us with questions than providing us with any ready answers. Triangle of Sadness has been nominated for the best film, director, and original screenplay categories at the Oscars. Ostlund as recently said in a podcast that he wants his next film to create the “biggest walkout in the history of Cannes”. Amen to that.

  • Indigenous film bringing cross-border Amazon tribes together

    By AFP

    COLOMBIA: In Colombia’s Amazon jungle, indigenous people of different nations, ethnicities and languages have come together to find a single voice in cinema to tell their own stories, rather than let outsiders do it.

    One recent week, in the community of San Martin de Amacayacu in southern Colombia the local Tikuna tribe was joined for the first time by the Matis people of Brazil for a crash course on film.

    “We didn’t know how to operate a camera so what they are doing is showing their experience, offering knowledge and perseverance,” Lizeth Reina, a 24-year-old Tikuna, said.

    The Matis, a tribe only contacted in 1976, acquired two video cameras in 2015 and were taught how to film by the Brazilian Center for Indigenist Labor (CTI) and the National Indian Foundation.

    Last month, they made a seven-day journey along fast-moving rivers and almost impenetrable jungle paths to share their knowledge with this Colombian community of some 700 people.

    Tikuna indigenous filmmakers film documentary short films with the support of Matis indigenous filmmakers in San Martin de Amacayacu, Colombia | AFP

    As the boot camp got underway, a Matis with a distinctive facial tattoo, gave instructions on how to focus a video camera.

    Around 10 Matis, known as “cat men” for the feline tattoos on their faces, had arrived from their home region in the Yavari valley — an area larger than Austria and rife with drug trafficking and illegal mineral extraction, logging and fishing.

    British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenist Bruno Pereira were murdered there in June.

    The Yavari valley has the largest number of voluntarily isolated communities in the world.

    “It’s not easy getting here, we suffered a bit, but it’s very emotional,” filmmaker Pixi Kata Matis, 29, said of the journey to San Martin.

    Future memories

    Tikunas laughed as their guests grimaced while sipping masato, a fermented yucca-based drink passed around in a cup made from the hard-rind calabash tree fruit.

    Films were projected inside the maloca, a cultural, political, social and spiritual centre.

    Hundreds of dazzled spectators watched as images of hunts with blowguns, bows and arrows flashed before their eyes, as well as the tattoo festival that marks the coming of age of young Matis.

    “We have to show other people and the whites that we have our own identity,” said Kata Matis.

    Children play at the Amacayacu river in San Martin de Amacayacu, Colombia | AFP

    The films “can help keep memories for the future … so we don’t forget our traditions,” added Yina Moran, 17.

    Placed in mixed groups, the Tikunas proposed three short films on seeds, medicinal plants and masato, with the help of Matis, the CTI and the French association ForestEver.

    “The cameras blended into the landscape and families were more willing to share and communicate,” said ForestEver coordinator Claire Davigo.

    Exotic reports

    San Martin de Amacayacu, surrounded by a lush natural park, is made up of wooden houses, some with colorful painted walls, that are home to several generations of the same family.

    Apprentices and their mentors spent the day conducting interviews and filming daily life.

    “The communication was wonderful because although we hardly speak Portuguese, we understood each other through our cultures,” said Moran.

    In the afternoon, locals made their way down to the river to wash clothes or bathe.

    At night, generators were fired up to provide four hours of electricity.

    After that, the noise stopped to make way for jungle sounds.

    Tikuna and Matis indigenous people edit their documentary short films with the support of the ForestEver French association and the Brazilian Indigenous Work Center in San Martin de Amacayacu, Colombia | AFP

    A decade after they were first contacted, the Matis were already the “stars of exotic reports” by US, Japanese, French and British journalists, according to the CTI.

    Foreigners were captivated by their body art and accessories: ears pierced with huge ornaments, fine rods passing through noses and lips, face tattoos and bodies draped in jewelry.

    But Kata Matis complained that “many people wanted to go to the village … filming without our authorization, without our understanding, and then they took the material” without sharing it.

    To prevent a repeat, the Matis began writing their own history in 2017.

    Living ‘with two worlds’

    Since arriving in San Martin, Dame Betxun Matis, 27, has not put down his camera.

    He took part in producing the “Matis tattoo festival” documentary that won the jury prize at the Kurumin indigenous cinema festival in 2021.

    The film demonstrates the tradition of marking the face, a practice abandoned by young people who faced discrimination in cities.

    A Matis indigenous man and a Tikuna indigenous man pose for a picture in San Martin de Amacayacu, Colombia | AFP

    Kata Matis convinced the community to resume the tradition and filmed as some 90 young people underwent the ritual.

    On the Matis’ last night in San Martin, hundreds of locals crammed the maloca to watch the Tikunas’ short films.

    After much laughter, applause and shared masato, Kata Matis reflected on the place of indigenous people in modern nation-states.

    “We don’t live between two worlds, we live with two worlds,” he said.

    COLOMBIA: In Colombia’s Amazon jungle, indigenous people of different nations, ethnicities and languages have come together to find a single voice in cinema to tell their own stories, rather than let outsiders do it.

    One recent week, in the community of San Martin de Amacayacu in southern Colombia the local Tikuna tribe was joined for the first time by the Matis people of Brazil for a crash course on film.

    “We didn’t know how to operate a camera so what they are doing is showing their experience, offering knowledge and perseverance,” Lizeth Reina, a 24-year-old Tikuna, said.

    The Matis, a tribe only contacted in 1976, acquired two video cameras in 2015 and were taught how to film by the Brazilian Center for Indigenist Labor (CTI) and the National Indian Foundation.

    Last month, they made a seven-day journey along fast-moving rivers and almost impenetrable jungle paths to share their knowledge with this Colombian community of some 700 people.

    Tikuna indigenous filmmakers film documentary short films with the support of Matis indigenous filmmakers in San Martin de Amacayacu, Colombia | AFP

    As the boot camp got underway, a Matis with a distinctive facial tattoo, gave instructions on how to focus a video camera.

    Around 10 Matis, known as “cat men” for the feline tattoos on their faces, had arrived from their home region in the Yavari valley — an area larger than Austria and rife with drug trafficking and illegal mineral extraction, logging and fishing.

    British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenist Bruno Pereira were murdered there in June.

    The Yavari valley has the largest number of voluntarily isolated communities in the world.

    “It’s not easy getting here, we suffered a bit, but it’s very emotional,” filmmaker Pixi Kata Matis, 29, said of the journey to San Martin.

    Future memories

    Tikunas laughed as their guests grimaced while sipping masato, a fermented yucca-based drink passed around in a cup made from the hard-rind calabash tree fruit.

    Films were projected inside the maloca, a cultural, political, social and spiritual centre.

    Hundreds of dazzled spectators watched as images of hunts with blowguns, bows and arrows flashed before their eyes, as well as the tattoo festival that marks the coming of age of young Matis.

    “We have to show other people and the whites that we have our own identity,” said Kata Matis.

    Children play at the Amacayacu river in San Martin de Amacayacu, Colombia | AFP

    The films “can help keep memories for the future … so we don’t forget our traditions,” added Yina Moran, 17.

    Placed in mixed groups, the Tikunas proposed three short films on seeds, medicinal plants and masato, with the help of Matis, the CTI and the French association ForestEver.

    “The cameras blended into the landscape and families were more willing to share and communicate,” said ForestEver coordinator Claire Davigo.

    Exotic reports

    San Martin de Amacayacu, surrounded by a lush natural park, is made up of wooden houses, some with colorful painted walls, that are home to several generations of the same family.

    Apprentices and their mentors spent the day conducting interviews and filming daily life.

    “The communication was wonderful because although we hardly speak Portuguese, we understood each other through our cultures,” said Moran.

    In the afternoon, locals made their way down to the river to wash clothes or bathe.

    At night, generators were fired up to provide four hours of electricity.

    After that, the noise stopped to make way for jungle sounds.

    Tikuna and Matis indigenous people edit their documentary short films with the support of the ForestEver French association and the Brazilian Indigenous Work Center in San Martin de Amacayacu, Colombia | AFP

    A decade after they were first contacted, the Matis were already the “stars of exotic reports” by US, Japanese, French and British journalists, according to the CTI.

    Foreigners were captivated by their body art and accessories: ears pierced with huge ornaments, fine rods passing through noses and lips, face tattoos and bodies draped in jewelry.

    But Kata Matis complained that “many people wanted to go to the village … filming without our authorization, without our understanding, and then they took the material” without sharing it.

    To prevent a repeat, the Matis began writing their own history in 2017.

    Living ‘with two worlds’

    Since arriving in San Martin, Dame Betxun Matis, 27, has not put down his camera.

    He took part in producing the “Matis tattoo festival” documentary that won the jury prize at the Kurumin indigenous cinema festival in 2021.

    The film demonstrates the tradition of marking the face, a practice abandoned by young people who faced discrimination in cities.

    A Matis indigenous man and a Tikuna indigenous man pose for a picture in San Martin de Amacayacu, Colombia | AFP

    Kata Matis convinced the community to resume the tradition and filmed as some 90 young people underwent the ritual.

    On the Matis’ last night in San Martin, hundreds of locals crammed the maloca to watch the Tikunas’ short films.

    After much laughter, applause and shared masato, Kata Matis reflected on the place of indigenous people in modern nation-states.

    “We don’t live between two worlds, we live with two worlds,” he said.

  • ‘I must be doing something right’, says Deepika about her Cannes sojourn

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Deepika Padukone, who is serving on the jury of the 75th Cannes Film Festival, said in an exclusive interview to ‘Variety’ that it “gives me goosebumps every single time I walk into the Palais and we leave it gives me goosebumps because every single person on that seat is there to celebrate cinema”.Deepika was familiar with the work of some of her fellow jurors, including Asghar Farhadi and Rebecca Hall, but not all.”I wasn’t entirely familiar with all of them, as is the case with all of the jurors,” Deepika told IANS. “I think what all of us did was to actually read up on our fellow jury members and watch some of their work. So, even when you deliberate, you understand where they’re coming from, or what kind of cinema speaks to them.”The actor sees being on the Cannes jury as a natural progression of her journey, but at the same time being invited came as a surprise to her. “They (the festival management) seem so convinced about why they made that decision. And it makes me sit back and think sometimes maybe I’ve not given myself enough credit,” she said, adding: “If I’ve landed here today, without even realising it, I must be doing something right.”The actor has just wrapped Siddharth Anand’s “Pathaan”, alongside Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham, and is working on “Project K” by Nag Ashwin. Next up is the Indian remake of “The Intern”, alongside Amitabh Bachchan, which she is also producing via her KA Productions along with Warner Bros. and Sunir Kheterpal for Athena.

    Cannes, meanwhile, is going to become a regular mid-year holiday destination for Deepika and her husband, Bollywood star Ranveer Singh, reports ‘Variety’. Her jury service allows them access to the jury box in future years.”We just come here for two weeks, nobody needs to know,” Deepika said. “Watch movies, sneak in, sneak out. We’ll be like kids in a candy store.” 

  • Where to travel asia Kind Mid Spirit

    I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine.

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