'Mardaani' and Shyam Benegal to grace IFFI
- IndiaGlitz, [Wednesday,September 17 2014]
Come 19th September and Dublin will witness one of the prestigious film events. The 5th Indian Film Festival of Ireland (IFFI), to be hosted by the Indian Embassy of Dublin, is slated to go on till 22nd of September.
The special guests for the IFFI 2014 include India's foremost director, Shyam Benegal, who will be presenting his recent film "Samvidaan" at the Irish Film Institute (IFI), followed by an interactive Q&A session with both Irish film industry members and the general public. As this year's "Director in Focus", there will also be a screening of "The Master", a retrospective of his career spanning over forty years as one of Indian's most prominent filmmaker. Also, eminent screenwriter-director Atul Tewari along with the versatile actress Divya Dutta will be in attendance.
There will be a press and media launch on the 10th of September at 3:30pm at Filmbase in Temple Bar. The opening festival will begin on the 19th of September at Movies @Dundrum at 5:30pm with a screening of "The Master" followed by the Irish premiere of Mardaani'. The festival will end on the 22nd of September with film Bhumika - And Indian Classical Film Made by Mr. Benegal. Screenings across the four days will be taking place in Movies @Dundrum on the 19th, the Irish Film Institute (IFI), the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Dublin City University (DCU), the Chester Beaty Library and a masterclass session in Trinity College Dublin, TCD.
For the records, the Indian Film Festival of Ireland is an annual event and the only festival promoting Indian cinema in Ireland. The Festival was founded by Mr. Siraj Zaidi, with a background of over twenty years of independent film distribution and exhibition organisation with his company, Bollywood Ireland Ltd. While Mrs. Radhika Lal Lokesh acts as the Indian Ambassador. The IFFI acts as a link between Ireland and India, strengthening cinema and film production ties between our two countries as well as showcasing India's culture and its artistic creativity. The Indian Film Festival of Ireland, though still in its infancy has garnered a reputation as a premier event in the Irish cultural calendar, promoting the high quality and calibre of Indian cinema. The festival provides an opportunity screen both classic films and new works of Indian cinema as well as providing the Irish public with a window to India's rich culture.