First-ever Indian Film Festival opens in Brisbane

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Cutting the cake – Councillor Andrew Wines (far right) looks on.

The first ever Indian international Film Festival of Queensland was inaugurated today afternoon at QUT, with Councilor Andrew Wines, Deputy Chairman of the Brisbane Lifestyle Committee, cutting the elegantly decorated cake  amidst a gathering of delegates and Indian movie enthusiasts.

The five day festival is being organized by the Queensland University (QUT) in collaboration with the Queensland government and the Brisbane City Council.

Representing the Brisbane city council and the Queensland government, Councilor Andrew Wines highlighted the council’s commitment to film and India.

“The Indian International film festival of Queensland is important to strengthen the economic bonds between India and the Queensland government,” Councilor Wines said during his inaugural speech.

The festival will be screening a series of selectively chosen independent movies at QUT and Event Cinemas, Myer Centre Elizabeth street.

Chayan Sarkar, the founder and the artistic director of the event, said that the Queensland and Victorian audience are continuing to appreciate independent Indian movies that do not fare commercially well.

“The movies I’ve chosen for the festival are handpicked for their simplicity and meaningful content,” Mr Sarkar said.

” These movies are critically acclaimed films that are not mainstream, but have the capacity to be appreciated beyond India,” he added.

Anne Demy Geroe, an ex Brisbane film festival director, expressed the belief that film festivals such as these exposes of the audience and filmmakers to the wide variety of good quality cinema.

“Many festivals choose the latest films to attract more media attention, but Chayan has chosen good content rather than new content,” she said.

As a part of the ceremony, a young Indian dancer, Tanya Unni, showcased her talent in mohiniyattam, a south Indian dance style, and enthralled the audience by enacting an Indian mythological story through her dance.

After the inauguration, a short film called ‘Dancing in the Rain’ was screened at QUT and the Australian premier for the feature film ‘Manjunath’ was held at Event Cinemas.

‘Dancing in the Rain’ is a modest film which packed a subtle message that ‘the solution for every problem is hidden within the problem itself, all you need is a different outlook’.

Meanwhile ‘Manjunath’ is a true story about an individual’s fight against the oil mafia which continues to plague the country, while conveying that ‘fighting for a cause you truly believe in, is worth dying for’.

For more details about the festival, visit http://www.iiffoq.com/

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