IFFM Emblazons the Glorious Indians in Melbourne

IFFM AMBASSADOR- THE ONE AND ONLY

The transcendent Vidya Balan, winner of National Award, Cannes jury member and the most global face of the changing
landscape of Indian Cinema stepped in to become the festival’s brand ambassador giving the festival much depth, popularity and warmth.

IFFM PROGRAMMING: OVER 90 REMARKABLE FILMS IN 2 YEARS!!

In IFFM 2012 the festival screened over 35 films not only from India but also the subcontinent, with over 18 Australian
premieres and 2 International premieres. In 2013 the festival screened a fantastic selection of over 60 films in ten languages, including 17 Australian premieres.

The Festival had a robust programming celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema and celebrating the illustrious careers of
Yash Chopra and Shri Amitabh bachchan with a versatile retrospective of their work.

In a remarkable coup, the festival opened with Raja Harishchandra, the very first Indian film ever made, that was
screened on May 3 exactly a 100 years after its premiere in Bombay. The festival closed with the Australian Premiere of ‘
Bombay Talkies ‘, screening 4 days after its world premiere in Cannes.

Other highlights were the Australian premiere of Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist ‘, Australian premiere of
the Pakistani film Josh, Delhi in a Day and many many more films. Like most Indian Film Festivals around the world, IFFM programs films that represent Indian cinema in all its glory.

Blywood’ section screens the blockbusters that have been commercially and critically acclaimed. The ‘ Beyond Bollywood’ section screens the new voices in Indian cinema to the regional gems and arthouse favourites,
and the ‘From the Subcontinent’ screens films from our neighboring countries like Pakistan,Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.These films are curated based on their content, visibility at other key International film festivals and relevance.

IFFM enjoys a strong team of curators, including National award winning filmmaker Onir, who worked throughout the
year securing the best films for the festival.

IFFM PROVIDES A UNIQUE PLATFORM FOR VICTORIAN TALENT

Through its Western Union Short Film Competition, every year Victorians have been showcasing their work at the festival. Judged by the prolific Australian filmmaker, Paul Cox and Iconic director Kabir Khan, this is perhaps one of the
only competitions in the world that is absolutely free to enter with no handling or
submission fees.

“The winners not only win a trip to India, but also get a chance to meet the legends of the industry” said the Victorian
winner of the Western Union Short Film Competition 2012, Jehan Ratnatunga.

“The IFF Short Film Competition is a fantastic opportunity for film makers to showcase their content and have it watched by legendary Indian film makers that are otherwise hard to reach – especially from Australia. Working with a respected festival such as IFFM helps establish your name as a creator – and you get fantastic exposure through IFFM press releases and ultimately you can see your content up on the big screen.

It’s a thrilling experience to hear the audiences react as they watch. Beyond this, for those fortunate enough to win, the prizes (which include a trip to India) – bring you even more opportunities!

It’s a great experience and one I highly recommend! Since my participation in 2012, I’ve secured developmental
funding for a feature film from Film Victoria, and established a YouTube channel with 80,000+ subscribers and over 300,000 views a month” he added.

Through the Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition, IFFM encourages all – from any age group and ethnicity to enjoy the
magic of Bollywood and dance their troubles away. Judged by some of the biggest names in the country, like Prabhudeva, Farah Khan and Kabir Khan, Victorians were thrilled to shake a leg with the ‘ Micheal Jackson of India’ Prabhudeva , while Farah Khan awarded the best dancer a trip to India!

IFFM MASTER CLASSES – Learn from the Masters! Over the last two years,filmmakers and film lovers have had a rare opportunity to not only listen to some of the industry great but also engage and share their thoughts with them.

Whether it was National Award winning designer – Sabyasachi Mukherjee talking about story telling through fabrics;
or Raju Hirani and Abhijat Joshi talking about writing comedy with a social core; or the revered National Award winning Rituparno Ghosh talking about ‘ realism in Indian cinema ‘ to the iconic Simi Garewal discussing the ‘ evolution of women in Indian cinema in its 100 years ‘ to Kabir Khan talking about his journey from documentaries to blockbusters to National award winning Onir talking about making films through crowd funding. IFFM has something for everyone – whatever your interest might be.

IFFM GUESTS – It just keeps getting better! Imagine getting the chance to tell your heartthrob ShahidKapoor how much you love him, or gape at the beauty of former Ms. World Priyanka Chopra, to getting a hug from Vidya Balan to shaking a leg with Prabhdeva – the only festival that connects your favourite stars to you is undoubtedly, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

In the last two years, Melbourne has hosted some of the biggest names in the industry, creating a lot of buzz not only in
Australia but also in India. Film stars and film makers like Vidya Balan, Prabhudeva ,Malaika Arora Khan , Rani Mukherjee , Priyanka Chopra , Shahid Kapoor , Sohail Khan , Raju Hirani , Abhijat Joshi , Jugal Hansraj , Onir , Rituparno
Ghosh , Juhi Chawla , Farah Khan , Simi Garewal , Pamela Chopra , Jimmy Shergill have all been the festival guests
and happily interacted with Melbournians.

What next IFFM 2014 promises to be bigger and sparklier than before. The multi award winning Vidyabalan is back and also, IFFM announces the IFFM Awards for the Best film, Best director and Best performance – along with all its most popular events and of course the very best of Indian cinema.