Film India Worldwide to present 7 movies package at IFFI in Goa

Mumbai,Nov 6 (UNI) A package of seven films under 'Film India Worldwide' will be screened at the 37th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), to be held in Goa from November 23.

The section, which tracks India as an inspiration, resource and location on the international film scene, is curated by Uma da Cunha.

It acts as a cultural bridge for cinema all over the world.

Talking to reporters here, Ms da Cunha said at the IFFI-Goa 2006, Film India Worldwide will present seven new feature films that are Indian or India-based in content and at the same time, have an international flavour.

Of the seven films, one is a world premiere (first-ever public screening of the film) and four others are international premieres (the first screening to be held outside the country of its origin).

Four of the seven are promising debut works of their directors.

She said once a niche segment, this has now grown in strength, in visibility and significance in world cinema. Being new and promising in that, it taps into a universe of new talent involved in every aspect of filmmaking such as screen writers, post-production technicians, actors and directors from other parts of the world. ''In content, the films are like a large and diverse family, but a family nonetheless because they are India-centric in content or style,'' she noted.

Bengali film 'Anuranan', directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, and featuring Rahul Bose, Raima Sen, Rituparno Sengupta and Rajat Kapur, will have its world premiere.

Ms da Cunha said the movie has been shot in London and Kolkata and the exotic landscape of Eastern Himalayas. It revolves around two couples, their friendship and individual relationships. The film explores how the taboos imposed by the society that affect them.

'The Bong Connection', directed by Anjan Dutt and starring Raima Sen and Shyan Munshi is an amiable satire around the Bengali community life.

It follows two young men -- one moving from Kolkata to the United States, feeling that his city is dying, while the other is a Bengali musician raised in the United States who journeys back to Kolkata hoping to benefit from its rich language and culture. Their respective stories run parallel, never merging yet colliding. The film has been shot in Kolkata and Houston.

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