As the curtains are about to go up on Tuesday on the 10-day 43rd International Film Festival of India (Iffi) in Goa, a discordant note was struck by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. The right-wing outfit is upset with the ruling BJP for inviting film star Akshay Kumar as the chief guest for the inaugural day.
The outfit doubted the “secular nature of the BJP” due to its “cold response to Hindu sentiments” by inviting Akshay Kumar who had ruffled a few right-wing feathers with his film Oh My God (OMG) in which he played God.
Besides this minor blip on the Entertain Society of Goa’s (the organiser) radar, Iffi is ready to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema.
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Bradford ties up with Ghai to open film school
AGE CORRESPONDENT
London
Indian filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s film school, Whistling Woods, is opening a film school in Britain in a tie-up with Bradford College.
Bradford, which is Unesco’s first City of Film, will offer bachelor’s degrees in film and animation from next year as part of the partnership with Whistling Woods. The school, which has the support of the British Council, aims to be the “best film school in the world,” according to the Bradford College.
The city has a sizeable South Asian population, with a majority of Pakistani-origin people, which is estimated to be almost 30 per cent. The West Yorkshire city had defeated Mumbai, Cannes, Venice and Los Angeles to win Unesco’s first City of Film designation and Sydney was the next city to get the coveted title.
“Bradford has a fantastic film heritage and a fast growing young population. This is a great way to live up to our Unesco title with a truly international partnership and help to develop the filmmakers of the future,” David Wilson, director of Bradford City of Film, said on Monday in a statement issued by Bradford College.