The 7th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) and major sponsor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP announce “In Prime Time: Hollywood’s Spotlight on India” seminars to take place in conjunction with the film festival at the Creative Artists Agency on Friday, April 24.
IFFLA also announces the lineup of jurors for the 2009 edition of the popular festival which runs April 21-26 at ArcLight Hollywood. Members include production executive, Paul Federbush; veteran independent filmmaker Rana Joy Glickman; NPR/KCRW journalist Matt Holzman; Emmy-winning director Richard Shepard; screenwriter Gill Dennis; Academy-Award® winning documentary filmmaker Mark Jonathan Harris; IDA Executive Director Michael Lumpkin; Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon Managing Director David Tenzer; actor Rupak Ginn; SHORTS INTERNATIONAL’s Linda “O.” Olszewski; and Sundance and Los Angeles Film Festival programmer Hebe Tabachnik.
The addition of a special screening of Big Pictures’ dramatic thriller SIKANDAR has been announced for the 2009 IFFLA film schedule. Written and directed by Piyush Jha (KING OF BOLLYWOOD, CHALO AMERICA), the film follows the events that occur after an innocent boy in Kashmir becomes embroiled in a power struggle between militant groups when he finds a gun on his way home from school. The film stars Parzaan Dastur, Madhavan, Sanjay Suri, Ayesha Kapoor and Arunoday Singh.
Held in the Ray Kurtzman Theater at CAA (2000 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles) on Friday, April 24 from 2:30PM – 5:30PM, IFFLA and PricewaterhouseCoopers will offer two separate panels focusing on Indian entertainment and filmmaking through the lens of the business community.
After opening comments by pioneering CAA agent Emanuel Nunez and David Tenzer and remarks regarding the state of the Indian entertainment industry by Marcel Fenez, managing partner, global entertainment & media practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Smita Jha, director from the India entertainment and media practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers, attendees will have the opportunity to hear insightful discussions with executives from Disney, Fox, Hyde Park Entertainment, Film Independent, NFDC, Nuclear Mango Studios and Phat Phish - all of whom have produced or are in production for Indian-themed films for the international market with an Indian cast. Also participating in the panel discussions will be IFFLA honoree and Bollywood legend Anil Kapoor.
The panel topics are as follows:
PRODUCING INDIAN CONTENT FOR THE INDIAN AND INTERNATIONAL MARKET
MODERATOR: Mike Goodridge, US Editor, Screen International
PANELISTS: Ashok Amritraj, Chief Executive Officer, Hyde Park Entertainment
Jill Gwen, Chief Financial Officer, Fox Searchlight
Anil Kapoor, Actor (Slumdog Millionaire), Anil Kapoor Productions
Jason Reed, Executive Vice President, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production
FILM FINANCING: CO-PRODUCTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES
MODERATOR: Josh Welsh, Director of Talent Development, Film Independent
PANELISTS: Karim Ahmad, Programming Manager, Independent Television Service (ITVS)
Sanjay Bhattacharjee, CEO Motion Picture Division, Phat Phish
Nina Gupta, Managing Director, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC)
Govind Menon, Co-President/Nuclear Mango Studios, Founder/Split Image Pictures
The panels will follow the presentation of the IFFLA Industry Leadership Awards to Richard Fox and Amit Khanna which takes place the day prior on Thursday, April 23 (as previously announced). Fox is the Executive Vice President of Warner Bros. International and heads up all of Warner Bros.’ non-US initiatives in all phases of the entertainment industry. Khanna is the Chairman of Reliance BIG Entertainment, the media arm of the $75 billion Ambani Group that recently completed its purchase of Dreamworks and announced that it would spend $1 billion on the Indian film and entertainment business. Presenting the awards will be Walt Disney International Chairman Andy Bird and Deborah Bothun, entertainment media and communications advisory leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The award presentation will be made at the IFFLA Industry Leadership Award Luncheon at the House of Blues in West Hollywood. The event will also include a musical performance by Gingger Shankar.
Christina Marouda, IFFLA Festival Director said, “These seminars and the IFFLA Industry Leadership Awards are major business events for this festival which has always placed an emphasis on strengthening the bonds between the creative side of the Indian and Hollywood entertainment and film community with the business interests that can further their art.”
IFFLA’s popular Rhythm Village, presented by Rukus Avenue, will feature free public outdoor entertainment at the ArcLight Hollywood Cinemas courtyard April 22 – 25. Among the scheduled performances by the entertaining and eclectic talent assembled are the South Asian acapella group Andaaz; performing duo The Dyad; “conscious” music artist Hoodini; the desi outfit O.C.P.; IFFLA alumni and sketch performer Rasika Mathur; experimental fusion group, The Rhetoricalz; and singer songwriter and multi-instramentalist Tasneem Nanji.
Tickets are on sale now at ArcLight Hollywood Cinema’s box office located at 6360 W. Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, CA and online at www.arclightcinemas.com.
For information on how to purchase tickets for the IFFLA Leadership Awards Luncheon and the IFFLA Seminars at CAA, visit http://www.indianfilmfestival.org/events.php.
For more information on IFFLA please go to www.indianfilmfestival.org.