Mingling Russian and Indian entertainment industries

The Indian Film Festival is all set to take place in Russia from September 3 to 6, 2015 at Formula Kino Gorizont and Indian Cultural Centre KSRK.

The four-day festival seeks to bridge the gap between the Russian and Indian entertainment industries and will feature live music and dance performances by Russians on Indian classical music.

It will include a number of Kathak and Bharatnatyam dance groups with Russian performers. Along with a few Russian folk numbers, the festival will also include a unique fashion show featuring designers of JD Institute of Fashion technology with Russian models.

Offering the Russian community a unique opportunity to learn about India’s multi-faceted culture and long history of filmmaking, the Indian Film Festival Russia (IFFR) will showcase some popular blockbuster Bollywood films like Piku, Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe, Dil Dhadakne Do, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Haider. The festival will also include a special screening of the Russian film Viy, based on the book of Gogol.

Indian Film Festival Worldwide (IFFW) has recently joined hands with Dr Sarfraz Alam, Director of IFFR in which the film festival will provide programming and activities that no other film festival in Russia offers. IFFW will be organizing the entire film festival and will serve a community of Indian and international filmmakers that have the potential of reaching a crossover audience.

“I think after Raj Kapoor, this is the second big thing that is happening in Russia. Russians have always loved Indian cinema and this shows the prominence that the film industry of India has gained. IFFR will become a landmark of Indian art cinema in Russia for years to come,” says RC Dalal, Creative Director, IFFW.

Meanwhile, the director in focus at the festival will be Shoojit Sarcar, whose Piku has already won the best film award during Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). Also, Sarcar won the award for the best director at IFFM and actor Irrfan Khan won the award for best actor for his performance in Piku.

Speaking of the increasing momentum of the Indian film industry in Russia, Dalal adds, “After the 1st film festival which happened last year, we have got a great response from the audience. People in Russia want to see more and more Indian films. Festivals like this will introduce the Indian film industry to a business estimated to be more than 1 billion dollar in this part of the world. While Russia is just the beginning, many more film festivals are planned in countries like Switzerland, Nigeria and Finland amongst others.”