JOIN USOnline fest of South Asian films kicks off
The Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati kicked off online on August 5. It will stream 60 feature films, documentaries and short films on the theme of South Asia and its people till August 19.
The larger objective of this annual event is to promote inclusion, diversity and global engagement through the medium of films, says its executive director Ratee Apana. And so, the line-up includes films in 15 languages, albeit subtitled in English. Two of them are Kannada films, titled ‘Koli Taal’, and ‘Neeli Hakki’.
Written and directed by debutant Abhilash Shetty, ‘Koli Taal’ is about two grandparents who want to cook chicken curry for their grandson who’s visiting them after a long time. But the chicken goes missing and what ensues after this is at the heart of the film. In his directorial debut of ‘Neeli Hakki’, Ganesh Hegde follows the life of a 10-year-old boy who’s struggling to make some tough decisions.
The film festival wants to tell stories as different as ‘Koli Taal’ and ‘Neeli Hakki’ on screen. “Our goal is to bring about a better understanding of common human values that bind us despite our diversities. We aim to build an inclusive community,” Ratee explains. The pandemic has forced the team to host the film festival virtually for the second year in a row but they are taking it in their stride. It’s helped them reached a larger audience, informs Ratee while going on to add, “We felt this was the responsible thing to do.”
Tickets are available on iffcincy.eventive.org.
For more details, visit iffcincy.com