Celebrated filmmakers Karan Johar and Asif Kapadia have been amongst these honored with an Icon Award at the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) for his or her contribution to cinema.
Johar, the producer-director of a number of Bollywood box-office hits, and Kapadia, the Oscar-winning director of the documentary on British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, have been amongst these to obtain awards at the conclusion of LIFF 2021 final week. The pageant, backed by the Bagri Foundation and British Film Institute (BFI), was staged in a hybrid type this 12 months amid the continuing coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
”It’s a testomony to a robust crew that we now have been in a position to pull off a dynamic pageant on-line and again in cinemas towards appreciable challenges and we particularly thank the cinemas which have helped us discover progressive advertising methods to draw audiences again,” mentioned Cary Rajinder Sawhney, LIFF Executive, and Programming Director.
“Our highlighting of British Asian filmmakers, I’m happy to say, has created an actual buzz with youthful South Asian folks eager to have fun our contribution to British cinema and humanities. Other new strands like Save The Planet, have additionally attracted new audiences exploring ecology within the Indian Subcontinental context. Excited to be rising once more,” he mentioned.
Some of the opposite awards of the 12 months included Outstanding Achievement Awards for Bollywood actors Shruti Haasan and Janhvi Kapoor.
The pageant opened with a characteristic documentary for the primary time, with Ajitesh Sharma’s ‘W.O.M.B’ (Women Of My Billion), which attracted standing ovations from audiences. The movie, focussing on the social and political points confronted by ladies in several components of India, additionally went on to win the Audience Award of the 12 months in London and Birmingham.
”Our purpose is to share this daring, uncommon and compelling movie with the widest audiences doable and hope that we are able to improve consciousness on this heartbreaking and really actual problem that’s confronted by hundreds of thousands of ladies not solely in India however the world over,” mentioned Apoorva Bakshi, the producer of ‘W.O.M.B’.
The pageant mentioned its normal suggestions was that audiences have been excited to be again in cinemas, many for the primary time for the reason that very first UK-wide lockdown in March 2020.
Ben Luxford, Head of UK Audiences at the BFI, mentioned: ”LIFF screenings and talks with British Asian expertise at our personal BFI Southbank had strong attendance and we have been additionally happy to offer a number of Great British Asian movies, co-curated with LIFF, on the BFI Player for audiences throughout the UK.” Alka Bagri, Trustee of the Bagri Foundation, added: ”We at the Bagri Foundation have this 12 months focussed our assist on LIFF’s on-line screenings and I’m happy to say that the standard and variety of programming has been fairly distinctive.
“In line with the Bagri Foundation’s ethos, LIFF has showcased the easiest of South Asian arts and tradition. We are significantly happy that the pageant has now developed its first year-round programme on-line at LoveLIFFatHome.com, reaching audiences UK-wide.” (This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Karan Johar, Asif Kapadia win Icon Awards at London Indian Film Festival
