Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s “Dear Jassi” and Arati Kadav’s “Mrs” will open and close this year’s New York Indian Film Festival.
Punjabi and English-language “Dear Jassi,” a tale of star-crossed lovers based on a true story, arrives in New York after a glittering festival run that began in 2023, at Toronto, where it won the Platform Prize. That was followed by outings in London, Goa, the Red Sea, Goteborg and Hong Kong festivals. The film is produced by powerhouse Indian studio T-Series alongside Wakaoo Films and Creative Strokes Group.
Hindi-language “Mrs,” a portrait of domestic hell based on acclaimed 2021 Malayalam-language film “The Great Indian Kitchen,” previously played at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. It is produced by Jio Studios and Baweja Studios.
The centerpiece of the festival is an event celebrating 50 years of thespian Shabana Azmi’s career where a screening of...
Punjabi and English-language “Dear Jassi,” a tale of star-crossed lovers based on a true story, arrives in New York after a glittering festival run that began in 2023, at Toronto, where it won the Platform Prize. That was followed by outings in London, Goa, the Red Sea, Goteborg and Hong Kong festivals. The film is produced by powerhouse Indian studio T-Series alongside Wakaoo Films and Creative Strokes Group.
Hindi-language “Mrs,” a portrait of domestic hell based on acclaimed 2021 Malayalam-language film “The Great Indian Kitchen,” previously played at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. It is produced by Jio Studios and Baweja Studios.
The centerpiece of the festival is an event celebrating 50 years of thespian Shabana Azmi’s career where a screening of...
- 5/30/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Fresh out of its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Kinds of Kindness” is one of the titles headed to this year’s Mediterrane Film Festival, taking place in Malta between June 22-30.
Other highlights in the festival’s first wave of programming include Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance breakout “I Saw the TV Glow” and Meryam Joobeur’s Berlinale competition entry “Who Do I Belong To.”
The festival’s sophomore edition marks the first under the curatorial guise of Artistic Director Teresa Cavina, appointed earlier in the year. Cavina reorganized the festival’s program into four strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum or Our Sea, showcasing films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions, focusing on experimental VR projects.
In a statement, Cavina said that this...
Other highlights in the festival’s first wave of programming include Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance breakout “I Saw the TV Glow” and Meryam Joobeur’s Berlinale competition entry “Who Do I Belong To.”
The festival’s sophomore edition marks the first under the curatorial guise of Artistic Director Teresa Cavina, appointed earlier in the year. Cavina reorganized the festival’s program into four strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum or Our Sea, showcasing films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions, focusing on experimental VR projects.
In a statement, Cavina said that this...
- 5/20/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Above: 1980 Japanese poster for Apocalypse Now. Design by Eiko Ishioka, artwork by Haruo Takino.With Francis Ford Coppola’s long-gestated Megalopolis having premiered yesterday at Cannes, it's a good time to look back at the posters from his 60-year-long career. The only problem is that many posters for his films are either too well known or nothing to write home about. Like Coppola’s career itself, there are peaks and valleys—one of my very first posts for Notebook, almost exactly fifteen years ago, was about the gorgeous design for The Rain People (1969)—but a career retrospective of his posters seems like it might result in less than the sum of its parts. Yet of all his posters there are three rare Japanese designs that have always stood out as utterly extraordinary: two for Apocalypse Now (1979) and one for Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992).I’ve always seen these posters attributed to Eiko Ishioka,...
- 5/17/2024
- MUBI
Vijay Sethupati’s 50th Film ‘ Maharaja’ To Close The Iffla Gala ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
Vijay Sethupathi is adding more laurels to his cap. The versatile and celebrated actor’s much-awaited movie Maharaja is set to close the prestigious Iifla Gala, in Los Angeles. Maharaja sees a stern Sethupathi go against Anurag Kashyap. Directed by Nithilan Swaminathan, the Tamil revenge saga will keep the aides hooked.
But what is the Iffla gala? Well, it is a unique festival that gives strength to South Asian films and narratives. The Gala will showcase twenty films, including seven narrative features, twelve shorts, and one docu-series with a diverse lineup of films from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, and the United States, bringing together South Asian stories and perspectives from around the globe.
The festival will open with the Los Angeles premiere of Tarsem Singh’s forbidden romance Dear Jassi and close with Nithilan Saminathan’s Tamil film Maharaja,...
Vijay Sethupathi is adding more laurels to his cap. The versatile and celebrated actor’s much-awaited movie Maharaja is set to close the prestigious Iifla Gala, in Los Angeles. Maharaja sees a stern Sethupathi go against Anurag Kashyap. Directed by Nithilan Swaminathan, the Tamil revenge saga will keep the aides hooked.
But what is the Iffla gala? Well, it is a unique festival that gives strength to South Asian films and narratives. The Gala will showcase twenty films, including seven narrative features, twelve shorts, and one docu-series with a diverse lineup of films from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, and the United States, bringing together South Asian stories and perspectives from around the globe.
The festival will open with the Los Angeles premiere of Tarsem Singh’s forbidden romance Dear Jassi and close with Nithilan Saminathan’s Tamil film Maharaja,...
- 5/10/2024
- by Aayushi Hemnani
- KoiMoi
Today, the 2024 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) announced its lineup for the 22nd annual edition of the internationally acclaimed film festival. The festival is moving back to Hollywood at Landmark Theatres Sunset and runs June 27-30. Passes are now available at www.indianfilmfestival.org. Tickets to galas and individual programs go on sale on Monday, May 20.
Iffla will showcase twenty films, including seven narrative features, twelve shorts, and one docu-series with a diverse lineup of films from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and the United States, bringing together South Asian stories and perspectives from around the globe.
The festival will open with the Los Angeles premiere of Tarsem Singh's forbidden romance Dear Jassi and close with Nithilan Saminathan's Tamil film Maharaja, a twisted revenge saga starring phenomenal actor Vijay Sethupathi and maverick filmmaker Anurag Kashyap playing the villain. Features include the stylized violence of Kill, written...
Iffla will showcase twenty films, including seven narrative features, twelve shorts, and one docu-series with a diverse lineup of films from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and the United States, bringing together South Asian stories and perspectives from around the globe.
The festival will open with the Los Angeles premiere of Tarsem Singh's forbidden romance Dear Jassi and close with Nithilan Saminathan's Tamil film Maharaja, a twisted revenge saga starring phenomenal actor Vijay Sethupathi and maverick filmmaker Anurag Kashyap playing the villain. Features include the stylized violence of Kill, written...
- 5/10/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The FallPhoto: Deep/Kobal (Shutterstock)
If The Fall had come out this year, you might wonder if the 2006 cult classic and David Leitch’s The Fall Guy were born from the same prompt at a writers’ workshop. Beyond the mirrored titles, the divisive labor of love from Tarsem Singh (known...
If The Fall had come out this year, you might wonder if the 2006 cult classic and David Leitch’s The Fall Guy were born from the same prompt at a writers’ workshop. Beyond the mirrored titles, the divisive labor of love from Tarsem Singh (known...
- 5/7/2024
- by Emma Keates
- avclub.com
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Whenever Stanley Kubrick is involved, you know there has to be something outstanding. 2001: A Space Odyssey follows an adventure to Jupiter where the astronauts have to oppose their board computer that tries to stop them…
But more than a good movie, it’s an unforgettable visual experience, an experiment in bizarre.
You can watch 2001: A Space Odyssey on Max, Netflix, and Prime Video.
9. Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America isn’t special due to its captivating story of a small-time criminal turned mafia kingpin. The movie's sensational visuals could have been less impressive in our eyes, too — if not for the fact that in 1984, there was no CGI, and its stunning shots were all done with practical effects alone.
You can watch Once Upon A Time In America on Netflix and Prime Video.
8. Life of Pi...
Whenever Stanley Kubrick is involved, you know there has to be something outstanding. 2001: A Space Odyssey follows an adventure to Jupiter where the astronauts have to oppose their board computer that tries to stop them…
But more than a good movie, it’s an unforgettable visual experience, an experiment in bizarre.
You can watch 2001: A Space Odyssey on Max, Netflix, and Prime Video.
9. Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America isn’t special due to its captivating story of a small-time criminal turned mafia kingpin. The movie's sensational visuals could have been less impressive in our eyes, too — if not for the fact that in 1984, there was no CGI, and its stunning shots were all done with practical effects alone.
You can watch Once Upon A Time In America on Netflix and Prime Video.
8. Life of Pi...
- 5/2/2024
- by dean-black@startefacts.com (Dean Black)
- STartefacts.com
You have probably seen Christopher Nolan's Inception more than once, discussed Ari Aster's Midsommar with friends, rewatched Ridley Scott's Alien, and are now on the lookout for new discoveries, wondering where to find the gems of modern cinema.
In such cases, not the most talked about, but no less exciting projects come to the rescue.
1. The Fall, 2006
Tarsem Singh, a master of striking productions that transport viewers into worlds that are unprecedented in their beauty and danger, made one of the most amazing films in 2006 that can be described as a "story within a story."
The main character ends up in a hospital where he meets a little girl who helps a man cope with pain. In exchange for morphine, he tells a made-up story about a group of adventurers led by the Black Bandit. As the narrator loses the will to live and love, his characters face more and more trials,...
In such cases, not the most talked about, but no less exciting projects come to the rescue.
1. The Fall, 2006
Tarsem Singh, a master of striking productions that transport viewers into worlds that are unprecedented in their beauty and danger, made one of the most amazing films in 2006 that can be described as a "story within a story."
The main character ends up in a hospital where he meets a little girl who helps a man cope with pain. In exchange for morphine, he tells a made-up story about a group of adventurers led by the Black Bandit. As the narrator loses the will to live and love, his characters face more and more trials,...
- 4/28/2024
- by zoe-wallace@startefacts.com (Zoe Wallace)
- STartefacts.com
Indian actor Vipin Sharma is earning global acclaim for playing a trans character in Dev Patel’s feature directorial debut “Monkey Man.”
Sharma plays Alpha, the leader of a trans community known in India as hijras, who is instrumental in providing a new lease on life to Patel’s character when he’s down and out in “Monkey Man.”
Aamir Khan’s “Taare Zameen Par” (2007) was Sharma’s breakthrough role, and since then he has won plaudits for “Paan Singh Tomar,” “Gangs of Wasseypur” and “Shahid” (all 2012), “Raanjhanaa” (2013), “Raman Raghav 2.0” (2016), “Paatal Lok” (2020) and “Dear Jassi” (2023).
When director Anthony Maras offered Sharma a role in “Hotel Mumbai” (2018), starring Patel, the actor accepted. “He said, ‘It’s not a very big part, but it’s a very interesting part.’ I immediately took it because it was going to make me meet Dev who I really wanted to meet,” Sharma tells Variety.
Sharma plays Alpha, the leader of a trans community known in India as hijras, who is instrumental in providing a new lease on life to Patel’s character when he’s down and out in “Monkey Man.”
Aamir Khan’s “Taare Zameen Par” (2007) was Sharma’s breakthrough role, and since then he has won plaudits for “Paan Singh Tomar,” “Gangs of Wasseypur” and “Shahid” (all 2012), “Raanjhanaa” (2013), “Raman Raghav 2.0” (2016), “Paatal Lok” (2020) and “Dear Jassi” (2023).
When director Anthony Maras offered Sharma a role in “Hotel Mumbai” (2018), starring Patel, the actor accepted. “He said, ‘It’s not a very big part, but it’s a very interesting part.’ I immediately took it because it was going to make me meet Dev who I really wanted to meet,” Sharma tells Variety.
- 4/9/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week we take a look at several videos by Tarsem Singh. Tarsem Singh has only made slightly more than a handful of videos, but their impact can't be understated. Starting with En Vogue's Hold On he established his style clearly, where colorful tableaux vivants are the backdrop for characters striking a pose and looking directly at the camera. The colorization and style seem slightly inspired by classical painting, something that became even more prevalent in his big break-out music video for R.E.M's Losing My Religion (see below). In that video the band are intercut with imagery taken directly from renaissance and baroque paintings, including several references to...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/8/2024
- Screen Anarchy
Mythology offers some of the most enduring and rich stories when it comes to epic storytelling. And at the top of the pantheon of mythical figures sits Zeus, the king of the gods in Greek mythology. Throughout Hollywood history, many stars have tried their hands at playing this powerful deity, with varying degrees of success.
Having said that, it makes sense that we should honor the actors who gorgeously portrayed Zeus on screen. Since he is the undisputed leader of Mount Olympus, it is about time he had his own list. Those who have portrayed Zeus on screen have done so with a certain stoicism that is more in line with ancient Greek depictions.
Russell Crowe as Zeus in a still from Thor: Love and Thunder
Here are six actors who have truly nailed it as Zeus on the big screen.
1. Luke Evans in Immortals (2011)
Greek mythology is adapted in...
Having said that, it makes sense that we should honor the actors who gorgeously portrayed Zeus on screen. Since he is the undisputed leader of Mount Olympus, it is about time he had his own list. Those who have portrayed Zeus on screen have done so with a certain stoicism that is more in line with ancient Greek depictions.
Russell Crowe as Zeus in a still from Thor: Love and Thunder
Here are six actors who have truly nailed it as Zeus on the big screen.
1. Luke Evans in Immortals (2011)
Greek mythology is adapted in...
- 3/20/2024
- by Siddhika Prajapati
- FandomWire
The Miami Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 41st edition, including “Thelma,” starring June Squibb, opening the event and Tony Goldwyn’s “Ezra” as closing night selection.
Goldwyn will be honored at the festival with the Art of Light award along with Alison Brie, while Greg Kwedar, director of “Sing Sing,” will receive the Impact Award.
The festival runs April 5-14, with Goldwyn in attendance for the April 13 closing screening of “Ezra,” which stars Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Robert De Niro, Vera Farmiga, Whoopi Goldberg, and Rainn Wilson.
“This year’s lineup spotlights exciting narrative programming, essential documentaries, and groundbreaking shorts, bringing an unbelievable host of films to our local community,” said James Woolley, Executive Director. “The Miami Film Festival is delighted to welcome our audiences back for another year of incredible screenings and inspiring conversations.”
“We are thrilled to be bringing this incredible slate of diverse and exciting films to Miami,...
Goldwyn will be honored at the festival with the Art of Light award along with Alison Brie, while Greg Kwedar, director of “Sing Sing,” will receive the Impact Award.
The festival runs April 5-14, with Goldwyn in attendance for the April 13 closing screening of “Ezra,” which stars Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Robert De Niro, Vera Farmiga, Whoopi Goldberg, and Rainn Wilson.
“This year’s lineup spotlights exciting narrative programming, essential documentaries, and groundbreaking shorts, bringing an unbelievable host of films to our local community,” said James Woolley, Executive Director. “The Miami Film Festival is delighted to welcome our audiences back for another year of incredible screenings and inspiring conversations.”
“We are thrilled to be bringing this incredible slate of diverse and exciting films to Miami,...
- 3/7/2024
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Henry Cavill was well on his way to enlisting in the military and joining the Royal Marines like a couple of his older brothers if acting had not snatched him up when he was 17. He stepped into Hollywood with a role in the film Laguna, released in 2001. Luckily, he caught the eye of a casting director visiting his school who cast him in a role in 2002’s The Count of Monte Cristo.
Henry Cavill went on to star as the DC Comics superhero Clark Kent/Superman. Recently, there has been a lot of talk surrounding his debut as a Marvel character. Although the actor is not opposed to playing a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), he has a condition that must be fulfilled if he plays a Marvel character.
Henry Cavill in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) Henry Cavill’s Condition to Play a Marvel...
Henry Cavill went on to star as the DC Comics superhero Clark Kent/Superman. Recently, there has been a lot of talk surrounding his debut as a Marvel character. Although the actor is not opposed to playing a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), he has a condition that must be fulfilled if he plays a Marvel character.
Henry Cavill in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) Henry Cavill’s Condition to Play a Marvel...
- 2/28/2024
- by Ankita
- FandomWire
At the 2023 edition of the Red Sea Film Festival (3rd edition), we had the pleasure of teaming with photographer Joel Ryan for this exclusive series of portraits with the Dear Jassi team comprised of filmmaker Tarsem Singh and his two stars in Yugam Sood and Canadian actress Pavia Sidhu. We had the pleasure of interviewing Tarsem (watch here) and the two stars (watch here). Here are the best shots from our photo shoot! Click on the thumbnails below!
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- 2/12/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
There is a moment in Dear Jassi where the film tonally comes to a halt. A psychologically disturbing full stop that should come as no surprise (we are informed from the get-go that this Romeo and Juliette tale is based on real tragic well-documented consequences) but it illustrates the willingness diverge from regular storytelling formulas and for its author in filmmaker Tarsem Singh Dhandwar it signifies bifurcation from a certain comfort zone.
A pet project that the filmmaker knew he’d one day tackle if the opportunity presented itself; so when Bollywood came knocking he seized his chance to make one personal film before something scaled as his previous studio projects.…...
A pet project that the filmmaker knew he’d one day tackle if the opportunity presented itself; so when Bollywood came knocking he seized his chance to make one personal film before something scaled as his previous studio projects.…...
- 2/11/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Dublin International Film Festival has unveiled its full programme for the upcoming edition, opening with the world premiere of Irish filmmaker Marian Quinn’s anti-war epic Twig.
This re-telling of Greek tragedy Antigone stars Sade Malone in the titular role and Brían F. O’Byrne, and is set in Dublin’s inner city, where an ancient city wall cordons off a neighbourhood which is rife with drugs. It is produced by Ireland’s Ruth Carter of Blue Ink Films and Tommy Weir for Janey Pictures.
Further Irish filmmaking talent showcased includes the previously announced closing night film, Pat Collins’ adaptation of...
This re-telling of Greek tragedy Antigone stars Sade Malone in the titular role and Brían F. O’Byrne, and is set in Dublin’s inner city, where an ancient city wall cordons off a neighbourhood which is rife with drugs. It is produced by Ireland’s Ruth Carter of Blue Ink Films and Tommy Weir for Janey Pictures.
Further Irish filmmaking talent showcased includes the previously announced closing night film, Pat Collins’ adaptation of...
- 1/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
When a movie slips through the cracks of mainstream success, it often takes its stars with it into obscurity. Yet, within these films lie performances that deserve their moment in the spotlight. Let’s uncover these hidden gems and give a nod to the actors whose talents might have been overshadowed by the allure of blockbusters. The Fall and Lee Pace The Fall, directed by Tarsem Singh, is a testament to the art of visual storytelling. Lee Pace embodies Roy with a vulnerability that is as captivating as the film’s breathtaking visuals. Despite its beauty and depth, The Fall didn’t quite...
- 1/20/2024
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
A tale as old as time, and tragically a tale that was never meant to be. As the true story goes, Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur haphazardly (one can say love at first sight) fell for Sukhwinder Singh Sidhu (nicknamed “Mithu”) but the forces tried in vain to keep them apart. Fast-forward two plus decades later and Tarsem Singh returned to his homeland to film Dear Jassi with fresh-faced tandem playing star-crossed lovers who can escape their fate but for a fraction of a second.
Plucked from obscurity, Pavia Sidhu and Yugam Sood play the unlikely pairing and let’s just say that cinema magic dust made its way onto set.…...
Plucked from obscurity, Pavia Sidhu and Yugam Sood play the unlikely pairing and let’s just say that cinema magic dust made its way onto set.…...
- 1/17/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
After highlighting the 50 best films you may have missed this year and our overall top 50 films of 2023, today we put our spotlight on those that need a home in the first place: movies we loved on the festival circuit––from Berlinale, Sundance, Cannes, TIFF, NYFF, Rotterdam, and beyond—still seeking U.S. distribution.
We hope that highlighting these titles spurs some distributor interest and a forthcoming release; we’ll be sharing any updates in this regard on Twitter, so make sure to follow us there. As we move into 2024, one can also track our upcoming festival coverage here.
Borrowed Time (Choy Ji)
Everything in Mak Yuen-Ting’s life is about to change. She will soon join her fiancé’s well-to-do family. She wants her newly and unhappily retired mother, Chau-Kuen, to sell her apartment and move to the Luogang suburbs. Yuen-Ting (played by Lin Dongping) has to figure out how...
We hope that highlighting these titles spurs some distributor interest and a forthcoming release; we’ll be sharing any updates in this regard on Twitter, so make sure to follow us there. As we move into 2024, one can also track our upcoming festival coverage here.
Borrowed Time (Choy Ji)
Everything in Mak Yuen-Ting’s life is about to change. She will soon join her fiancé’s well-to-do family. She wants her newly and unhappily retired mother, Chau-Kuen, to sell her apartment and move to the Luogang suburbs. Yuen-Ting (played by Lin Dongping) has to figure out how...
- 12/18/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
he Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea Iff) marked the closing of its third edition with a screening of Micheal Mann's Ferrari, a Red Sea International Film Financing project, and revealed the winners of its highly anticipated Yusr Awards. The festival also welcomed Hollywood icon Nicolas Cage, receiving a Red Sea Honoree award, and joining the 2023 Honoree line-up of Diane Kruger, Ranveer Singh, and Abdullah Al-Sadhan. Kristoffer Borgli's comedy horror Dream Scenario, starring Nicolas Cage, will screen as the Final Festival Gala on Saturday 9th December.
Two juries deliberated to finally select winners across 14 categories; led by Jury President Baz Luhrmann. Seventeen films in competition, as well as 23 shorts, were in the running for the coveted awards.
The festival this year celebrated its biggest year yet in terms of attendance – welcoming almost 6,000 accredited guests and selling more than 40,000 tickets across all screenings and In Conversations.
The Closing Ceremony...
Two juries deliberated to finally select winners across 14 categories; led by Jury President Baz Luhrmann. Seventeen films in competition, as well as 23 shorts, were in the running for the coveted awards.
The festival this year celebrated its biggest year yet in terms of attendance – welcoming almost 6,000 accredited guests and selling more than 40,000 tickets across all screenings and In Conversations.
The Closing Ceremony...
- 12/8/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Oscar winner Nicholas Cage received a Red Sea Honouree award
Zarrar Kahn’s Karachi-set thriller In Flames won the $100,000 Golden Yusr award for best feature film at the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival, which announced its winners on Thursday evening (December 7).
A Canada-Pakistan co-production and Pakistan’s entry to the Oscars, In Flames is the story of a mother and daughter trying to survive after losing the family patriarch. It world premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Indian production Dear Jassi, directed by Tarsem Singh, won the $30,000 Silver Yusr. Based on the true story of an Indian couple who fell foul of the class system,...
Zarrar Kahn’s Karachi-set thriller In Flames won the $100,000 Golden Yusr award for best feature film at the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival, which announced its winners on Thursday evening (December 7).
A Canada-Pakistan co-production and Pakistan’s entry to the Oscars, In Flames is the story of a mother and daughter trying to survive after losing the family patriarch. It world premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Indian production Dear Jassi, directed by Tarsem Singh, won the $30,000 Silver Yusr. Based on the true story of an Indian couple who fell foul of the class system,...
- 12/8/2023
- by Mona Sheded
- ScreenDaily
The third annual Red Sea Film Festival handed out its Yusr Awards on Thursday night, with Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames taking Best Feature and Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher scoring a pair of wins including Best Actor for Saleh Bakri. See the full list below.
Elvis director and two-time Oscar nominee Baz Luhrmann headed the Rea Sea jury, which handed out awards in 17 categories.
The Saudi Arabian fest also gave a Red Sea Honorary Award to Nicolas Cage. The Oscar winner, whose Dream Scenario will close the festival on December 9, joined fellow 2023 honorees Diane Kruger, Ranveer Singh and Abdullah Al-Sadhan.
“Over the past eight days, we have welcomed the world to Jeddah and celebrated this vibrant global film community together – with a goal of bridging cultures and creating new ties,” said Jomana Al-Rashid, Chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation. “We’ve done that with over 125 films from Saudi Arabia,...
Elvis director and two-time Oscar nominee Baz Luhrmann headed the Rea Sea jury, which handed out awards in 17 categories.
The Saudi Arabian fest also gave a Red Sea Honorary Award to Nicolas Cage. The Oscar winner, whose Dream Scenario will close the festival on December 9, joined fellow 2023 honorees Diane Kruger, Ranveer Singh and Abdullah Al-Sadhan.
“Over the past eight days, we have welcomed the world to Jeddah and celebrated this vibrant global film community together – with a goal of bridging cultures and creating new ties,” said Jomana Al-Rashid, Chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation. “We’ve done that with over 125 films from Saudi Arabia,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
At the closing ceremony of the 3rd edition of the Red Sea Film Festival Thursday, which took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in front of an audience that included Hollywood stars Nicolas Cage, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Jason Statham and Adrien Brody, the Golden Yusr for best film and a $100,000 cash prize went to Pakistani-Canadian horror film “In Flames,” directed by Zarrar Kahn.
The director said that the indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.” He urged “everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing.”
The Silver Yusr prize for best feature film went to Tarsem Singh for “Dear Jassi.” The film, an India/Canada/U.S. co-production, is based on the true story of a Canadian Punjabi woman who ran afoul of her family’s expectations when she chose to marry a working-class...
The director said that the indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.” He urged “everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing.”
The Silver Yusr prize for best feature film went to Tarsem Singh for “Dear Jassi.” The film, an India/Canada/U.S. co-production, is based on the true story of a Canadian Punjabi woman who ran afoul of her family’s expectations when she chose to marry a working-class...
- 12/7/2023
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
Zarrar Khan’s In Flames has picked up the Yusr Award for best competition film at the third edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The festival, which attracted such Hollywood stars as Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth and Sharon Stone, on Thursday evening unveiled the winners of its Red Sea competition honors, the so-called Yusr awards, as well as other prizes.
Khan’s Pakistani-Canadian horror pic that bowed in Cannes portrays a mother and daughter having to navigate loss, oppression and vulnerability after the death of the family patriarch. The debut feature is rendered as a ghost story as they must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The Silver Yusr award for best feature went to Tarsem Singh’s modern day tragic drama Dear Jassi, which bowed in Toronto, where it won the 2023 Platform Prize.
The festival, which attracted such Hollywood stars as Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth and Sharon Stone, on Thursday evening unveiled the winners of its Red Sea competition honors, the so-called Yusr awards, as well as other prizes.
Khan’s Pakistani-Canadian horror pic that bowed in Cannes portrays a mother and daughter having to navigate loss, oppression and vulnerability after the death of the family patriarch. The debut feature is rendered as a ghost story as they must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The Silver Yusr award for best feature went to Tarsem Singh’s modern day tragic drama Dear Jassi, which bowed in Toronto, where it won the 2023 Platform Prize.
- 12/7/2023
- by Georg Szalai and Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The story of Romeo and Juliet is one that will probably remain an inspiration for filmmakers until the end of time. Tarsem Singh Dhandwar also tries his hand in the classic, through a story, though, that goes into a completely different direction and is actually inspired by real events that happened 30 years ago.
Jassi is screening at Red Sea Film Festival
After an intro that could be perceived as a wink to the Bard, with a Hindi narrator beginning the story under the sound of music, we are transferred to Punjab, 30 years ago, where Mithu, an illiterate rickshaw driver is competing in Kabaddi. In the audience is Jassi, an Indian Canadian 19-year-old girl, who is immediately smitten by the protagonist of the match. Their romance progresses subtly, but the surprising thing is that the one who truly pursues it is actually Jassi, with the shy Mithu essentially being carried into his own feelings.
Jassi is screening at Red Sea Film Festival
After an intro that could be perceived as a wink to the Bard, with a Hindi narrator beginning the story under the sound of music, we are transferred to Punjab, 30 years ago, where Mithu, an illiterate rickshaw driver is competing in Kabaddi. In the audience is Jassi, an Indian Canadian 19-year-old girl, who is immediately smitten by the protagonist of the match. Their romance progresses subtly, but the surprising thing is that the one who truly pursues it is actually Jassi, with the shy Mithu essentially being carried into his own feelings.
- 12/3/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Though the Red Sea Film Festival will feature a slew of films from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region – including 11 feature films from Saudi Arabia – there is a rich roster of international fare set to launch locally from Jeddah.
Kaleem Aftab, the festival’s director of international programming, says they received lots more submissions for this year’s third edition. He is particularly proud of the presence in competition of Indian-born auteur Tarsem Singh’s romancer “Dear Jassi,” the first film set in India by the flamboyant director of “The Cell,” and of Japanese master Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Venice prizewinner “Evil Does Not Exist.”
Peppered through various Red Sea sections are the Mena region premieres of other high-profile titles such as Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla”; Belgian-based Moroccan duo Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah flashy third feature “Gangsta”; British director James Marsh’s biographical film about Irish playwright Samuel Beckett...
Kaleem Aftab, the festival’s director of international programming, says they received lots more submissions for this year’s third edition. He is particularly proud of the presence in competition of Indian-born auteur Tarsem Singh’s romancer “Dear Jassi,” the first film set in India by the flamboyant director of “The Cell,” and of Japanese master Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Venice prizewinner “Evil Does Not Exist.”
Peppered through various Red Sea sections are the Mena region premieres of other high-profile titles such as Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla”; Belgian-based Moroccan duo Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah flashy third feature “Gangsta”; British director James Marsh’s biographical film about Irish playwright Samuel Beckett...
- 11/30/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival stands as testimony to the kingdom’s unwavering drive to become a film and TV industry powerhouse amid regional conflicts, political turbulence and societal changes.
The Israel-Hamas war caused cancellations of several movie celebrations across the Arab world, including the Cairo Film Festival and Tunisia’s Carthage Film Days. But Saudi’s rapidly growing fest is forging ahead undeterred with its third edition set to run Nov. 30-Dec. 9 in Jeddah, on the Red Sea’s eastern shore.
In early October, after the war broke out, “we were assessing the situation day by day,” recalls pioneering Saudi producer and philanthropist Mohammed Al Turki, the event’s CEO, who notes that Red Sea organizers at that point reached out to filmmakers in the Middle East and North Africa region for feedback “and they almost had a heart attack when we told them we might not continue.
The Israel-Hamas war caused cancellations of several movie celebrations across the Arab world, including the Cairo Film Festival and Tunisia’s Carthage Film Days. But Saudi’s rapidly growing fest is forging ahead undeterred with its third edition set to run Nov. 30-Dec. 9 in Jeddah, on the Red Sea’s eastern shore.
In early October, after the war broke out, “we were assessing the situation day by day,” recalls pioneering Saudi producer and philanthropist Mohammed Al Turki, the event’s CEO, who notes that Red Sea organizers at that point reached out to filmmakers in the Middle East and North Africa region for feedback “and they almost had a heart attack when we told them we might not continue.
- 11/29/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
A funny thing happened on the way to the Colosseum. That unbelievably epic three-minute Pepsi commercial you surely remember from the early 2000’s where Britney, Pink, and Beyoncé at their full-on fiercest joined forces to commandeer the ancient Roman amphitheater with a diva-liciously badass riff on Queen’s “We Will Rock You”… yeah, you don’t actually remember that.
The fond impressions were planted later, Blade Runner-style, by online fandom — because what should have been herstory’s greatest Super Bowl ad of all time never actually aired in America!
The fond impressions were planted later, Blade Runner-style, by online fandom — because what should have been herstory’s greatest Super Bowl ad of all time never actually aired in America!
- 11/16/2023
- by Jamie Bryan
- Rollingstone.com
Cinema has been a little duller for the eight-year absence of Tarsem Singh Dhandwar, the Indian-born auteur whose flamboyant formal style carried over from the music video realm into a distinctively sensuous strain of mainstream fantasy filmmaking — halted by the relative disappointment of 2015’s lackluster Ryan Reynolds vehicle “Self/less.” That makes Singh Dhandwar’s return with “Dear Jassi” something of an event, even before considering the film’s surprising expansion of his repertoire: Leaving behind Hollywood, genre cinema and his trademark maximalist mise-en-scène for his first film made in his homeland, the director keeps things simple but stately in this fact-based tale of young, star-crossed love in India’s Punjab region.
The result is sometimes slack but incrementally powerful, marked by a palpable sense of renewed purpose on the part of its helmer. Singh Dhandwar claims the true story of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, a young Indian-Canadian woman murdered by...
The result is sometimes slack but incrementally powerful, marked by a palpable sense of renewed purpose on the part of its helmer. Singh Dhandwar claims the true story of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, a young Indian-Canadian woman murdered by...
- 10/16/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Dear Jassi arrives with echoes of Madonna’s 1989 hit “Dear Jessie” and its sugary promise of pink elephants and lemonade, but none of that turns out to be forthcoming in Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s beautiful and brutal sixth feature. Instead, we have perhaps the most disturbing bait-and-switch since George Sluizer’s original iteration of The Vanishing, a Punjabi Juliet-meets-Romeo story that’s much harsher that any so-far-filmed version of West Side Story and a whole lot funnier. This dissonance takes a while to reveal itself, but when it does, the shock is visceral. The fact that almost everything is true is the killer blow, and the shockwave of that reverberates through the poignant final credits, a static shot that forces the audience, or maybe just simply dares them, to think about what they’ve just seen.
Immigrant stories have been big in 2023, but the troubling core of Dear Jassi is actually an emigrant story,...
Immigrant stories have been big in 2023, but the troubling core of Dear Jassi is actually an emigrant story,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
A first clip has been unveiled for Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s return to feature film direction, “Dear Jassi.”
Dhandwar, the filmmaker previously known simply as Tarsem, returned to the big screen and to his roots with the film which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where it won the 2023 TIFF Platform Award in an unanimous decision.
Written by Amit Rai (“Omg 2”) and based on the reporting of journalist Fabian Dawson, “Dear Jassi” is a modern-day tragedy inspired by the tragic true story of Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur and Sukhwinder “Mithu” Singh Sidhu, told in a Punjabi folk style. In 1996 Punjab, India, Canadian-born Jassi (Pavia Sidhu) falls in love with Mithu (Yugam Sood), a rickshaw driver beneath her social status. Their attraction is pure and unconditional, but is it has to fight the dictates imposed by Jassi’s family and Punjabi society.
The film is currently seeking distribution,...
Dhandwar, the filmmaker previously known simply as Tarsem, returned to the big screen and to his roots with the film which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where it won the 2023 TIFF Platform Award in an unanimous decision.
Written by Amit Rai (“Omg 2”) and based on the reporting of journalist Fabian Dawson, “Dear Jassi” is a modern-day tragedy inspired by the tragic true story of Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur and Sukhwinder “Mithu” Singh Sidhu, told in a Punjabi folk style. In 1996 Punjab, India, Canadian-born Jassi (Pavia Sidhu) falls in love with Mithu (Yugam Sood), a rickshaw driver beneath her social status. Their attraction is pure and unconditional, but is it has to fight the dictates imposed by Jassi’s family and Punjabi society.
The film is currently seeking distribution,...
- 9/22/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
With the 67th BFI London Film Festival gearing up to start on Oct. 4, the juries for the various competitions have been named.
Leading the official competition jury is acclaimed Mexican director, producer and screenwriter Amat Escalante, who won the best director honor at the 2013 edition of the Cannes Film Festival for Heli and the Silver Lion for the best director in Venice in 2016 for The Untamed. Escalante’s latest feature, Lost in the Night, is playing in the London Film Festival’s Thrill Strand.
Joining Escalante on the main jury are Kate Taylor, program director of the 2023 Edinburgh International Film Festival, and Niven Govinden, the English novelist and author of Diary of a Film.
The films in the official competition that the trio will be judging include:
Baltimore, Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor
Dear Jassi, Tarsem Singh Dhandwar)
Europa, Sudabeh Mortezai
Evil Does Not Exist, Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Fingernails, Christos Nikou
Gasoline Rainbow,...
Leading the official competition jury is acclaimed Mexican director, producer and screenwriter Amat Escalante, who won the best director honor at the 2013 edition of the Cannes Film Festival for Heli and the Silver Lion for the best director in Venice in 2016 for The Untamed. Escalante’s latest feature, Lost in the Night, is playing in the London Film Festival’s Thrill Strand.
Joining Escalante on the main jury are Kate Taylor, program director of the 2023 Edinburgh International Film Festival, and Niven Govinden, the English novelist and author of Diary of a Film.
The films in the official competition that the trio will be judging include:
Baltimore, Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor
Dear Jassi, Tarsem Singh Dhandwar)
Europa, Sudabeh Mortezai
Evil Does Not Exist, Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Fingernails, Christos Nikou
Gasoline Rainbow,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar ominously warned audiences at the world premiere of his Punjabi-language debut that it was a much more serious affair than they might be expecting. After all, the Romeo and Juliet framing in the festival notes and the film’s title pointed towards a young-love romantic melodrama. Instead, what unfolds is a shattering real-life tragedy—appalling on a scale audiences might scarcely be able to imagine. Romeo and Juliet got off easy compared to what befalls Jassi & Mithu in this factual story that lays bare the terrifying cost of class divisions, caste discrimination, and patriarchy in societies worldwide.
Read More: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: 26 Must-See Films To Watch At TIFF
“Dear Jassi” comes to us as a doubly surprising film—being the first Indian film by Hollywood director Tarsem (as he has been credited and known throughout his career).
Continue reading ‘Dear Jassi’ Review: Tarsem Singh...
Read More: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: 26 Must-See Films To Watch At TIFF
“Dear Jassi” comes to us as a doubly surprising film—being the first Indian film by Hollywood director Tarsem (as he has been credited and known throughout his career).
Continue reading ‘Dear Jassi’ Review: Tarsem Singh...
- 9/18/2023
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Playlist
’Mr. Dressup: The Magic Of Make Believe’ wins doc award, ’Dicks: The Musical’ wins Midnight Madness.
The satire American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 2023 People’s Choice Award, boosting the crowd-pleaser’s Oscar credentials heading into awards season.
‘American Fiction’: Toronto Review
Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut for Amazon/MGM stars Wright as a frustrated Black author whose deliberately dumbed-down novel about cliched Black characters becomes a hit. There are multiple screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox today (September 17) from 2:30pm-9:30pm Et.
American Fiction follows last year’s recipient...
The satire American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 2023 People’s Choice Award, boosting the crowd-pleaser’s Oscar credentials heading into awards season.
‘American Fiction’: Toronto Review
Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut for Amazon/MGM stars Wright as a frustrated Black author whose deliberately dumbed-down novel about cliched Black characters becomes a hit. There are multiple screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox today (September 17) from 2:30pm-9:30pm Et.
American Fiction follows last year’s recipient...
- 9/17/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
’Mr. Dressup: The Magic Of Make Believe’ wins doc award, ’Dicks: The Musical’ wins Midnight Madness.
The satire American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 2023 People’s Choice Award, boosting the crowd-pleaser’s Oscar credentials heading into awards season.
‘American Fiction’: Toronto Review
Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut from Orion and MRC stars Wright as a frustrated Black author whose deliberately dumbed-down novel about cliched Black characters becomes a hit. There are multiple screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox today (September 17) from 2:30pm-9:30pm Et.
MGM distributes American Fiction in the...
The satire American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 2023 People’s Choice Award, boosting the crowd-pleaser’s Oscar credentials heading into awards season.
‘American Fiction’: Toronto Review
Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut from Orion and MRC stars Wright as a frustrated Black author whose deliberately dumbed-down novel about cliched Black characters becomes a hit. There are multiple screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox today (September 17) from 2:30pm-9:30pm Et.
MGM distributes American Fiction in the...
- 9/17/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
’Mr. Dressup: The Magic Of Make Believe’ wins doc award, ’Dicks: The Musical’ wins Midnight Madness.
The satire American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 2023 People’s Choice Award, boosting the crowd-pleaser’s Oscar credentials heading into awards season.
‘American Fiction’: Toronto Review
Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut from Orion and MRC stars Wright as a frustrated Black author whose deliberately dumbed-down novel about cliched Black characters becomes a hit. There are multiple screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox today (September 17) from 2:30pm-9:30pm Et.
MGM distributes American Fiction in the...
The satire American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 2023 People’s Choice Award, boosting the crowd-pleaser’s Oscar credentials heading into awards season.
‘American Fiction’: Toronto Review
Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut from Orion and MRC stars Wright as a frustrated Black author whose deliberately dumbed-down novel about cliched Black characters becomes a hit. There are multiple screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox today (September 17) from 2:30pm-9:30pm Et.
MGM distributes American Fiction in the...
- 9/17/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
“American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s blistering satire of race and media, captured the Toronto International Film Festival’s people’s choice award, bolstering its Oscars chances.
TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards. Other recipients, including “Belfast,” “La La Land,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and 2022’s winner, “The Fabelmans,” were all best picture nominees.
The people’s choice category was created in 1978. Seven recipients won best picture at the Oscars, with five of those victories coming in the past two decades.
Alexander Payne’s boarding school dramedy...
TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards. Other recipients, including “Belfast,” “La La Land,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and 2022’s winner, “The Fabelmans,” were all best picture nominees.
The people’s choice category was created in 1978. Seven recipients won best picture at the Oscars, with five of those victories coming in the past two decades.
Alexander Payne’s boarding school dramedy...
- 9/17/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
“American Fiction” has won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced at an awards brunch on Sunday.
The Orion/MGM film by first-time director Cord Jefferson is a barbed satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a writer who, to his dismay, achieves enormous success after as a joke writing a book filled with what he feels are the worst and most pandering cliches of Black representation. In its review, TheWrap called the film “an outlandishly assured directorial debut, a beautifully modulated film that takes a great actor, Jeffrey Wright, and gives him a spectacular showcase.”
While the film did not come into the festival as one of its highest profile selections, it was an immediate sensation after its Friday night premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre, drawing some of TIFF’s most positive reviews. It currently stands at 86% positive on Rotten Tomatoes...
The Orion/MGM film by first-time director Cord Jefferson is a barbed satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a writer who, to his dismay, achieves enormous success after as a joke writing a book filled with what he feels are the worst and most pandering cliches of Black representation. In its review, TheWrap called the film “an outlandishly assured directorial debut, a beautifully modulated film that takes a great actor, Jeffrey Wright, and gives him a spectacular showcase.”
While the film did not come into the festival as one of its highest profile selections, it was an immediate sensation after its Friday night premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre, drawing some of TIFF’s most positive reviews. It currently stands at 86% positive on Rotten Tomatoes...
- 9/17/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The People’s Choice Award from the just-wrapped 2023 Toronto Film Festival has gone to Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction. First Runner-Up is Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. Second Runner-Up is Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron. The Documentary Award goes to Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, and the Midnight Madness winner is Dicks: The Musical.
Orion and MRC’s American Fiction stars Jeffrey Wright and comes from writer-director Jefferson. It is a scathing satire on the publishing industry and its treatment of serious works by Black writers, one whose name is Thelonious “Monk” Ellison. He travels back to his hometown of Boston to attend a book festival, but the turnout is low in favor of another book seminar with author Sintara Golden’s (Issa Rae) bestseller We Lives in Da Ghetto. It is scheduled to be released in theaters in November.
Voted by audience members since 1978 and...
Orion and MRC’s American Fiction stars Jeffrey Wright and comes from writer-director Jefferson. It is a scathing satire on the publishing industry and its treatment of serious works by Black writers, one whose name is Thelonious “Monk” Ellison. He travels back to his hometown of Boston to attend a book festival, but the turnout is low in favor of another book seminar with author Sintara Golden’s (Issa Rae) bestseller We Lives in Da Ghetto. It is scheduled to be released in theaters in November.
Voted by audience members since 1978 and...
- 9/17/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
After a two week run that included a slew of buzzy world premieres and screenings of previous favorites from the international festival circuit, the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival has come to a close. Toronto is often considered the unofficial kickoff to Oscar season (along with the Venice and Telluride film festivals), so the films that take home the coveted People’s Choice Awards often get an early boost for their award campaigns.
The top prize went to “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s publishing industry satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a novelist who finds massive success after writing a deliberately stupid novel about Black life. Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” and Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” were honored as the first and second runners up, respectively.
The MRC title could have a bright future at the Academy Awards, as 11 of the last 14 People’s Choice Award winners...
The top prize went to “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s publishing industry satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a novelist who finds massive success after writing a deliberately stupid novel about Black life. Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” and Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” were honored as the first and second runners up, respectively.
The MRC title could have a bright future at the Academy Awards, as 11 of the last 14 People’s Choice Award winners...
- 9/17/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Director Tarsem Singh has spilled beans on ‘Dear Jassi’; which is his first film to be shot in India. According to him, the film takes certain threads of inspiration from his own late mother, where he wondered why a Canadian woman of Indian heritage would plot to have her daughter abducted then murdered. ‘Dear Jassi’, ahead of its global release, was first premiered at the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), and it is touted to be a romance story, but also features grisly murder and violence.
Speaking to Deadline, Tarsem Singh said: “It is a love story, but with a grisly murder at its centre.”
‘Dear Jassi’ is inspired by the real-life honour killing of the Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
The incident saw thugs ambushing the Sikh couple of Jaswinder and her husband Sidhu, who dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat,...
Speaking to Deadline, Tarsem Singh said: “It is a love story, but with a grisly murder at its centre.”
‘Dear Jassi’ is inspired by the real-life honour killing of the Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
The incident saw thugs ambushing the Sikh couple of Jaswinder and her husband Sidhu, who dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat,...
- 9/16/2023
- by Agency News Desk
Director Tarsem Singh has spilled beans on ‘Dear Jassi’; which is his first film to be shot in India. According to him, the film takes certain threads of inspiration from his own late mother, where he wondered why a Canadian woman of Indian heritage would plot to have her daughter abducted then murdered. ‘Dear Jassi’, ahead of its global release, was first premiered at the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), and it is touted to be a romance story, but also features grisly murder and violence.
Speaking to Deadline, Tarsem Singh said: “It is a love story, but with a grisly murder at its centre.”
‘Dear Jassi’ is inspired by the real-life honour killing of the Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
The incident saw thugs ambushing the Sikh couple of Jaswinder and her husband Sidhu, who dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat,...
Speaking to Deadline, Tarsem Singh said: “It is a love story, but with a grisly murder at its centre.”
‘Dear Jassi’ is inspired by the real-life honour killing of the Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
The incident saw thugs ambushing the Sikh couple of Jaswinder and her husband Sidhu, who dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat,...
- 9/16/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Exclusive: Director Tarsem Singh thought of his own sainted mother as he tried to understand why a Canadian woman of Indian heritage would plot to have her daughter abducted then murdered.
It was to be a significant moment as Singh prepared to shoot Dear Jassi, his first feature shot in India, the land of his birth.
The riveting film played at TIFF, shocking audiences who thought they were going to watch a gentle love story. ”It is a love story,” Singh noted, but with a grisly murder at its center.
Dear Jassi is inspired by the real-life honor killing of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
Aided by a local policeman, thugs ambushed Jaswinder and her husband, dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat on the direct orders of the girl’s mother, who was at the other end of a phone...
It was to be a significant moment as Singh prepared to shoot Dear Jassi, his first feature shot in India, the land of his birth.
The riveting film played at TIFF, shocking audiences who thought they were going to watch a gentle love story. ”It is a love story,” Singh noted, but with a grisly murder at its center.
Dear Jassi is inspired by the real-life honor killing of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
Aided by a local policeman, thugs ambushed Jaswinder and her husband, dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat on the direct orders of the girl’s mother, who was at the other end of a phone...
- 9/16/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s “Dear Jassi” starts with a declaration: This is a love story. Sikh singer Kanwar Grewal proclaims this directly to the audience while sitting in the lush fields of Punjab, visibly moved already by the the events about to be depicted. Over the next 132 minutes, Dhandwar weaves the stirring, tragic, and true journey of Jassi (Pavia Sidhu) and Mithu (Yugam Sood).
Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur and Sukhwinder Singh “Mithu” Sidhu met in Punjab in the 1990s, where they quickly fell in love. “Dear Jassi” chronicles their courtship from that first serendipitous meeting and through years of love letters, phone calls, and a secret marriage. Dhandwar and his cinematographic collaborator Brendan Galvin instantly immerse viewers in the story, told through long takes and slow, steady panning that captures the stillness of rural India — and how love and hate can shake that peace to its very roots.
Sidhu and Sood...
Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur and Sukhwinder Singh “Mithu” Sidhu met in Punjab in the 1990s, where they quickly fell in love. “Dear Jassi” chronicles their courtship from that first serendipitous meeting and through years of love letters, phone calls, and a secret marriage. Dhandwar and his cinematographic collaborator Brendan Galvin instantly immerse viewers in the story, told through long takes and slow, steady panning that captures the stillness of rural India — and how love and hate can shake that peace to its very roots.
Sidhu and Sood...
- 9/11/2023
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
The quasi-narrator who bookends Tarsem Singh’s return to the big screen with the India-set Dear Jassi doesn’t quite know where to start his ripped-from-the-headlines true story-turned-folk-tale. His Juliet in the Canadian-raised Jassi (Pavia Sidhu), born to a good family that sends her back to their homeland to vacation with her cousin? His Romeo in the Punjabi-born but baptized Sikh, illiterate rickshaw driver / amateur athlete Mithu (Yugam Sood)? Or with the fateful meeting of these star-crossed lovers who serendipitously reside one street apart?
While the plot ultimately chooses the latter, it’s not before providing a glimpse of the future. Screaming. Abuse. Police. It’s a foreshadowing of the other shoe dropping almost 90 minutes before it does––a necessity for intrigue since that hour-and-a-half can’t help dragging in its familiar tale of forbidden, secretive love. In a perfect world Mithu would only have to ask for Jassi’s hand in marriage.
While the plot ultimately chooses the latter, it’s not before providing a glimpse of the future. Screaming. Abuse. Police. It’s a foreshadowing of the other shoe dropping almost 90 minutes before it does––a necessity for intrigue since that hour-and-a-half can’t help dragging in its familiar tale of forbidden, secretive love. In a perfect world Mithu would only have to ask for Jassi’s hand in marriage.
- 9/11/2023
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Directed by Hollywood director Tarsem Singh, ‘Dear Jassi’, the story of honour killing of Indo-Canadian woman Jassi Sidhu in Punjab in June 2000 for marrying a village boy against her family’s wishes, premiered at the on-going Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) here today.
Somewhat reminiscent of legendary love stories of Punjabi folklore, the film retells the tragedy of 24-year-old Jassi Sidhu who made the mistake of falling in love with Sukhwinder Sidhu alias Mithu, a kabaddi player of the same Sidhu clan, while visiting her mother’s village in Punjab.
Born at Maple Ridge near Vancouver, Jassi was murdered by her mother’s hired killers near Jagraon in Punjab while her husband was left for dead.
Opening with sufi poet Bulleh Shah’s ‘Kamli’, the film brilliantly recreates the tragic events of June 2000, beginning with the Indo-Canadian girl (played by Pavia Sidhu) falling in love with the rugged Punjab boy...
Somewhat reminiscent of legendary love stories of Punjabi folklore, the film retells the tragedy of 24-year-old Jassi Sidhu who made the mistake of falling in love with Sukhwinder Sidhu alias Mithu, a kabaddi player of the same Sidhu clan, while visiting her mother’s village in Punjab.
Born at Maple Ridge near Vancouver, Jassi was murdered by her mother’s hired killers near Jagraon in Punjab while her husband was left for dead.
Opening with sufi poet Bulleh Shah’s ‘Kamli’, the film brilliantly recreates the tragic events of June 2000, beginning with the Indo-Canadian girl (played by Pavia Sidhu) falling in love with the rugged Punjab boy...
- 9/11/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Tarsem Singh Dhandwar, director of The Cell and Immortals, returns with a tragic and horrifying romance that could afford a bit more subtlety
The director who got his start in music videos under the mononym of Tarsem expanded to Tarsem Singh for his feature debut The Cell, went back to a first-name basis for sophomore effort The Fall, billed himself as Tarsem Singh Dhandwar for his next two films, Tarsem Singh for one more, and back to the full moniker for the new romance Dear Jassi. If the constant rebrands suggest a continuous grappling with his Indian identity and Tinseltown assimilation, then his impassioned if overwrought take on a true-life Romeo and Juliet adds an intriguing wrinkle to the subject.
His works of pop-opera maximalism have ventured to every corner of the globe, the limits of the slumbering imagination, into myth and fable, and he’s now blazed a path...
The director who got his start in music videos under the mononym of Tarsem expanded to Tarsem Singh for his feature debut The Cell, went back to a first-name basis for sophomore effort The Fall, billed himself as Tarsem Singh Dhandwar for his next two films, Tarsem Singh for one more, and back to the full moniker for the new romance Dear Jassi. If the constant rebrands suggest a continuous grappling with his Indian identity and Tinseltown assimilation, then his impassioned if overwrought take on a true-life Romeo and Juliet adds an intriguing wrinkle to the subject.
His works of pop-opera maximalism have ventured to every corner of the globe, the limits of the slumbering imagination, into myth and fable, and he’s now blazed a path...
- 9/11/2023
- by Charles Bramesco in Toronto
- The Guardian - Film News
Tarsem Singh Dhandwar, the filmmaker previously known simply as Tarsem, is returning to the big screen and to his roots with “Dear Jassi,” which has its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival Sept. 10.
The new film is set in the 1990s and based on a real-life incident. It follows Indian origin Canadian Jassi (Pavia Sidhu), who on a visit to her ancestral village in Punjab, India, falls in love with Mithu (Yugam Sood). They commence an epistolatory romance but familial objections, with the threat of terrifying consequences, get in the way of their love.
Dhandwar rose to prominence through commercials and music videos. Dhandwar previously directed films “The Cell” (2000), “The Fall” (2006), “Immortals” (2011) and “Mirror Mirror” (2012). His last feature film was “Self/less” in 2015, and he directed NBC series “Emerald City” (2017). The filmmaker hails from the Punjab, but “Dear Jassi” is his first film set in India.
“I’m just known...
The new film is set in the 1990s and based on a real-life incident. It follows Indian origin Canadian Jassi (Pavia Sidhu), who on a visit to her ancestral village in Punjab, India, falls in love with Mithu (Yugam Sood). They commence an epistolatory romance but familial objections, with the threat of terrifying consequences, get in the way of their love.
Dhandwar rose to prominence through commercials and music videos. Dhandwar previously directed films “The Cell” (2000), “The Fall” (2006), “Immortals” (2011) and “Mirror Mirror” (2012). His last feature film was “Self/less” in 2015, and he directed NBC series “Emerald City” (2017). The filmmaker hails from the Punjab, but “Dear Jassi” is his first film set in India.
“I’m just known...
- 9/9/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Jeymes Samuel’s sophomore feature The Book of Clarence, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki are among the titles that have been announced within the full lineup of the British Film Institute’s (BFI) 67th London Film Festival. Scroll down for the full list.
The Book of Clarence, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Lakeith Stanfield, and David Oyelowo will screen at London as a World Premiere. Running October 4-15, Lff will feature 29 World Premieres, seven International Premieres (six features and one short), and 30 European Premieres.
Eye-grabbing entries from today’s launch include headline gala screenings of May December by Todd Haynes, Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest feature Poor Things, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, and The Killer by David Fincher, the last three which make their way to London after debuts on the Lido.
The Book of Clarence, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Lakeith Stanfield, and David Oyelowo will screen at London as a World Premiere. Running October 4-15, Lff will feature 29 World Premieres, seven International Premieres (six features and one short), and 30 European Premieres.
Eye-grabbing entries from today’s launch include headline gala screenings of May December by Todd Haynes, Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest feature Poor Things, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, and The Killer by David Fincher, the last three which make their way to London after debuts on the Lido.
- 8/31/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Titles include Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist; Kitty Green’s The Royal Hotel; and Christos Nikou’s Fingernails.
BFI London Film Festival has unveiled the competition line-ups for best film, best first feature and best documentary.
The 11 films competing for best film include Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist; Kitty Green’s The Royal Hotel; Daniel Kokotajlo’s Starve Acre and Christos Nikou’s Fingernails.
Christine Molloy returns to the competition after 2019’s Rose Plays Julie. This time she has co-directed Baltimore with frequent collaborator and partner Joe Lawlor. The pair recently directed The Future Tense which...
BFI London Film Festival has unveiled the competition line-ups for best film, best first feature and best documentary.
The 11 films competing for best film include Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist; Kitty Green’s The Royal Hotel; Daniel Kokotajlo’s Starve Acre and Christos Nikou’s Fingernails.
Christine Molloy returns to the competition after 2019’s Rose Plays Julie. This time she has co-directed Baltimore with frequent collaborator and partner Joe Lawlor. The pair recently directed The Future Tense which...
- 8/29/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
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