The first question that a person, previously unaware of the practice, might ask about the world of competitive blind chess is: but how do they play? That’s why it’s genius that Ian McDonald’s “Algorithms” introduces us to the process right away, by starting in a close up on the board, as players’ hands roam the pieces, feeling their way from spot to spot, piece to piece. McDonald’s absorbing documentary brings the viewer again and again back to the board, where fierce battles play out over the course of the film, commandeered by unlikely generals—a band of blind teenage boys from different parts of India. “Algorithms” is a film possessed by chess—the strategies, the wins, the losses, the material nature of the boards, and pieces themselves, as blind players experience the game in a completely tactile way. But it’s also a vehicle for exploring...
- 10/29/2014
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
Three visually impaired teenage boys from India who play chess at the championship level are the subject of this slow-moving yet soulful documentary. Anant, age 16, and Darpan, age 15, are totally blind, while the gregarious 12-year-old Sai is partially sighted. Filming in black-and-white, first-time filmmaker Ian McDonald tracks the boys over a three-year period, as they compete first in Blind Chess competitions in India, and, later, in matches in Sweden and Serbia. Algorithms doesn't have a narrator, which suits the hushed intensity of the chess matches, where the players' hands dart and dive with exquisite precision among the kings, rooks, and pawns. Each child has devoted parents who've placed great trust in mentor Charudatta Jadhav, who went blind as a teen...
- 10/15/2014
- Village Voice
Algorithms, the award-winning documentary about India’s young blind chess players, directed by Ian McDonald and produced by Geetha J, has now been nominated for a Grierson Award in the Best Newcomer Documentary category. The Grierson awards are the most prestigious documentary awards in the UK.
Algorithms will vie with The Joy of Logic by Catherine Gale, Last Chance School by Marc Williamson and The Man Whose Mind Exploded by Toby Amies. The documentary follows three boys and a champion player turned pioneer over three years and uncovers the fascinating but largely unknown world of Blind Chess in India.
Algorithms will have its Us premiere on 20 September at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival, followed by a theatrical release in Los Angeles and New York City in October.
The Grierson awards will be announced in London on 3 November.
Algorithms is produced under the banner AkamPuram from Kerala, India, and is...
Algorithms will vie with The Joy of Logic by Catherine Gale, Last Chance School by Marc Williamson and The Man Whose Mind Exploded by Toby Amies. The documentary follows three boys and a champion player turned pioneer over three years and uncovers the fascinating but largely unknown world of Blind Chess in India.
Algorithms will have its Us premiere on 20 September at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival, followed by a theatrical release in Los Angeles and New York City in October.
The Grierson awards will be announced in London on 3 November.
Algorithms is produced under the banner AkamPuram from Kerala, India, and is...
- 9/20/2014
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Ian McDonald’s award-winning documentary on India’s young blind chess players, Algorithms, has been shortlisted for a Grierson Award in the Best newcomer documentary category. The Grierson awards are the most prestigious documentary awards in the UK.
“We are really thrilled to make the shortlist”, said Ian McDonald, “It is a great honour and it also means it will bring the story of India’s blind chess community to the attention of an audience in the UK and beyond”.
Directed by British filmmaker Ian McDonald and produced by Indian producer Geetha J, the documentary has already screened at over twenty international film festivals and won six awards, including Best Film at Film SouthAsia in Kathmandu. New York based First Run Features, a leading distributor of independent films in America, acquired the North American rights to the film early this year.
Lorraine Heggessy, Chairman of the Grierson Trust said, “Winning...
“We are really thrilled to make the shortlist”, said Ian McDonald, “It is a great honour and it also means it will bring the story of India’s blind chess community to the attention of an audience in the UK and beyond”.
Directed by British filmmaker Ian McDonald and produced by Indian producer Geetha J, the documentary has already screened at over twenty international film festivals and won six awards, including Best Film at Film SouthAsia in Kathmandu. New York based First Run Features, a leading distributor of independent films in America, acquired the North American rights to the film early this year.
Lorraine Heggessy, Chairman of the Grierson Trust said, “Winning...
- 7/31/2014
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
What:
Screening of Algorithms
A documentary film by Ian McDonald, 96 minutes, 2012 | English, Hindi, Tamil, Odiya, English subtitles
At Doc@Everest, organised by Vikalp, Bengaluru.
When:
24th July, Thursday, 7pm.
Entry:
Entry fee, donations welcome
Venue:
Everest Theatre
No 1, Kenchappa Road,
Opp East Grounds, Frazer Town,
Bengaluru, India
560005
About the film
In India, a group of boys dream of becoming Chess Masters, driven by a man with a vision. Algorithms is a documentary on the thriving but little known world of Blind Chess in India.
Filmed over three years, Algorithms travels with three talented boys and a totally blind player turned pioneer to competitive national and world championships and visits them in their home milieu where they reveal their struggles, anxieties and hopes. Going beyond sight and story, this observational sport doc moves through the algorithms of the blind chess world challenging the sighted of what it means to see. It...
Screening of Algorithms
A documentary film by Ian McDonald, 96 minutes, 2012 | English, Hindi, Tamil, Odiya, English subtitles
At Doc@Everest, organised by Vikalp, Bengaluru.
When:
24th July, Thursday, 7pm.
Entry:
Entry fee, donations welcome
Venue:
Everest Theatre
No 1, Kenchappa Road,
Opp East Grounds, Frazer Town,
Bengaluru, India
560005
About the film
In India, a group of boys dream of becoming Chess Masters, driven by a man with a vision. Algorithms is a documentary on the thriving but little known world of Blind Chess in India.
Filmed over three years, Algorithms travels with three talented boys and a totally blind player turned pioneer to competitive national and world championships and visits them in their home milieu where they reveal their struggles, anxieties and hopes. Going beyond sight and story, this observational sport doc moves through the algorithms of the blind chess world challenging the sighted of what it means to see. It...
- 7/22/2014
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Bobby Sarma Baruah’s Assamese-language film Adomya was adjudged the best film in the ‘Spiritual films’ section at the 13th Dhaka International Film Festival (Diff) which concluded recently. Diff, the biggest film festival in Bangladesh, screened 18 Indian films under the various categories of the festival.
Oass (The Dew Drop) by Abhinav Shiv Tiwari and Rupkatha Noy (Not a Fairy Tale) competed under the ‘Australasian Film Competition’ section.
Vivek Budakoti’s Pied Piper, Judomoni Dutta’s Paani, Arup Manna’s Adhyay and Arindam Sil’s Aborto were screened under the ‘Cinema of the World’ section.
‘Spiritual films’ section saw a large number of Indian films being screened including Baruah’s Adomya, Tutu Sinha’s The Light: Swami Vivekananda and Samrat Chakrobarty’s Songs in Oblivion.
The ‘Shorts and Independent’ section saw Sourav Sarkar’s Nagal (The Copy), Dr. Debjani Halder’s The Dark, Ian McDonald’s Algorithms, Debanik Kundu’s Nrityer...
Oass (The Dew Drop) by Abhinav Shiv Tiwari and Rupkatha Noy (Not a Fairy Tale) competed under the ‘Australasian Film Competition’ section.
Vivek Budakoti’s Pied Piper, Judomoni Dutta’s Paani, Arup Manna’s Adhyay and Arindam Sil’s Aborto were screened under the ‘Cinema of the World’ section.
‘Spiritual films’ section saw a large number of Indian films being screened including Baruah’s Adomya, Tutu Sinha’s The Light: Swami Vivekananda and Samrat Chakrobarty’s Songs in Oblivion.
The ‘Shorts and Independent’ section saw Sourav Sarkar’s Nagal (The Copy), Dr. Debjani Halder’s The Dark, Ian McDonald’s Algorithms, Debanik Kundu’s Nrityer...
- 1/21/2014
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
New York based First Run Features, one of the leading distributors of independent films, has acquired the North American rights to the Indian documentary Algorithms, directed by Ian McDonald.
Algorithms follows three boys and a champion player turned pioneer over three years and uncovers the fascinating but largely unknown world of Blind Chess.
Directed by British filmmaker Ian McDonald and produced by Geetha J. the documentary has screened at over twelve international film festivals and won four awards, including Best Film at Film SouthAsia in Kathmandu.
Marc Mauceri, Vice President of First Run Features, said: “We couldn’t be more pleased to be working with Ian and Geetha on their strikingly original and beautifully crafted film. It’s the first documentary from India we’ve taken on, and we’re excited about bringing it to a North American audience as well as working with both the Indian and chess communities to build audiences and awareness.
Algorithms follows three boys and a champion player turned pioneer over three years and uncovers the fascinating but largely unknown world of Blind Chess.
Directed by British filmmaker Ian McDonald and produced by Geetha J. the documentary has screened at over twelve international film festivals and won four awards, including Best Film at Film SouthAsia in Kathmandu.
Marc Mauceri, Vice President of First Run Features, said: “We couldn’t be more pleased to be working with Ian and Geetha on their strikingly original and beautifully crafted film. It’s the first documentary from India we’ve taken on, and we’re excited about bringing it to a North American audience as well as working with both the Indian and chess communities to build audiences and awareness.
- 1/13/2014
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
2013 proved to be yet another exciting year for Indian documentaries: they screened at numerous international film festivals and took home awards. In a small but significant step, a few of them even found their way into theatres in India. Though the domestic funding and distribution scenario still remains gloomy, there’s much to rejoice in the international acclaim that these documentaries have found in the last year.
We have compiled a list of the 10 most successful documentaries of 2013, taking into account factors such as film festivals, awards, popularity, reviews and distribution.
Special Mention for Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s Celluloid Man that has recently been selected for its fiftieth festival, Saurav Sarangi’s Char..The No Man’s Island and Nishtha Jain’s Gulabi Gang for still being hot on the festival circuit and Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam’s When Hari Got Married for its theatrical release in August. All...
We have compiled a list of the 10 most successful documentaries of 2013, taking into account factors such as film festivals, awards, popularity, reviews and distribution.
Special Mention for Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s Celluloid Man that has recently been selected for its fiftieth festival, Saurav Sarangi’s Char..The No Man’s Island and Nishtha Jain’s Gulabi Gang for still being hot on the festival circuit and Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam’s When Hari Got Married for its theatrical release in August. All...
- 1/3/2014
- by Editorial Team
- DearCinema.com
The 13th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (Miff) has unveiled its lineup for International and Indian competition sections.
The biennial festival will be held from February 3-9, 2014 at the National Centre for Performing Arts (Ncpa) in Mumbai. The festival received 600 entries from India and 205 international entries out of which films from 34 countries have been selected.
Ian McDonald’s Algorithms, Kim Longinotto’s Salma, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, Dylan Mohan Gray’s Fire in the Blood, Nishtha Jain’s Gulabi Gang and Shumona Goel and Shai Heredia’s I Am Micro are some of the prominent documentaries that will compete in International Competition.
For complete lineup of International Competition, click here
Tamaash (The Puppet) by Satyanshu Singh and Devanshu Singh, Golden Mango by Govinda Raju, Have You Seen the Arana? by Sunanda Bhat, Celluloid Man by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and Shepherds of Paradise...
The biennial festival will be held from February 3-9, 2014 at the National Centre for Performing Arts (Ncpa) in Mumbai. The festival received 600 entries from India and 205 international entries out of which films from 34 countries have been selected.
Ian McDonald’s Algorithms, Kim Longinotto’s Salma, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, Dylan Mohan Gray’s Fire in the Blood, Nishtha Jain’s Gulabi Gang and Shumona Goel and Shai Heredia’s I Am Micro are some of the prominent documentaries that will compete in International Competition.
For complete lineup of International Competition, click here
Tamaash (The Puppet) by Satyanshu Singh and Devanshu Singh, Golden Mango by Govinda Raju, Have You Seen the Arana? by Sunanda Bhat, Celluloid Man by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and Shepherds of Paradise...
- 1/1/2014
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Algorithms, a documentary by Ian McDonald, won the Prize for Best Film on Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Jean Rouch International Film Festival 2013 in Paris. The film was part of the international competition at the festival.
An AkamPuram, India production, Algorithms was filmed over three years and is made in black and white. Three blind boys trained by a blind teacher participate in the World Junior Blind Chess Championship in Sweden in 2009 and then in the championship in Greece in 2011.The boys want to make their mark while their teacher wants every blind child to play chess.
The film recently won the Best Film Trophy at the 9th Film South Asia (Fsa), festival of documentaries in Kathmandu, the Dogwoof Audience Film Prize at the Rai International Festival of Ethnographic Films, and received a Special Mention in the Best Documentary category at the Durban International Film Festival. The film is also...
An AkamPuram, India production, Algorithms was filmed over three years and is made in black and white. Three blind boys trained by a blind teacher participate in the World Junior Blind Chess Championship in Sweden in 2009 and then in the championship in Greece in 2011.The boys want to make their mark while their teacher wants every blind child to play chess.
The film recently won the Best Film Trophy at the 9th Film South Asia (Fsa), festival of documentaries in Kathmandu, the Dogwoof Audience Film Prize at the Rai International Festival of Ethnographic Films, and received a Special Mention in the Best Documentary category at the Durban International Film Festival. The film is also...
- 11/15/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The 11th Brighton Film Festival, Cinecity, will open Nov 14 with Alexander Payne’s Nebraska. The festival will close with Richard Ayoade’s The Double.The festival runs through Dec 1 at venues including the Duke Of York’s Picturehouse and Dukes@Komedia.Screenings will include festival hits like A Touch Of Sin, The Rocket, Ilo Ilo, Stranger By The Lake.British films will include Leviathan, Joanna Hogg’s Exhibition, and Ralph Fiennes’ The Invisible Woman. Brighton-based dire
The 11th Brighton Film Festival, Cinecity, will open Nov 14 with Alexander Payne’s Nebraska. The festival will close with Richard Ayoade’s The Double.
The festival runs through Dec 1 at venues including the Duke Of York’s Picturehouse and Dukes@Komedia.
Screenings will include festival hits like A Touch Of Sin, The Rocket, Ilo Ilo, Stranger By The Lake.
British films will include Leviathan, Joanna Hogg’s Exhibition, and Ralph Fiennes’ The Invisible Woman. Brighton-based directors...
The 11th Brighton Film Festival, Cinecity, will open Nov 14 with Alexander Payne’s Nebraska. The festival will close with Richard Ayoade’s The Double.
The festival runs through Dec 1 at venues including the Duke Of York’s Picturehouse and Dukes@Komedia.
Screenings will include festival hits like A Touch Of Sin, The Rocket, Ilo Ilo, Stranger By The Lake.
British films will include Leviathan, Joanna Hogg’s Exhibition, and Ralph Fiennes’ The Invisible Woman. Brighton-based directors...
- 10/4/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Film Southasia, Festival of South Asian Documentaries has announced its selection for 2013 edition. Fifteen Indian documentaries will be screened at the festival that will take place from 3-6 October in Kathmandu, Nepal. Film Southasia (Fsa) is a biennial festival that was set up in 1997 with the goal of popularizing the documentary.
Selected Indian films:
A Prayer For Aliyah by Zorawar Shukla
Algorithms by Ian McDonald
Big In Bollywood by Kenny Meehan and Bill Bowles
Celluloid Man by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
Char…No Man’s Island by Sourav Sarangi
Elemental by Gayatri Roshan, Emmanuel Vaughn Lee
Fire In The Blood by Dylan Mohan Gray
Gaur in My Garden by Rita Banerji
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread by Satchith Paulose
Immoral Daughters by Nakul Singh Sawhney
Invoking Justice by Deepa Dhanraj
Salma by Kim Longinotto
Sama by Shazia Khan
The Human Factor by Rudradeep Bhattacharjee
Voice of God by Bernd Lützeler...
Selected Indian films:
A Prayer For Aliyah by Zorawar Shukla
Algorithms by Ian McDonald
Big In Bollywood by Kenny Meehan and Bill Bowles
Celluloid Man by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
Char…No Man’s Island by Sourav Sarangi
Elemental by Gayatri Roshan, Emmanuel Vaughn Lee
Fire In The Blood by Dylan Mohan Gray
Gaur in My Garden by Rita Banerji
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread by Satchith Paulose
Immoral Daughters by Nakul Singh Sawhney
Invoking Justice by Deepa Dhanraj
Salma by Kim Longinotto
Sama by Shazia Khan
The Human Factor by Rudradeep Bhattacharjee
Voice of God by Bernd Lützeler...
- 8/17/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
First Saudi Arabian film to be shot by a woman wins alongside the previously banned and controversial Of Good Report.Scroll down for full list of awards
Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda has picked up the best first feature award at the 34th Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.
The film, about a young girl who enters a Qur’an-reading competition to raise the money to buy a bike, is the first to be shot by a woman in Saudi Arabian.
The best feature film award went to Japanese drama The Land of Hope, including a cash prize of $5,100 (R50,000).
The International Jury commended director Sion Sono for a film that “masterfully and humbly draws together an array of cinematic means of expression to engage us in a story”.
Best direction went to Xavier Dolan for Laurence Anyways, a film that also saw Suzanne Clement share the best actress award with Gloria’s Paulina Garcia.
In the...
Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda has picked up the best first feature award at the 34th Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.
The film, about a young girl who enters a Qur’an-reading competition to raise the money to buy a bike, is the first to be shot by a woman in Saudi Arabian.
The best feature film award went to Japanese drama The Land of Hope, including a cash prize of $5,100 (R50,000).
The International Jury commended director Sion Sono for a film that “masterfully and humbly draws together an array of cinematic means of expression to engage us in a story”.
Best direction went to Xavier Dolan for Laurence Anyways, a film that also saw Suzanne Clement share the best actress award with Gloria’s Paulina Garcia.
In the...
- 7/30/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The 6th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala has unveiled its lineup for the 2013 edition which will be held from June 7-11 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
The festival is organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, in addition to the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk). The festival has a National level competition for Documentaries (long and short), short fiction, animation, music videos and campus films. The Best Short Fiction (upto 69 mins) wins a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/ and a certificate. Best Animation wins a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/ and a certificate while the Best Music Video is also awarded a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/ and a certificate.
National Competition: Short Fiction
23 Winters
Dir: Rajesh S. Jala/30min/2013
Afternoon/Do Pahar
Dir: Shazia Shrivastava|Sharifa Roy/29min/2012
Alfie
Dir: Thomas Mathai/26min/2013
Behind the Wall/Bhinti Maage
Dir: Vishwesh Kolwalker/14min/2013
Bleeding
Dir: AromalT./21min/2012
For Hire
Dir: Varun Chawla...
The festival is organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, in addition to the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk). The festival has a National level competition for Documentaries (long and short), short fiction, animation, music videos and campus films. The Best Short Fiction (upto 69 mins) wins a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/ and a certificate. Best Animation wins a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/ and a certificate while the Best Music Video is also awarded a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/ and a certificate.
National Competition: Short Fiction
23 Winters
Dir: Rajesh S. Jala/30min/2013
Afternoon/Do Pahar
Dir: Shazia Shrivastava|Sharifa Roy/29min/2012
Alfie
Dir: Thomas Mathai/26min/2013
Behind the Wall/Bhinti Maage
Dir: Vishwesh Kolwalker/14min/2013
Bleeding
Dir: AromalT./21min/2012
For Hire
Dir: Varun Chawla...
- 5/14/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
A still from Monsoon Shootout
Amit Kumar’s debut feature Monsoon Shootout has been selected for competition at the Sydney Film Festival. Ship of Theseus director Anand Gandhi is on the Jury of the festival.
Actor Hugo Weaving will preside over the Jury that comprises South African-born filmmaker Pia Marais, Anand Gandhi and film programmer Paolo Bertolin.
Monsoon Shootout is a thriller exploring police violence, corruption and the moral quandary facing an idealistic rookie cop. It features Neeraj Kabi, Vijay Verma and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film will have a Midnight Screening at the 66th Cannes film festival.
Sourav Sarangi’s multiple-award-winning documentary Char…The No-Man’s Island, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus and Ian McDonald’s Algorithms will screen at Sydney film festival. Also screening is short film Tau Seru (India-Australia) by Rodd Rathjen, which is part of Cannes Critics Week lineup.
The full program of the Sydney film festival includes 190 films from 55 countries.
Amit Kumar’s debut feature Monsoon Shootout has been selected for competition at the Sydney Film Festival. Ship of Theseus director Anand Gandhi is on the Jury of the festival.
Actor Hugo Weaving will preside over the Jury that comprises South African-born filmmaker Pia Marais, Anand Gandhi and film programmer Paolo Bertolin.
Monsoon Shootout is a thriller exploring police violence, corruption and the moral quandary facing an idealistic rookie cop. It features Neeraj Kabi, Vijay Verma and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film will have a Midnight Screening at the 66th Cannes film festival.
Sourav Sarangi’s multiple-award-winning documentary Char…The No-Man’s Island, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus and Ian McDonald’s Algorithms will screen at Sydney film festival. Also screening is short film Tau Seru (India-Australia) by Rodd Rathjen, which is part of Cannes Critics Week lineup.
The full program of the Sydney film festival includes 190 films from 55 countries.
- 5/8/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
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