Film / Indigo 2005

Indigo 2005
The third edition of Indigo is back with a treasure trove of movies from and about India.

When: 27 July to 3 August 2005
Venues: Golden Village Great World City and The Singapore History Museum
Admission: Tickets for GV Great World City sessions available from 12 July 2005. S$ 9.50 (public) S$8.50 (SFS members).

2 films I want to watch are:

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MUGHAL-E-AZAM
Urdu/Recolourized version of the 1960 original/173 mins/Drama/PG
Director: K Asif
Cast: Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Nigar Sultana, Ajit, Durga Khote

Set in the 16th century AD, the movie brings to life the tale of the doomed love affair between the Mughal Crown Prince Salim and the beautiful, ill-fated court dancer Anarkali, whose fervour and intensity perpetrates a war between the prince and his father the great Mughal emperor Akbar, and threatens to bring an empire to its knees.

This classic, which took 15 years and US$3 million dollars to make at a time of US$200,000 film budgets, was a magnum opus of its director K Asif and stars stalwarts of the Indian film industry from those times. With colour technology having just arrived in India, Asif decided to shoot one reel in colour. Impressed with the results, he re-shot the last three reels in colour as well. So excited with the coloured portions, he wanted to re-shoot the whole film in colour, which was not possible, and so the film was released 85% in B&W and 15% in colour.

Sixty years later, it has been successfully restored and recolourized by its producers with technology developed by the Indian Academy of Arts and Animation. The restoration process was a challenge because of the detail of exquisite jewellery, costumes and sets used in the film. The original music composer Naushad Ali, was retained to re-create the background score and musical composition using original Hindustani classical musicians. The grandeur of the film can now be seen in vivid colour, wide-screen format with classical music in true digital surround sound. The new version of the film has received rave reviews from all corners and done extraordinary business in India, drawing new audiences and successfully completing 100 days in 14 cinemas across the country.

National Awards for Best Film 1960, Filmfare Awards for Best Film, Best Dialogue, Best Cinematography
Festivals: Berlin International Film Festival 2005
Website: http://www.mughaleazam.com/



BORN INTO BROTHELS
English & Bengali/2004/85 mins/Documentary/NC-16 (Crude language)
Dir: Zana Briski, Ross Kaufman

British-born photojournalist Zana Briski overcame barriers of language, culture, and ethnicity when she immersed herself into an impoverished and illegal neighborhood in Kolkatta (Calcutta), India. An award-winning photographer, Briski befriended the children of Sonagachi (the city's red light district), starting a photography workshop for them and equipping them each with their own camera. The transformative power of this simple object is remarkable; within weeks, the children show new spirit and several have discovered a talent for the art. Briski and co-director Kaufman follow the children as they filter their marginalized, forgotten world through the camera lens. Over the course of the film, a central narrative unfolds--the children's quest, fuelled by their newfound hope and strength, to leave the brothels for a better life.

Best Documentary, 77th Academy Awards 2004, 2004 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award, Best Documentary Feature at 2004 Chicago Int'l Film Festival, 2004 L.A. Film Critics' Best Documentary of the Year
Website: http://www.kids-with-cameras.org