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The British Independent Film Awards this year honor two Sundance breakout films, with both “Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” atop the 2024 nominations list.

Rich Peppiatt’s “Kneecap” (repping Ireland for the 2024 Best International Feature Oscar) leads this year’s nominees with 14 nods, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best British Independent Film. “Kneecap” is based on the eponymous rap group, which star here alongside Michael Fassbender in a fictionalized band origin story.

Following “Kneecap” with 12 nominations is Rose Glass’s “Love Lies Bleeding.” Co-leads Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian are nominated for Best Joint Lead Performance, and the film has also been recognized in the Best British Independent Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay categories.

Additional features that received multiple nominations include “The Outrun,” “Bird,” and “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.”

In 2023, “All of Us Strangers” swept the top categories with awards, in addition to “Rye Lane” and future...

“Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” led Tuesday’s nominations for the British Independent Film Awards.

Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, “Kneecap,” Ireland’s Oscar entry, scored 14 bids, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Joint Lead Performance for Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh. It was shortlisted in a whopping eight crafts categories.

Rose Glass‘ “Love Lies Bleeding” was next in like with 12 nominations, including the same above-the-line categories as “Kneecap.” Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian are nominated for joint lead performance. It also earned eight crafts nominations.

Nora Fingsheidt‘s “The Outrun” received nine bids, including Best Lead Performance for Saoirse Ronan, who previously won the BIFA for Best Actress for 2015’s “Brooklyn.” The film is up for the top prize, while Fingsheidt is nominated for her direction and her script with Amy Liptrot.

Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Rungano Nyoni...

This morning, the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) announced their list of nominations for 2024.

‘Kneecap’ leads 2024 nominations with 14, ‘Love Lies Bleeding has 12, ‘The Outrun receives 9 nominations, 7 nominations each for ‘Bird,’ on becoming a guinea fowl and unicorns, 6 for ‘Hoard’ and ‘Civil War.’

Celebrating remarkable films and outstanding talent from the British film industry and beyond, this year’s list highlights the UK’s brightest new talent alongside BIFA heroes such as Andrea Arnold, Rose Glass, Rungano Nyoni, Saoirse Ronan, Jack O’Connell, Barry Keoghan and Hayley Squires.

Also in news – John Krasinski to return for ‘Jack Ryan’ movie

The nominations are;

The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film

Tba – This year’s award recipient will be announced in the coming weeks.

Best British Independent Film

Kneecap Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling

Love Lies Bleeding Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman

On Becoming A Guinea Fowl Rungano Nyoni,...

This year’s BIFA nominations have been unveiled and it’s a delightfully diverse group of great films. More on those below.

There’s less than two months of 2024 left, which means that the awards season is also upon us. It’s time to celebrate this year’s excellent films with fancy statuettes, and first in line is the British Independent Film Awards, aka BIFAs. Nominations were announced today (5th November).

Rich Peppiatt’s joyously anarchic Kneecap leads the pack with a whopping 14 nominations to its name. Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding follows with 12 nominations and Nora Fingscheidt also triumphed with nine.

Women are particularly well represented this year. Out of the five Best British Independent Film nominees, four are directed by women. It’s the same for the Best Director category, where Andrea Arnold, Nora Fingscheidt, Rose Glass and Rungano Nyoni are nominated along with Rich Peppiatt.

Amy Winehouse...

The subversive Irish flick Kneecap leads this year’s British Independent Film Award nominations with 14 nods, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Directed by Rich Peppiatt, the film’s impressive noms haul also includes nods for Best Debut Screenwriter, Best British Independent Film, and eight craft categories, including Best Casting and Best Cinematography.

Kneecap debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and has been picked to represent Ireland in the International Feature Film category of the 97th annual Academy Awards.

Trailing Kneecap is Rose Glass’ punk rock flick Love Lies Bleeding, which landed 12 nominations. The film’s noms include Best British Independent Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. The film’s two leads, Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart, also landed nods for Best Joint Lead Performance.

Elsewhere, Saoirse Ronan’s indie flick The Outrun landed nine noms, and Andrea Arnold’s fifth feature Bird picked up seven nods.

Winners...

“Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” lead the nominees for this year’s British Independent Film Awards.

“How to Have Sex” breakout Mia McKenna-Bruce and “Rye Lane” star Vivian Oparah announced the nominations in London on Tuesday morning. “Kneecap” received the most nods with 14, including best screenplay, director for Rich Peppiatt and joint lead performance for Kneecap members Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Rose Glass’ “Love Lies Bleeding” follows with 12, including best British independent film, director, screenplay and joint lead performance for Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. “The Outrun,” starring Saoirse Ronan, received nine nods for best British independent film, director for Nora Fingsheidt, screenplay for Fingsheidt and Amy Liptrot and lead performance for Ronan.

Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” and James Krishna Floyd’s “Unicorns” each garnered seven nominations.

The winners will be revealed, in addition to...

The 2024 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) nominations were unveiled Tuesday morning by Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex) and Vivian Oparah (Rye Lane) at One Hundred Shoreditch in London, with Kneecap, the Irish rap comedy featuring Michael Fassbender, and Love Lies Bleeding with Kristen Stewart leading the charge, followed by The Outrun with Saoirse Ronan, as well as Andrea Arnold’s Bird with Barry Keoghan, queer romance Unicorns, and Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.

In the performance categories, big-name nominees include the likes of Saoirse Ronan, Barry Keoghan, Kristen Stewart, Alicia Vikander, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Elliot Page, and Jack O’Connell.

In the best international feature category, Sean Baker’s Anora will compete with the likes of Mohammad Rasoulof‘s The Seed of the Sacred Fig.

“Celebrating remarkable films and outstanding talent from the British film industry and beyond, this year’s list highlights the U.K.’s brightest...

Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding and Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun headed the nominations for the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

Comedy Kneecap about the eponymous west Belfast hip-hop trio scored the most nominations with 14, including director, screenplay and best British independent film for Peppiatt - the latter alongside producers Trevor Birney and Jack Tarling - and joint lead performance for its stars Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Scroll down for the full list of Bifa 2024 nominations

Glass – a Bifa best debut director winner in 2020 for Saint Maud – has scored...

Magnolia’s genre arm Magnet Releasing has acquired US rights to Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection Sister Midnight directed by London-based Indian artist and filmmaker Karan Kandhari.

‘Sister Midnight’: Cannes Review

Radhika Apte stars as a rebellious small-town misfit who arrives in Mumbai for a newly arranged marriage and must navigate an awkward spouse (Ashok Pathak), nosey neighbours, and increasingly strange nocturnal impulses as she decides to break free from the shackles of domesticity.

Following the Croisette premiere, Sister Midnight recently won the award for best film in the Next Wave section at Fantastic Fest, and will screen at AFI...

Exclusive: Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, has snapped up U.S. rights to Sister Midnight, the debut feature of London-based Indian artist and filmmaker Karan Kandhari. The film, which world premiered in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight and most recently won the award for Best Film in the Next Wave section at Fantastic Fest, will next screen at AFI Fest and release in theaters next spring.

Sister Midnight stars Radhika Apte as the newly married Uma, who arrives in Mumbai to find herself totally unsuited to life as a housewife. At odds with her prying neighbors and under the constant oppressive noise and heat of the city, she decides to break free from the shackles of domesticity and follow her own path.

“Sister Midnight is just the tonic for film fans looking for something new,” said Magnolia Pictures co-ceo’s Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley. “Director Karan Kandhari has...

Metrograph Pictures has released a new trailer for “Santosh,” the United Kingdom’s 2025 Oscars submission for Best International Feature. The film written and directed by Sandhya Suri will open in select theaters on December 27. Watch the trailer above.

Ripped from her life of domesticity, Santosh (Shahana Goswami), a young widow now desperate to support herself, accepts an opportunity to inherit her husband’s job as a police officer in the rural badlands of India. Quickly taken under the wing of Sharma (Sunita Rajwar), a charismatic and commanding older female inspector, Santosh begins an investigation into a low-caste girl’s brutal murder that plunges her into a gritty world of crime and corruption, forcing her to confront not only the brokenness of the system around her, but her own place within it.

See 2025 Oscars: Complete list of Best International Feature Film submissions

As the film follows the title character’s first eye-opening days on the job,...

Metrograph Pictures has unveiled a trailer and a U.S. release date for British Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri’s “Santosh.”

The film, which had its world premiere at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard strand, is the U.K.’s submission to the Oscars’ international feature category. Metrograph snapped up North American rights after the film’s Cannes premiere.

In the film, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh (Shahana Goswami) inherit her slain husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of northern India. When an underage girl from one of India’s so-called “lower castes” is murdered, Santosh is pulled into the investigation by charismatic feminist inspector Sharma (Sunita Rajwar).

“Santosh” received strong reviews following its Cannes premiere, with Variety calling it a “whip-smart film” that “speaks the language of a fiercely feminist empowerment saga.”

The film, set in a fictitious northern Indian state, is structured as...

India’s Film Bazaar market has revealed the 21 feature projects selected for this year’s Co-Production Market.

The invited titles span seven countries including India, UK, Australia and Germany. The projects will be pitched to producers, distributors, festival programmers, financiers and sales agents at Goa’s Marriott Resort from November 20-24.

Titles include The Song Of Flowers from UK-based producer Neeraj Churi whose previous projects include SXSW 2024 audience award winner A Place Of Our Own. The film is directed by Shubham Negi and Sourav Yadav.

Also selected is Payal Sethi’s India-Germany co-production The Disappearing Flower, produced by Thanikachalam Sa...

National Film Development Corporation (Nfdc) Indian project market Film Bazaar has unveiled an ambitious slate for its 18th edition co-production market, with “Baahubali” producer Shobu Yarlagadda among the selection. The market, set for Nov. 20-24 at Goa’s Marriott Resort, showcases 29 projects spanning India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Australia, the U.K., Germany, and Hong Kong.

The market runs concurrently with the International Film Festival of India, which unspools Nov. 20-28 across Goa.

From a pool of 180 feature submissions spanning 23 countries, 21 features made the cut. The projects represent a linguistic mosaic, including Hindi, English, Assamese, Tamil, Marwari, Bengali, Malayalam, Punjabi, Nepali, Marathi, Pahadi, and Cantonese, demonstrating the market’s growing international appeal.

High-profile industry veterans dominate the features section. Abhishek Chaubey teams with Honey Trehan for “Absent,” a psychological drama about two schoolboys whose friendship takes a dark turn. Producer Alan McAlex, who had two films at Cannes this year – “Santosh” and...

Subversive Irish breakout pic Kneecap and Sasha Nathwani’s gentle yet ambitious debut Last Swim are among the titles that have nabbed mentions on the new talent longlists at this year’s British Independent Film Awards.

Both Kneecap and Last Swim pop up on the Douglas Hickox Best Debut Director Award longlist. Other nominees include Hoard, directed by Luna Carmoon, and Karan Kandhari’s Sister Midnight, which debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

All four films also feature on the best screenplay longlist alongside Christopher Andrews’s Bring Them Down starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott. Other pics on the screenplay longlist include The Ceremony by Jack King and Jed Hart’s Restless.

Overall, the longlists include 31 British features, with 20 fiction and 11 documentary features across four debut filmmaking categories. Within that, there are 13 first-time fiction feature directors, 16 first-time feature documentary directors, 11 first-time writers, and 19 breakthrough producers.

The final...

Filmmakers from Bring Them Down, The Ceremony and Tuesday feature prominently on the filmmaker new talent longlists for the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

Bring Them Down’s Christopher Andrews is longlisted for the Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director and the best debut screenwriter award, while the film’s debut producer Jacob Swan Hyam is longlisted for breakthrough producer.

Scroll down for the filmmaker New Talent longlists

The Ceremony repeats that trio for writer-director Jack King and producers Hollie Bryan and Lucy Meer; as does Tuesday for writer-director Daina O Pusic and producer Helen Gladders.

Four filmmaker new...

The United Kingdom has selected “Santosh” as the country’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. The movie written and directed by Sandhya Suri won Best International Debut at the 2024 Jerusalem Film Festival, premiered in Un Certrain Regard at Cannes, and will make its way to United States theaters in December 2024.

Ripped from her life of domesticity, Santosh (Shahana Goswami), a young widow now desperate to support herself, accepts an opportunity to inherit her husband’s job as a police officer in the rural badlands of India. Quickly taken under the wing of Sharma (Sunita Rajwar), a charismatic and commanding older female inspector, Santosh begins an investigation into a low-caste girl’s brutal murder that plunges her into a gritty world of crime and corruption, forcing her to confront not only the brokenness of the system around her, but her own place within it.

The...

The British Academy has selected Sandhya Suri’s acclaimed crime thriller “Santosh” as the U.K.’s submission to the Oscars’ international feature film category.

The Hindi-language film, which bowed in the Un Certain Regard competition in Cannes earlier this year, enters the race perhaps carrying some added weight of pressure, with the U.K. having won the international feature Oscar earlier this year for the very first time with Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest.”

The directorial feature debut of of British-Indian filmmaker Suri, best know for her documentaries “I for India” (2005) and “Around India with a Movie Camera” (2018), “Santosh” is set in rural northern India, where newly-widowed Santosh inherits her late husband’s job as a police constable. When an underage girl from one of India’s so-called “lower castes” is murdered, she is pulled into the investigation by a charismatic feminist inspector.

Written and directed by Suri,...

The UK has submitted Sandhya Suri’s fiction feature debut Santosh as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards.

The film was selected by BAFTA, the organization appointed by the American Academy to choose the UK’s submission. To be eligible, a British film must be predominantly non-English language and released theatrically outside of the US between 1 November 2023 and 30 September 2024.

Written and directed by Suri, Santosh debuted in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film’s synopsis reads: In rural Northern India, newly widowed Santosh inherits her late husband’s job as a police constable and becomes embroiled in the investigation of a young girl’s murder.

Written and directed by Sandhya Suri, the film stars Shahana Goswami, Sunita Rajwar, with cinematography by Lennert Hillege, and editing by Maxime Pozzi-Garcia. The film stars Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar,...

Sandhya Suri’s Santosh has been selected as the UK entry for the best international feature Oscar award, as confirmed by Bafta on behalf of the UK Selection Committee.

Suri’s fiction feature debut premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year. The UK is the current holder of the international feature award, having won its first such prize in February this year with Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest.

Santosh is a crime thriller in which the eponymous newly-widowed woman inherits her husband’s job as a police constable, and begins an investigation under the wing of a charismatic feminist inspector.

Anurag Kashyap is back to work with renewed vigour. Even before finishing his upcoming film with Bobby Deol, the filmmaker has quietly started shooting for another project. Peepingmoon.com has exclusively learned that the Gangs of Wasseypur director is now teaming up with Amazon Prime Video on a thriller movie starring Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray’s grandson, Aaishvary Thackeray, in his debut leading role.

Thackeray will star alongside Vineet Kumar Singh (Mukkabaaz), Mohammed Zeeshan Ayuub (Article 15), and Kumud Mishra (Ram Singh Charlie) in this yet-untitled project. Plot details are being kept close to the vest, but sources describe the film as an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Ajay Rai and Alan McAlex are producing it under Jar Pictures, which is popularly known for making critically praised independent films such as Liar’s Dice, Nil Battey Sannata, Gurgaon, Bamfaad, Moothon, Chocked, and the Disney+Hotstar series, Grahan. The film has already been shot for...

Andrea Arnold’s Bird, Sandhya Suri’s Santosh and Karan Kandhari’s Sister Midnight are among the films to receive backing from the latest round of UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf) awards.

The BFI has made 19 additional awards totalling £527,563 through the £7m Ukgsf, which is financed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms).

Cannes premieres Bird, Santosh and Sister Midnight all received international distribution awards via the festival launch track, which supports festival runs for UK films to reach global audiences.

The only film to receive an international distribution award via the prints and advertising support track in...

Andrea Arnold’s Bird, Sandhya Suri’s Santosh and Karan Kandhari’s Sister Midnight are among the films to receive backing from the latest round of UK Global Screen Fund (Ukgsf) awards.

The BFI has made 19 additional awards totalling £527,563 through the £7m Ukgsf, which is financed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms).

Cannes premieres Bird, Santosh and Sister Midnight all received international distribution awards via the festival launch track, which supports festival runs for UK films to reach global audiences.

The only film to receive an international distribution award via the prints and advertising support track in...

Altitude Film Distribution has picked up a raft of titles to release in UK-Ireland in the next six months, including Audrey Diwan’s Emmanuelle, which is the opening film of the San Sebastian film festival in September.

Noemie Merlant, Naomi Watts, Jamie Campbell Bower and Will Sharpe star in Emmanuelle, about a woman’s erotic fantasies when she travels to Hong Kong on a business trip.

The Veterans is handling sales with Pathe releasing in France on September 25. Neon has North American rights.

The film is Diwan’s English-language debut and is based on Emmanuelle Arsan’s French novel about...

Sandhya Suri’s fiction feature debut “Santosh,” which bows in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard strand, has unveiled its first clip.

In the film, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh inherit her slain husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of northern India. When an underage girl from one of India’s so-called “lower castes” is murdered, Santosh is pulled into the investigation by charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.

Suri is known for her documentaries “I for India” (2005), which bowed at Sundance, and “Around India with a Movie Camera” (2018) and Toronto-winning and BAFTA nominated fiction short “The Field” (2018). The “Santosh” script, which predates “The Field,” participated in the Sundance lab. “I was researching things about violence against women and trying to make a sort of anatomy of a violence and I couldn’t find a way to do it in documentary. So I found this way into fiction,...

France’s mk2 Films has boarded Sandhya Suri’s title Santosh ahead of its premiere at Cannes in Un Certain Regard.

The Hindi-language, narrative fiction debut from UK-Indian filmmaker Suri (Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023).

A newly widowed woman inherits her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of a charismatic, feminist inspector. Zwigato and A Suitable Boy’s Shahana Goswami stars.

It is produced by Mike Goodridge and James Bowsher of the UK’s Good Chaos,...

UK sales outfit Protagonist Pictures has boarded Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Sister Midnight, from director Karan Kandhari, and unveiled a first-look still.

The Mumbai-set feature, starring Radhika Apte, has been backed by Film4 and BFI, awarding National Lottery funding, and produced by the UK’s Alastair Clark for Wellington Films, Anna Griffin for Griffin Pictures, with India’s Alan McAlex.

Sweden’s Filmgate Films and Film i Väst are co-producers and India’s Suitable Pictures are associate producers.

The black comedy follows the journey of a small-town misfit in a newly-arranged marriage who attempts to navigate an awkward spouse, nosy...

Updated: The Cannes Film Festival will have an admirable UK and Irish presence in 2024, including three films from Dublin, London and Belfast-based production company Element Pictures, Andrea Arnold’s Bird in Competition and features from fresh talents Sandhya Suri and Rungano Nyoni, as well as Sister Midnight in Directors’ Fortnight.

Competition is still proving a tricky spot to land for UK or Irish directors. In 2022, none made the cut, while in 2023, UK filmmakers Ken Loach and Jonathan Glazer made it through with The Old Oak and The Zone Of Interest respectively.

This year, Arnold is flying the flag with her...

Streaming

Prime Video has unveiled the first trailer for “Poacher,” the new series from Emmy-winning “Delhi Crime” creator Richie Mehta, executive produced by Bollywood star Alia Bhatt. An eight-part crime drama based on true events, “Poacher,” which bowed at Sundance 2023, uncovers the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history. It is produced by QC Entertainment, the Oscar-winning production and finance company known for Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” and Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman.” Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew and Dibyendu Bhattacharya lead the cast.

Mehta said: “I am sure the series will act as an eye-opener in many ways – how interdependent and complex the relationship between humans and other species is and how any negative action can result in an environmental imbalance, leading to dire repercussions.”

Bhatt added: “I hope that Richie’s powerful storytelling compels everyone to champion the urgent need for wildlife preservation and encourages us to embrace co-existence with all living beings.

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, who is the executive producer for the crime drama series ‘Poachers’ has shared an awareness video about poaching, saying that “murder is murder.”

Written, created, and directed by Richie Mehta, ‘Poacher’ stars Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, and Dibyendu Bhattacharya, the series based on true events and uncovers the largest ivory poaching ring in India.

In the video, shared by Prime Video on Instagram, Alia is seen in a state of shock, as she comes across a loaded rifle, bullet casings, and the silhouette of a lifeless body.

She is heard saying: “Ashok was murder reported at 9 in morning. Third murder in the month. His body was lifeless, mutilated. Ashok was just 10. He didn’t even see his killers. They might think they may get away with it but they won’t. Just because Ashok wasn’t one of us, the crime doesn’t become small because murder is murder.

“Delhi Crime” creator Richie Mehta’s Prime Video series “Poacher” is the first time Los Angeles-based QC Entertainment has ventured into India.

Led by partners Sean McKittrick, Raymond Mansfield and Edward H. Hamm Jr., QC – which stands for Quality Control – backed Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning “Get Out” and “Us” and Spike Lee’s Oscar, BAFTA and Cannes-winning “BlacKkKlansman,” among many other successful ventures. Set up as a one-stop shop, QC develops, physically produces, finances productions and handles sales and distribution.

Based on true events, Amazon original “Poacher” unearths the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history. It bowed at Sundance 2023. The process began with Mehta’s agents at Gersh trying to introduce him to producers who had funding and had a reputation for being hands-on and who were transparent and collaborative. Netflix show “Delhi Crime,” which went on to win the International Emmy for drama series, was brought to QC...

An investigative crime series based on true events, Amazon Prime’s original series, Poacher, unearths the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history. A first-of-its-kind project, Poacher brings the world of environmental conservation and entertainment together to highlight a critical global concern – illegal poaching.

Today, Prime Video today announced that actor, producer and entrepreneur, Alia Bhatt has come onboard as Executive Producer for Poacher. Alia is known as a champion of nature and has actively lent her voice towards conservation and sustainability. Her association with Poacher as an Executive Producer with her production company Eternal Sunshine Productions, underscores her belief in the story and her commitment to bring important and relevant stories alive and be a voice for the voiceless.

Based on court documents and testimonials, Poacher is a fictional dramatization of events that transpired in the dense forests of Kerala and the concrete jungle of Delhi. The series showcases...

Actress Alia Bhatt will be seen as the executive producer for the crime series ‘Poacher’, created by Richie Mehta. She said that the impact of it was deeply personal, and the Emmy-Award filmmaker’s portrayal of the urgent issue of wildlife crime resonated strongly with her.

Talking about coming onboard as the executive producer for ‘Poacher’, Alia shared, “Being part of this incredibly significant project is an honour, for both me and the entire team at Eternal Sunshine Productions. The impact of ‘Poacher’ was deeply personal, and Richie’s portrayal of the urgent issue of wildlife crime resonated strongly with me and the team.”

She added: “The storytelling genuinely moved me, especially knowing it’s based on true events, that sheds light on brutal crimes occurring in our forests. I am confident that ‘Poacher’ will serve as an eye-opener, delivering a powerful message to be more compassionate and considerate towards all living beings.

Bollywood A-lister Alia Bhatt has boarded Richie Mehta’s already-completed Amazon original investigative crime series “Poacher” as an executive producer.

Created, written, and directed by “Delhi Crime” filmmaker Mehta based on true events, “Poacher” unearths the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history. It premiered at Sundance in 2023. The cast features Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew and Dibyendu Bhattacharya in the lead.

Bhatt is on board via her Eternal Sunshine Productions outfit. She debuted as a producer with 2022 Netflix film “Darlings,” alongside Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment. Bhatt helps raise awareness about relevant causes such as environmental sustainability, animal welfare and mitigating human-animal conflict through her platform, Coexist. She also promotes sustainable fashion through her initiative, Mi Wardrobe is Su Wardrobe.

“Poacher” is executive produced by “Get Out” producer QC Entertainment’s Edward H. Hamm Jr., Raymond Mansfield and Sean McKittrick, in association with Suitable Pictures, Poor Man’s Productions and Eternal Sunshine Productions.

Prime Video has acquired and set a stream date for “Delhi Crime” creator Richie Mehta’s investigative drama series “Poacher.”

Based on court documents and testimonials, “Poacher” is a fictional dramatization of events that unfolded in the dense forests of Kerala and the urban jungle that is India’s capital Delhi. The series highlights the contributions made by Indian forest service officers, Ngo workers from the Wildlife Trust of India, police personnel and good samaritans who risked their lives to investigate the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history. It was filmed in real-life settings across Kerala and New Delhi and is primarily in the Malayalam, Hindi and English languages.

Created, written and directed by Mehta, whose Netflix show “Delhi Crime” won the International Emmy for drama series, the “Poacher” cast includes Nimisha Sajayan (Tallinn title “Adrishya Jalakangal”), Roshan Mathew (Busan winner “Paradise”) and Dibyendu Bhattacharya (Emmy nominated series “Rocket Boys...

British-Indian filmmaker Suri is a Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023.

Sandhya Suri’s UK-European co-production Santosh has wrapped production in India.

The Hindi-language film is the narrative feature debut of Suri, a Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023. It is produced by Mike Goodridge and James Bowsher of the UK’s Good Chaos, France’s Balthazar de Ganay and Alan McAlex of India’s Suitable Pictures.

The co-producers are Razor Film in Germany and Haut et Court in France. Haut Et Court Distribution will release Santosh in France.

Backers are the British Film Institute, BBC Film., Zdf/Arte and Cnc.

Suri directed...

Kino Lorber has acquired U.S. rights to writer-director Ajitpal Singh’s debut feature, “Fire in the Mountains,” which premiered in the World Dramatic Competition of the Sundance Film Festival in 2021.

A powerful feminist tale set in a tourist homestay in the Himalayan foothills of northern India, the film centers around a woman (Vinamrata Rai), the sole breadwinner of the household, who scrimps and saves for her son’s medical treatment, while her alcoholic husband believes that an expensive shamanic ritual is the answer to all their woes.

The film is produced by Alan McAlex and Ajai Rai of prolific Indian arthouse producers Jar Pictures alongside Mauli Singh and Amit Mehta. Jar previously produced Busan title “Children of the Sun” and Toronto title “The Elder One.”

Kino Lorber will open the film at Film Forum in New York this spring, followed by a theatrical rollout in the U.S. and...

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car triumphed this eve at the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The movie scooped best film, which Japanese filmmaker Hamaguchi shared with producer Teruhisa Yamamoto, and best screenplay, which the director shared with Oe Takamasa. Scroll down for the full list of winners on the night.

Further winners included Asghar Farhadi, who took Best Director for A Hero, and Hogir Hirori’s Sabaya, which win Best Documentary Feature Film.

Two Jury Grand Prizes were awarded this year, one to Abdullah Mohammad Saad, director of Rehana, and Leah Purcell for The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.

Best Performance by an Actor was awarded to Georgian actor Merab Ninidze for Alexey German Jr’s House Arrest, while Best Performance by an Actress went to Azmeri Haque Badhon for Rehana. Nguyễn Vinh Phúc won achievement in cinematography for Taste.

This was Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s...

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) announced today its full lineup of narrative and documentary features, and shorts for the festival’s 19th edition, which will be held virtually and geo-blocked to California, on May 20-27.

“This is a very special year for Iffla. Taking the festival online has given us the freedom to curate programs we would not have been able to present in a physical setting. We have expanded our reach to all California residents, doubled the shorts program with a strong representation of films from the diaspora, added special programs like “Childhood on Edge”, and curated discussions on timely and pressing topics, celebrating the independent film community from India and the Indian diaspora,” said Christina Marouda, Executive Director.

Iffla will open with the Los Angeles premiere of the powerful female-centric film, Fire in the Mountains, the 2021 Sundance-selected debut feature by Ajitpal Singh that immerses audiences...

Feature directing debutant Ajitpal Singh’s “Fire In The Mountains,” the lone Indian film in Sundance 2021’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, is a powerful feminist tale told by a male who learnt to face down his own prejudices.

Set in a tourist homestay in the Himalayan foothills of northern India, the film centers around a woman (Vinamrata Rai), the sole breadwinner of the household, who scrimps and saves for her son’s medical treatment, while her alcoholic husband believes that an expensive shamanic ritual is the answer to all their woes.

Singh, who had previously directed several shorts, including the Oberhausen festival-winning “Rammat-Gammat” (2018), says that he found himself not heeding advice from his wife, sister and mother, while having plenty of time to listen to the men of the house.

“I understood my own prejudices, how it’s so deep-rooted, and how just with education and by reading books, it doesn’t just go away,...

The Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the United States, celebrates bold, creative, and distinctive voices. The upcoming 2021’s edition will offer an online platform featuring seven days of premieres, events, artist talks, and cutting-edge Xr exhibitions. It will also be partnering with independent cinema communities across the U.S. to safely host in-person events. From January 28 through February 3, adventurous audiences and indie film lovers everywhere will come together to be the first to discover exciting new creative visions that people will be talking about all year.

This year the Festival will downsize to 72 feature films (from last year’s 128) but still including a 50% of the total of female directors, more than 50% of the total of filmmakers of color and a number of genderqueer artists.

The full line-up includes few interesting Asian titles. Here they are:

“Fire in the Mountains“

a searing portrait of the power dynamics...

Exclusive: Film Independent has unveiled their keynotes, conversations and panelists for the 15th annual Film Independent Forum. The Forum, which is traditionally a weekend event, will now be a week-long virtual event that will reach all corners of the globe from July 31 to August 7.

The event has set a roster of banner names in the industry, featuring a U.S. Filmmaker Keynote with Lulu Wang (The Farewell); a U.S. Executive Keynote with Elissa Federoff, President of Distribution at Neon; a Documentary Keynote with Dawn Porter; and a Global Executive Keynote with Ashok Amritraj, Chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment Group. Traditionally a weekend event, the Forum has expanded to a full week-long event accessible online to global audiences the week of July 31 to August 7.

In addition, panels will cover financing, production and distribution of films to digital content across diverse platforms...

Awards‘Moothon’ was the inaugural film at the Ffsat, which started on January 27.Tnm Staff “Thank you to my entire crew and cast and especially my amazing producers! Our first International award,” Geetu Mohandas, who wrote the story, announced the news on Facebook on Monday. Congratulating Geetu, actor Nivin Pauly said, “Congrats Geetu Mohandas! You deserve all the accolades. Congrats to our entire team! This is truly an honour.” Nivin plays the central role in the bilingual film. He plays the role of ‘Bhai’, a member of a gang in Mumbai. The movie also stars Roshan Mathew, Sobhita Dhulipala, Shashank Arora, Melissa Raju Thomas and Sanjana Dipu, among others. The action thriller revolves around a 14-year-old named Mulla, who leaves his home in Lakshadweep, and goes to Mumbai in search of his elder brother (or moothon), who left the shores years ago. Moothon was first premiered at the Toronto International...

MollywoodThe critically acclaimed film directed by Geetu Mohandas has Nivin Pauly in the lead. Digital NativeMoothon, which did well in several international festivals, is easily one of the milestone films in Nivin Pauly’s career. Now the film had its European premiere with the screening at Ffast – South Asian Film Festival, Paris -- happening on Tuesday, January 27. Nivin took to his Instagram and shared a picture with the director of the film Geetu Mohandas, confirming their participation in Ffast. “Moothon premiering at Ffast in Paris today,” Nivin captioned the picture on Tuesday. View this post on Instagram #moothon premiering at Ffast in Paris today! @geetu_mohandas A post shared by Nivin Pauly (@nivinpaulyactor) on Jan 27, 2020 at 6:58pm Pst It may be noted here that Moothon had premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year to critical acclaim and then at the Mumbai Film Festival on October...

MollywoodWritten and directed by Geetu Mohandas, 'Moothon' has Nivin Pauly playing the central character.Digital NativeMoothon, which did well in several international festivals, is easily one of the milestone films in Nivin Pauly’s career. The film deals with a serious issue. The making-of-the-film video that was recently released shows how much the team enjoyed working on the project. Despite the heaviness in the subject, the team has had some lighter moments to share. The video shows the behind the scene preparations including Nivin getting his ears pierced as Geetu watches anxiously. Rajeev Ravi can be seen looking for the perfect shots while the actors wait for the director’s instructions. The video ends with a shot of Nivin falling down and Geetu waiting before saying: “Cut, that was nice.” It may be noted here that Moothon was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September this year to...

Selected projects include four debut features and the second fiction feature from Pushpendra Singh.

Film Bazaar, organised by India’s National Film Development Corp (Nfdc), has selected five projects to participate in this year’s Work-in-Progress (Wip) Lab, four of which are from first-time directors.

The four debut features are Kannada-language Pedro, directed by Natesh Hegde, and Hindi-language titles Shankar’s Fairies, directed by Irfana Majumdar, Switzerland, from Ajitpal Singh, and The Knot (Uljhan), from Ashish Pant. The one project from a returning director is the Gujari-language The Shepherdess And The Seven Songs, directed by Pushpendra Singh (Lajwanti).

The mentors...

Mollywood The film is directed and produced by actor-turned-director Geetu Mohandas. Tnm StaffScreengrabThe much-awaited trailer of Moothon was released on Friday, Nivin Pauly's birthday, and by the looks of it, the film promises to be an dark, intense crime thriller, not for the faint-hearted. Starring Nivin Pauly, the film is directed and produced by actor-turned-director Geetu Mohandas. It is about a 14-year-old boy who leaves his home in Lakshadweep to go to Mumbai in search for his elder brother. The trailer captures the innocence of the boy, who, when asked by his friend how he will get to Mumbai, simply says, “The tide will take me to Bombay.” The film, it appears, will show the teenager navigating through Kamathipura, Mumbai’s red light area, as he attempts to find his elder brother. In a departure from his other roles which portray him as the likeable boy-next-door in Mollywood, Nivin...

MollywoodActor Dhyan Sreenivasan wrote and directed the film.Digital NativeNivin Pauly-Nayanthara starrer Love Action Drama which hit the screens last month during the Onam season has crossed the Rs 50 crore mark worldwide. The makers have released an official teaser declaring the film's collection. Reportedly, the film has been performing well in all the centers not only in Kerala but also in Bengaluru, Chennai and the UAE. Taking to his social media handle Nivin wrote, "#LoveActionDrama crosses 50 crore plus worldwide! Thank you so much for accepting Dineshan & Shobha! Love you all!" He also shared a new teaser from the film. With this, Nivin Pauly has added yet another movie to the prestigious 50-crore club. Earlier, his movies like Bangalore Days, Premam, Kayamkulam Kochunni, etc., have entered the 50-crore club at the worldwide box office. Actor Dhyan Sreenivasan wrote and directed the film. According to the director, it is a modern-day take on the 1989 film Vadakkunokkiyanthram,...

Film Anurag Kashyap, who has co-produced the film, was also present.Tnm StaffMoothon - Nivin Pauly’s much awaited bilingual crime thriller is off to a great start. The film, directed by Geetu Mohandas, had its world premiere at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) on Wednesday, September 11. The main cast and crew of the film, which includes Geetu, Nivin, Roshan Matthew, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sanjana Dipu and others had flown down to Canada to attend the premiere in Toronto. Accompanying them was ace director Anurag Kashyap who has co-produced the film along with Ajay Rai and Alan McAlex. In an interview to the Indian Express on his film premiering at Tiff, Nivin Pauly said that it was ‘his dream come true’. “It is an absolute honour to have my film Moothon premiering at the Toronto Film Festival. I must say it is a dream come true moment,” he stated in the interview.

MollywoodThis is Geethu Mohandas's second directorial.Tnm StaffThe official teaser of Moothon (meaning elder brother in Malayalam), Geethu Mohandas’s second film after Liar’s Dice that released in 2014, is out. Moothon is Geethu’s feature film debut in Malayalam. The clip that is one minute and 30 seconds long begins with a voice-over that narrates the story of a man, a migrant. “Long ago, countless years ago, a swine came here from the island. I saw him struggling here doing all kinds of odd jobs. His body was covered with scars. When fortune turned a blind eye to him, he started whatever he could to survive. The cops would nab him from time to time. When finally he came to me a defeated man. I finished him off myself,” goes the deep voice, and then we finally get to see Nivin Pauly’s face smeared with a yellowish, dry paste.