Indian Film Week

Warsaw’s Kultura cinema will be home to the Indian Film Week between November 5 and November 10, 2012. The event is organized by the Embassy of India, the Polish Film Institute and the Polish Filmmakers Association.

100 Years of Indian Cinema

“This year we will be celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema. With the making of the first silent film, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913, Indian cinema began a fascinating and picturesque journey, depicting the changes in a nation from a colony into a free and democratic country with a rich cultural heritage and multifold values,” says Monika Kapil Mohta, Ambassador of the Republic of India to Poland and Lithuania.

Experiencing Indian Culture

“The ‘Indian Film Week. 100 Years of Indian Cinema’ event marks an excellent opportunity to experience one of the greatest and most unique cultures in world cinema. For Polish audiences, this will be an opportunity to discover the magical, colourful, but also relatively little-known world of Indian cinema. This will be an opportunity to experience the culture, heritage, and everyday life of Indian society,” said Agnieszka Odorowicz, General Director of the Polish Film Institute.

Smita Patil

The lineup of the ‘Indian Film Week. 100 Years of Indian Cinema’ has been divided into three sections. The first will focus on films featuring Smita Patil, acclaimed actress and true icon of Indian cinema, who passed away in 1986. Among the 80 films that featured performances by Smita Patil, the Week of Indian Cinema will show five titles: Bhumika, Sadgati, Umbartha, Manthan, and Mirch Masala.

Filmmaking Co-Operation Between India and Poland

“The Indian Film Week is not only an excellent opportunity to celebrate this special anniversary, but it also serves as a symbol for the opening of a new chapter of co-operation between Polish and Indian filmmakers. This relationship will be further strengthened thanks to the agreement on audiovisual co-production between India and Poland, which was signed earlier this year and covers cinema and television productions,” says Jacek Bromski, head of the Polish Filmmakers Association.

Bollywood and Films for Young Audiences

The lineup of the Week of Indian Cinema also features the most interesting of Bollywood productions (including Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Dil Chahta Hai), as well as Indian films for young audiences (including Halo and Keshu). The ‘Indian Film Week. 100 Years of Indian Cinema’ event is not only an excellent opportunity to celebrate this special anniversary, but it also serves as a symbol for the opening of a new chapter of co-operation between Polish and Indian filmmakers. This will be possible thanks to the agreement on audiovisual co-production between India and Poland, which was signed earlier this year.

Event Supported by the Polish Film Institute

The ‘Indian Film Week. 100 Years of Indian Cinema’ event is organized by the Embassy of India, the Polish Film Institute, and the Polish Filmmakers Association. Admission to all screenings is free of charge (note: the opening screening on November 5 is by invitation only).

The programme of the event is available at: www.facebook.com/TydzienKinaIndyjskiego/info.

The catalogue of the Indian Film Week is available for download at: www.sfp.org.pl.

Written by Paulina Bez based on the press release

Translated by Karolina Kołtun