Cinema is a truly shared wealth: Tina Ambani, patron, Mumbai Academy of Moving Image

October 18, 2012
Tina-Ambani

When a group of film industry stalwarts headed by late Hrishikesh Mukherjee founded the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) as a not-for-profit trust, they envisioned an annual International Film Festival as a tribute to good cinema. Chaired by Shyam Benegal, it has grown over the years to include the best of world cinema. The latest avatar of the Mumbai Film Festival (MFF), beginning Thursday, promises a stellar lineup of over 200 movies. MAMI patron Tina Ambani speaks to Nandini Raghavendra on what to look forward to at the festival:

It's the 14th edition of MAMI. How has this journey been?

Mumbai is the cradle of Indian cinema - this city has nurtured my own aspirations as a young actor and these strong roots, these unshakeable bonds have nourished my passion for cinema over the years. The festival is an event that has always been dear to my heart.

Which films are you looking forward to watching this year?

It really is a lavish spread this year and every cineaste is spoilt for choice. Personally, I am looking forward to watching the Cannes Golden Palm winner Amour by Michael Haneke, a moving story about ageing and love; the much-awaited Silver Linings Playbook starring Robert De Niro and our very own Anupam Kher, which is the opening film. The screenings of Luchini Viscontti's The Leopard also promise to be fascinating as well as restored films Kalpana by Uday Shankar and Once Upon a Time in America by Sergio Leone.

In fact, the two celebrations - of Italian cinema and the 100 years of Indian cinema - bridge a centenary of filmmaking in both countries. Where else can you see 102-year-old Manoel de Oliviera and Alain Resnais, 90 years young, on the same platform as Kauwboy, the award-winning children's film?

Two restored classics from renowned Italian directors Maciste (1915) and Inferno (1911) are being showcased. How critical is it to restore and preserve world cinema classics?

Cinema is a universal language that is a truly shared wealth. Preserving its heritage is an imperative. At Reliance Mediaworks, too, we undertake major restoration projects of films from across the world. And this year, the festival will feature India's first key panel on restoration and preservation of films with leading speakers from 20th Century Fox, Cineteca Bologna, World Cinema Foundation, Film Foundation and the Motion Pictures Academy Archives.

Do you think we have ignored our language directors at the cost of mainstream Bollywood cinema?

I'd like to emphasise that we are a 'discovery' film festival; with India Gold 2012, the new competition section for Indian films, the platform is the same for both debut directors and renowned filmmakers. In New Faces in Indian Cinema, we feature the 1st and 2nd films of Indian directors; and in Film India Worldwide, we show films that have emerged from the diaspora. This is also, perhaps, the first time that two Indian films have been included in international competition for outstanding content. We offer a level playing field for all cinema never mind where it comes from, what language it is in, or who has made it. That is the bottom line.



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News Network
July 14,2020

Los Angeles, Jul 14: US officials on Monday found the body of "Glee" actress Naya Rivera in the Californian lake where she drowned last week during a boat trip with her four-year-old son.

Rivera's body was retrieved and an initial examination found no evidence of foul play or suicide, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told a press conference.

"We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera," said Ayub, pointing to the location, appearance, clothing and condition of the body.

Her body was being taken to a medical examiner's office for a full autopsy and confirmation of her identity from dental records, though no other missing persons have been reported at Lake Piru, he added.

Rivera, 33, is believed to have accidentally drowned after renting the boat with her young son at the camping and recreational hotspot around an hour's drive northwest of Los Angeles.

She vanished on Wednesday afternoon, and a massive search involving divers, patrol boats and helicopters was launched after her sleeping son was spotted drifting alone in a boat on the lake.

The son later told investigators that Rivera had helped him into the boat before "he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water," said the sheriff.

Ayub pointed to the lake's strong currents as a possible cause of a fatal accident.

"The idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting -- it was unanchored -- and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself," he said.

The lake has been closed to the public since Wednesday, with around 100 personnel, including the US Coast Guard and rescuers from neighboring counties, joining the search.

Search teams used footage from video messaging calls Rivera made from the boat before her disappearance, as well as interviews with her son, to scour portions of the lake bed for her remains over six days, with no success.

"We believe she was concealed within some of the shrubbery on the floor bed of the lake" before eventually floating to the surface due to natural decomposition, said Ayyub.

With less than one foot (30 centimeters) of visibility underwater in daylight, the recovery operation was a "complex search effort" even with use of sonar equipment, he said.

Rivera was best known for her role as high school cheerleader Santana Lopez in "Glee."

She starred for six seasons in the wildly popular musical television series set in a US high school that ended in 2015.

The "Glee" cast has been struck by tragedy before.

Actor Mark Salling took his own life in 2018, weeks before being sentenced for possession of child pornography.

Canadian castmate Cory Monteith died in July 2013 of an overdose of drugs and alcohol.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Los Angeles, Jan 9: Actors Salma Hayek and Tiffany Haddish are hopeful about the future for women in Hollywood and now cinema is making films about women because the audience was "neglected".

The duo along with Rose Byrne star in Like a Boss, a comedy directed by Miguel Arteta, which follows best friends Mia and Mel (Haddish and Byrne) who join forces to run their own boutique cosmetics company.

When the prospect of a big buyout offer from a notorious titan of the beauty industry (Hayek) tempts them, their lifelong bond - and their business - is put in jeopardy.

Hayek said she is happy with the increase in female-driven films in Hollywood.

"We're on the right path. And we're not going to stop," the actor told Variety.

"What I can tell you is that a lot more women are directing and acting and writing and producing. And there are a lot more movies made about women and for women because the audience was neglected, she said.

She was speaking at the premiere of the film in New York.

Haddish added that the mantle for change shouldn't be left to the traditional decision-makers.

To get things, one has to sometimes make noise, the actor-author said.

"It's about us putting in the work and creating the projects and creating the opportunities in order to do those things to make it better. I sit back and I listen to people talk sometimes, saying, 'They're not letting us; they're not giving it to us.' Why do we have to ask permission? Why can't we just start putting it together? If they want to come on board with it, come on board. And if not, oh well," Haddish said.

"I'm about creating an opportunity. People say I'm loud and obnoxious, but sometimes it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the oil and gets things done," she added.

The comedy comes on the heels of a year gone by in cinema that featured female protagonists in films like Little Women and Captain Marvel.

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News Network
June 15,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 15: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has condoled the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and recalled his support to the state during the floods in 2018.

The 34-year old Bollywood actor was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai on Sunday.

"We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. His early demise is a great loss to the Indian Film industry. Our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and supporters," Vijayan said in a tweet.

"We take a moment to remember his support during the time of Kerala floods

During the deluge in August, 2018, a fan had tagged him in a comment on his Instagram post and said, he don't have the money, but wanted to donate some food.

The actor, who spotted the comment, replied that he will donate Rs one crore in his fan's name.

Rajput donated Rs one crore to CMDRF in the name of his fan and uploaded the screenshot saying, My Kerala.

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