Even as the excitement among film buffs has peaked with the fifth edition of Jagran Film Festival reaching Mumbai after touring other cities, we bring you details on what to expect
The year 2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918) — a watershed event of the 20th century.
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Subhash Ghai speaks at an event in Delhi as part of the fifth Jagran Film Festival (JFF)
Looking back at the depictions of the horrors, triumphs, and humanity of the War, the fifth Jagran Film Festival-2014, India’s only touring film festival that is scheduled to take place in Mumbai from September 22-28, will present a special section of classic and contemporary cinema depicting the essence of the Great War.
Shyam Benegal and Pawan Malhotra participating in a session during the Delhi leg of JFF this year
The idea is to propagate the principle of global peace in today’s conflict-ridden scenario.
Filmmakers Anubhav Sinha
The films that will be screened include Grand Illusion (La Grande Illusion) directed by Jean Renoir; La France, directed by Serge Bozon; and Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim) directed by François Truffaut.? Along with the screening of First World War cinema, the festival also has an exciting line-up of films in diverse genres drawn from every corner of the world.
Hansal Mehta and TP Agarwal were among the many leading personalities who were part of the fifth JFF in Delhi
The festival will feature films under several sections starting with Cinema of the Uprising, International Competition, Indian Showcase and Country Focus (Cyprus). In the Indian Showcase category, more than 20 feature films, made in different Indian regional languages, including Hindi blockbusters, will compete with each other.
Curtains on the fifth edition of the Jagran Film Festival will go up with the screening of The Woods Are Still Green, an Austrian feature film set against the backdrop of World War I
The festival will also host a Bimal Roy retrospective. His films, Sujata, Do Bigha Zameen, Madhumati, Devdas and Bandini, will be screened at the weeklong event.
Suchitra Sen and Dilip Kumar in Bimal Roy’s Devdas
Curtains on this edition of the festival will go up with the screening of The Woods Are Still Green, an Austrian feature film written and directed by Marko Nabersnik, that has won several International Best Film awards.
Nutan and Sunil Dutt in the film, Sujata, that is based on a Bengali short story
The film is an anti-war drama set against the backdrop of the World War I. The Indian section of the festival will see the screening of films such as Highway, Katiyabaaz, Mary Kom, Mardaani, Shahid, Queen and Ugly.
Alia Bhatt in Highway, a road movie
The festival will also host workshops and masterclasses on cinematography, film festivals, making short films and casting, among other things.
Ronit Roy in Ugly, a pyschological thriller written and directed by Anurag Kashyap
The Mumbai edition marks the final leg of the fifth Jagran Film Festival that has travelled across 16 cities.
La France is about a French woman who dresses herself up as a man to be able to take to the road during World War I
These films will be screened at PVR Andheri and Cinemax Versova. Conceptualised to bring world-class cinema to a wide audience, Jagran Film Festival, Mumbai 2014 promises to be bigger and better this year.