FilmKaravan launches ‘Bandra Film Festival’ in collaboration with YouTube to support filmmakers

Mumbai: Veteran online distribution company FilmKaravan starts the new year with a very special project ‘Bandra Film Festival’, a digital film festival in collaboration with YouTube scheduled to kick start later this month with a slate of 50+ films from filmmakers across the country and across multiple genres, languages and formats.

Along with helping filmmakers reach large audiences virtually and helping film aficionados access leading edge cinema, Bandra Film Festival also helps viewers contribute funds to support the films and filmmakers of their choice. All donations will go towards supporting the chosen film & filmmakers through these challenging times.

To support this special endeavour, Bandra Film Festival is giving an initial donation to the participant film makers, as a token of appreciation for their incredible work.

Speaking about the launch, Pooja Kohli Taneja, Artistic Director of Bandra Film Festival, stated, “For the past 15 years we have curated & distributed content. Many titles didn’t fit the requirements of the online platforms & went unnoticed. This gave us a reason & chance to create a new platform to amplify the undiscovered & forgotten gems from the past as well to showcase new talent emerging everyday.”

The festival is opening with two stirring titles made by their absolute brilliant filmmakers. Frozen, a true gem from the past directed by Shivajee Chandrabhushan starring Danny Denzongpa, Aamir Bashir & Yashpal Sharma, the film is ‘A sombre journey of a family’s struggle in fighting against all odds when confronted by insurmountable hardships.’ Uss Paar, an offbeat touching film by Arati Kadav, starring Jackie Shroff & Ovi Dixit, is ‘The endearing story of a little girl’s unwavering efforts in sending across mud to her idol maker father. With the help of a kind hearted TT, will her efforts bear fruit?’

Satya Raghavan, Director - Content Partnerships, YouTube India shared, 

“Cinema is core to Indian culture in a way that it's often hard to distinguish the line between life and art and this deep influence is palpable on YouTube, which increasingly serves as a barometer for what captivates audiences. Fittingly, India is also home to the world’s most vibrant film industry and we’re very excited to bring to our millions of viewers the Bandra Film Festival, which curates the best of cinema from different parts of India, and provide a platform to upcoming cinematic talent”

All the films showcased will be categorised into 3 broad sections -

‘Gems from the Past’ - Films made before time but got buried deep down. It gives us great pride in unearthing & showcasing these hidden gems while also remembering to validate & applaud their brilliant makers.

‘Off the beaten path’ - Non conforming, Experimental & Unapologetic. Aren’t we always up for innovative content that stir up a storm? Journey along with these radical storytellers.

‘New Discoveries’ - Fresh films & Fresh filmmakers. What makes these coming of age creators tick? Watch out for these dreamers who are breaking barriers & unfolding new perspectives in storytelling.

On the Film Curations, Andrea Manath, Programmer at Bandra Film Festival shared, “I’m very excited to be able to dig deep into the vast world of some brilliant, undiscovered & unique films. Our handpicked curations will lead audiences towards enriching experiences in innovative storytelling. Our aim is to provide a wider & significant outreach to this multitude of content.”

Quick Summary:

Films can be viewed on the Bandra Film Festival YouTube channel.

Viewers can support a film by making donations on a Milaap Donate link set up on the Bandra Film Festival website & on the BFF Youtube channel as well.

The festival is a year-long event which will be flagged off with two titles. Thereafter, new films will be curated & added in any of the 3 sections, approximately every two weeks.

Films will have a limited viewing time period, the schedule for which will be updated on the Bandra Film Festival website.

The festival will also feature interviews, interesting live interactions, behind the scenes bytes etc with filmmakers and talents associated with the titles showcased.

The festival will be open to submissions for fresh titles round the year. (UNI)