Nominations for Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022

The Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne, one of the biggest international Indian film festivals outside of the country, has just announced its nominations for its annual awards ceremony.

Swati Bhat

The festival, which is presented by the Victorian Government, is an annual festival that takes place in Melbourne, Australia, and showcases the best of films from India and the subcontinent.

The Awards night is all set to take place on 14th of August in Melbourne. The awards will recognise best in cinematic talent from across the Indian subcontinent across the formats of feature films and will also honour acclaimed OTT series. This year's nominations will see films and content which were released between August 2021 to April 2022.

Here are the nominees :

BEST FILM

83 / Hindi, Badhaai Do / Hindi, Gangubai Kathiawadi / Hindi, Jai Bhim / Tamil, Minnal Murali / Malayalam, Paka (River of Blood) / Malayalam, Sardar Udham / Hindi, The Rapist / English, Hindi

BEST INDIE FILM

Boomba Ride / Mishing, Dug Dug / Hindi, Jaggi / Punjabi, Once Upon a Time in Calcutta / Bengali, Pedro / Kannada, Shankar’s Fairies / Hindi, Shoebox / Hindi, Fairy Folk / Hindi, English

BEST ACTOR (MALE)

Gopal Hegde, Pedro / Kannada, Rajkummar Rao, Badhaai Do / Hindi, Ramnish Chaudhary, Jaggi / Punjabi, Ranveer Singh, 83 / Hindi, Suriya, Jai Bhim / Tamil, Tovino Thomas, Minnal Murali / Malayalam, Vicky Kaushal, Sardar Udham / Hindi, Abhishek Bachchan - Dasvi / Hindi

BEST ACTOR (FEMALE)

Alia Bhatt, Gangubai Kathiawadi / Hindi, Bhumi Pednekar, Badhaai Do / Hindi, Deepika Padukone, Gehraiyaan / Hindi, Konkona Sen Sharma, The Rapist / English, Hindi, Lijomol Jose, Jai Bhim / Tamil, Shefali Shah, Jalsa / Hindi, Sreelekha Mitra, Once Upon A Time In Calcutta / Bengali, Vidya Balan, Jalsa / Hindi

BEST DIRECTOR

Anmol Sidhu, Jaggi / Punjabi, Aparna Sen, The Rapist / Hindi, Kabir Khan, 83 / Hindi, Pan Nalin, Chhello Show (Last Film Show) / Gujarati, Sanjay Leela Bhansali Gangubai Kathiawadi / Hindi, Shoojit Sircar, Sardar Udham / Hindi, Suresh Triveni, Jalsa / Hindi, T.J. Gnanavel, Jai Bhim / Tamil

BEST DOCUMENTARY

A Night of Knowing Nothing, Ayena (Mirror), Kicking Balls, Ladies Only, Urf (A.K.A)

BEST FILM FROM SUBCONTINENT

Joyland / Pakistan, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom / Bhutan, No Land’s Man / Bangladesh, Rehana Maryam Noor / Bangladesh, The Newspaper / Sri Lanka

BEST ACTOR IN A SERIES

Mohit Raina - Mumbai Diaries 26/11, Parambrata Chatterjee - Aranyak, Varun Mitra - Guilty Minds, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, Dhruv Sehgal - Little Things Final Season

BEST ACTRESS IN A SERIES

Konkona Sensharma - Mumbai Diaries 26/11, Sakshi Tanwar - Mai, Madhuri Dixit - Fame Game, Mithila Palkar - Little Things Final Season, Raveena Tandon - Aranyak, Shriya Pilgaonkar / Guilty Minds

BEST SERIES

Aranyak, Mumbai Diaries 26/11, Fame Game, Mai, Little Things Final Season, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein

#thecommunique #tc #tcn #MIFF2022

"We are proud to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day." Statements from IFFM2022 Premises

Melbourne [IFFM] premises, July 09: Mitu Bhowmick Lange, the festival director of IFFM 2022 says that she is excited to hoist our Indian flag up high in the beautiful lands of Australia. The Lord Mayor, Sally Capp, and The Honorable Premier of Victoria, The Hon Daniel Andrews also sent their messages for Indian Filmmakers.

Swati Bhat

The Communiqué from Honorable Premier of Victoria, The Hon Daniel Andrews

"Welcome to the 13th annual Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

This year’s festival program showcases the very best of the world’s largest film industry.

And events like these, and the creative industries they support, form a big part of what makes Victoria the cultural capital of Australia.

Victoria is the home of Australia’s biggest Indian community, and our strong relationship with India is enriched by the cultural connections forged by festivals like these.

The IFFM plays an important role in promoting Victoria as a leading destination for screen production, tourism and education.

And our Government is proud to be a longstanding supporter and partner of the festival.

I extend a warm welcome to our international guests who will join the activities this year, and I congratulate the IFFM team on another excellent program.

Enjoy the festival."

The Communiqué from The Minister for Creative Industries,

Steve Dimopoulos MP

Welcome to the 2022 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne – the biggest celebration of Indian cinema outside of the sub-continent.

After a couple of years online, it’s fantastic to see the festival back in Melbourne’s tremendous theatres so we can experience the vibrancy of Indian cinema where it belongs – on the big screen.

In keeping with this return, the festival’s theme is ‘Revival’ and the 2022 program is absolutely packed.

Alongside the extensive program of films, the IFFM offers deeper cultural insights through a line-up of talks, Q&As, dance and masterclasses.

We are proud to support IFFM through our VICSCREEN strategy, which is all about strengthening our screen industry and culture here in Victoria.

Congratulations to the IFFM team for bringing another exciting, diverse suite of Indian cinema to Melbourne and developing a blockbuster program of supporting events.

See you there!

The Communiqué from The Lord Mayor, Sally Capp

"The City of Melbourne is thrilled to roll out the red carpet for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022.

For 13 years, this much-loved festival has lit up local cinemas – and virtual screens across the country – with the best in Indian film.

Victoria is proudly home to almost 40 per cent of all Indian-born Australians, so it’s fitting that Melbourne hosts the biggest annual celebration of Indian cinema in Australia.

This year’s festival coincides with the 75th celebration of Indian independence. I look forward to seeing the ways this important milestone, and the festival’s theme of revival, inform the diverse selection of films on offer.

Melbourne enjoys a long-standing trade and cultural relationship with India.

We have been the backdrop for the first Indian movie filmed entirely in Australia, cementing Melbourne as both the arts capital of Australia, and one of the most culturally diverse and welcoming cities in the world.

The City of Melbourne has proudly supported the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne from its inception. We applaud its organisers, artists and volunteers for bringing people together and uniting us in the name of cultural diversity and the arts.

We cannot wait to celebrate with our vibrant Indian community and see you in the city soon."

The Communiqué from The Festival Director, Mitu Bhowmick Lange

"Namastey and welcome to the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022!

After two years of the pandemic-driven online festival, we are finally back in the world to revive the magic of cinema with you in physical form. That is why this year’s theme for our festival is REVIVAL. We are very excited to present over a hundred films from the nooks and crannies of India and the Subcontinent, engaging new talent, diverse stories, and brilliant storytelling. Through these films we take a microscopic lens into Indian culture, stories about identity, disability, sustainability in the contexts of the subcontinent. We have carefully curated a selection of films that will make you laugh, cry and shudder with pride. As ecstatic as we are to screen these cinematic gems in person, we also have developed our IFFM app to allow our viewers to have an optimal online cinematic experience anywhere in Australia!

This year is huge for us! We are proud to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day. It is an honour to hoist our Indian flag up high in the beautiful lands of Australia. We are over the moon to invite some of India’s most prolific writers, directors, producers, and actors to grace our festival and answer all your burning film questions through a series of panel discussions. Over the course of the festival, we plan to bring the community together through the most heart-pumping, foot-tapping events, especially the Indian Dance Competition and the glamourous Awards Night. We are also extremely proud to showcase a curation of talented works from independent filmmakers for The IFFM Short Film Competition.

This is the 13th year of our celebrated festival, and it only grows bigger, stronger and better every year. We cannot thank you and our partners enough for believing in us, helping us push the boundaries of cinema and give a platform to new, exciting voices. To our participants, volunteers, staff, guests, and our wonderful audience, I have nothing but immense love and gratitude for you.

We look forward to you joining us at IFFM 2022 for a jampacked season of fabulous films, festivities, and lots and lots of fun!"

#thecommunique #tc #tcn #IFFM2022 #tc4iffm #festival #event

Kapil Dev to be the guest of honour at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022

Mumbai [India], July 8: Legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev has been invited as the guest of honour at the Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2022 (IFFM).

Swati Bhat

Pic Courtesy: IMDb

He will attend the event to celebrate Kabir Khan's directorial '83', which traces the journey of India's cricketing squad led by Kapil Dev, towards getting the nation its maiden World Cup win in 1983.

Excited to be a part of IFFM 2022, Dev said, "I look forward to being part of IFFM 2022. It's a great platform for celebrating the best in Indian cinema. I truly do believe that sports and cinema are two major cultural experiences for not only Indians but various communities and countries that bind us together. It's something for decades now that has united people. It's a deep-rooted emotional connection and love we have for both cinema and sports, and when they come together it's a rewarding experience for everyone."

IFFM is set to take place in the Victorian capital from 12-20 August 2022 both in person and virtually. Before the world was hit by a pandemic, in 2019 the festival was hosted by the likes of Shahrukh Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Tabu, Vijay Sethupathi, Rima Das, Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar amongst others. In 2020 and 2021, the festival was held virtually. Speaking of the festival and its coming back physically, the festival director, Mitu Bhowmick Lange, said, "We are absolutely delighted to have IFFM come back physically this year alongside exciting virtual programming. To have with us a legendary cricketer, Kapil Dev in honour of a film based on his iconic 83 World Cup Win, we are excited to have him in Melbourne.

Being a city of cinema and cricket lovers alike, we are certain the audiences will be excited to see him here. The festival this year has over 100 films from across the Indian sub-continent and we are excited to celebrate Indian cinema in all its glory and diversity".

#thecommunique #tc #tcn #kapildev #IFFM2022 #tc4iffm2022