Pickle EFM 2017 Berlinale Edition

INDIA @ EUROPEAN FILM MARKET 2017 BERLIN F E BR UA RY 2017

17-26 MAY 2017

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GLOBAL EXHIBITION ON SERVICES

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JOIN US TO MAKE THE BEST OF INDIA’S ENTERTAINMENT ECONOMY Block your diary 17 to 20 April 2017, to be part of the Global Exhibition on Services. GES will bring media and entertainment service providers, content buyers, location & production services under one platform.

GES will enable service providers to explore M&E service solutions in the emerging digital world.

17 - 20 APRIL 2017 INDIA EXPO CENTRE & MART GREATER NOIDA, INDIA

FOR MORE DETAILS WRITE TO

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INDIA @ EUROPEAN FILM MARKET 2017 BERLIN F E BR UA RY 2017

17-26 MAY 2017

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DISCOVER

DISCUSS

GLOBAL EXHIBITION ON SERVICES

Join 11 500+ attendees

REGISTER TODAY > www.marchedufilm.com

+ Bronx (Paris) www.bronx.fr

JOIN US TO MAKE THE BEST OF INDIA’S ENTERTAINMENT ECONOMY Block your diary 17 to 20 April 2017, to be part of the Global Exhibition on Services. GES will bring media and entertainment service providers, content buyers, location & production services under one platform.

GES will enable service providers to explore M&E service solutions in the emerging digital world.

17 - 20 APRIL 2017 INDIA EXPO CENTRE & MART GREATER NOIDA, INDIA

FOR MORE DETAILS WRITE TO

neetu.sikka@cii.in | www.gesdelhi.in

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Join the biggest names and brightest minds

T O R O N T O I N T E R N AT I O N A L F I L M F E S T I VA L September 7 – 17

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EFM INDUSTRY DEBATES 2017 FEB 1012 GROPIUS MIRROR RESTAURANT NIEDERKIRCHNERSTRASSE

Hosted by

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FRIDAY 16:00–17:00

Online Distribution: Promise and Reality Online distribution promises to be the savior of the independent production industry, providing a long-tail global audience for even the most niche art house films and TV productions. But how does the promise of online distribution match up to the reality? How can independent producers best use the Internet to both finance productions and recoup on their investment? And how can an indie producer or director assess the real value of their films on the global market?

MODERATOR Scott Roxborough THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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SATURDAY 16:00–17:00

New Prospects: Challenges and Opportunities in the Arab Film Industry The Arab world is growing significantly as a market and producer of films. But growth has been uneven, with screens and investment increasing in areas like the Gulf but lagging in countries such as Egypt. Meanwhile, Arab producers and directors face creative and commercial challenges as pay-TV and SVOD gain ground. What are the region’s prospects? The panel will present fresh data on Arab cinema and discuss how best to navigate a growing but tricky market. The Arab film industry exemplifies how a region can quickly adapt through new impulses from the industry and a changing demand from audiences.

MODERATOR Nick Vivarelli VARIETY

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SUNDAY 16:00–17:00

Market Innovation 2017: How to Get Things Moving?

With its new “EFM Horizon” platform, the EFM offers various initiatives focusing on the film industry of the future. “EFM Horizon” sets out to help discover the latest technological developments and forwardlooking trends and to take advantage of networks in sectors bordering the audio-visual industry. The panel introduces entrepreneurs with strategies that will shape the future in distribution and marketing of films and potentially attract new audiences. The new Propellor Film Tech Hub, of which EFM is a founding partner, is setting up an incubator programme for the development of new distribution and marketing prototypes, and will present its strategy for 2017 and 2018.

MODERATOR Wendy Mitchell Contributing Editor SCREEN INTERNATIONAL Panel discussions are followed by networking cocktail (17:00–17:30).

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Where Content Makes It Big.

MIPTV market 3-6 April 2017 MIPDoc and MIPFormats 1-2 April 2017 MIPDrama Screenings 2 April 2017 More drama, new series and new formats. All new hits for every screen. Forge big partnerships and deals at MIPTV, the global TV and digital content marketplace. With 11,000 decisionmakers, including 3,900 acquisition executives, beneďŹ t from big opportunities to launch and license new programmes, ďŹ nance projects and discover new talent and trends.

Cannes, France

Registration miptv.com

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Driving the content economy

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Conferences: April 22–27, 2017 Exhibits: April 24–27 Las Vegas Convention Center | Las Vegas, Nevada USA

From creation to consumption, across multiple platforms and countless nationalities, NAB Show® is home to the solutions that transcend traditional broadcasting and embrace content delivery in new ways. Welcome to the intersection of media, technology and entertainment.

103,000+ MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT PROFESSIONALS

FROM 160+ COUNTRIES

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Join Us! #NABShow

my

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Where Factual Content Makes It Big.

MIPTV market 3-6 April 2017 MIPDoc and MIPFormats 1-2 April 2017 MIPDrama Screenings 2 April 2017 Factual content is as big as life at MIPDoc, the world’s largest factual screenings library, conference and co-production marketplace. Live the biggest weekend in unscripted content, discover the hottest new programmes and get a head start on business before MIPTV.

Cannes, France

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Your Gateway To Indian Entertainment Biz INDIAN ENTERTAINMENT BIZ GUIDE FEBRUARY 2016

INDIAN ENTERTAINMENT BIZ GUIDE

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MARKET 2016

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BEST INDIAN FILMS

COLORS A Journey Of Ideas

of THIS NEW MILLENNIUM

BLOCKBUSTERS MASTERSTROKES MAVERICK MOVIES BREAKOUTS LONE RANGERS

16 Indian Films to Watch Out For in 2016

Eight years on, COLORS continues to grow from strength to strength taking on every challenge thrown in its path helped by the incredible idea that differentiates the brand from others. An insightful chat with Raj Nayak Nayak, CEO, COLORS, the flagship entertainment channel of Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd

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ETERNAL SUPERSTAR Rajinikanth is not just an actor, but a phenomenon. With his Lingaa getting ready to hit the screens on his 63rd birthday on December 12 amid huge expectations, the demigod, who was honoured for his lifetime achievement at the IFFI 2014, remains cool and casual. A proďŹ le by Pickle

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INDIAN ENTERTAINMENT BIZ GUIDE INDIA AT CANNES FILM

India at EFM Berlin

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Join the biggest names and brightest minds

T O R O N T O I N T E R N AT I O N A L F I L M F E S T I VA L September 7 – 17

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Industry early-bird registration opens May 5 tiff.net/industry

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Game y Cinema February 10, 2017 MGB Kino (Niederkirchnerstr. 7, 10963 Berlin)

The local multiplayer event “Game y Cinema” combines cinema and computer games in a shared gaming experience that will play out on the big screen.

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EFM Startups February 13 Berliner Freiheit (Berliner Freiheit 2, 10785 Berlin) EFM Startups initiative, will bring the film industry together with thought leaders and mavericks from the tech scene, is continuing under the umbrella of EFM Horizon.

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VR NOW Con Business Mixer February 13 Berliner Freiheit It will feature an international lineup of virtual reality experts . “Virtual reality, 360°, MR [mixed reality] and AR [augmented reality] are the new buzz in next steps in cinema.

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Con ixer 13 iheit re an neup of experts y, 360°, ality] ented e new eps in

EFM Opens With Optimism s the first film market of the year, the European Film Market (EFM), part of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, opened on a high note. The exhibition spaces at Martin-Gropius-Bau and the Marriott Hotel at Potsdamer Platz are buzz with activity and more than 9,000 producers, exhibitors, world sales, buyers and financiers are at Berlin.

A

The talking point at EFM is the Streaming and VOD market which are showing signs of increasingly becoming new normal. The disruption is already visible and 2017 will have clear answers on the future of film distribution in global and regional markets.

New initiatives such as the “Berlinale Africa Hub” and “EFM Horizon” provide forward-looking impetuses.

“Drama Series Days”, presented by the EFM and the Berlinale Co-Production Market, has been expanded and moved into a new venue. Mexico will be the first “Country in Focus”.

The Next Level of Cinema February 14 Audi Berlinale Lounge Leading companies and creatives provide interested distributors, sales agents, producers, exhibitors and cinema operators with insight into the challenges facing the film industry of the future.

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The new EFM Horizon program (presented by Audi) will feature five events. EFM continues with its established and successful segments “EFM Asia”, “Meet the Docs”, “American Independents in Berlin”, “EFM Producers Hub”, the “EFM Industry Debates” and LOLA at Berlinale.

“The European Film Market is one of the most important film markets world-wide and, since it’s at the start of the year, it’s a key seismograph for the year to come. The EFM is a trend-setter that keeps abreast of the radical changes in the industry”, says EFM director Matthijs Wouter Knol.

“There has rarely been as much movement and such a sense of euphoria in the film industry as there is now. We’re responding to that with our broad range of initiatives. At the same time, it’s extremely important that we provide optimal surroundings that offer dependability and stability in terms of infrastructure and content”, adds EFM president Beki Probst.

2/8/2017 4:00:58 PM

INDIA AT BERLIN

A Broad Palette A quartet of independent films from India on show in Berlinale 2017 bear testimony to the health and dynamism of a lively cinematic tradition that exists and thrives outside the mainstream movie industry

By Saibal Chatterjee

Loktak Lairembee (Lady of the Lake)

by Haobam Paban Kumar

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2/8/2017 4:00:58 PM

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quartet of independent films from India on show in Berlinale 2017 bear testimony to the health and dynamism of a lively cinematic tradition that exists and thrives outside the mainstream movie industry India is represented in Berlinale 2017 by two independent titles in Forum, one experimental cinematic work in Forum Expanded and a short film in the Generation Kplus competition, besides Gurinder Chadha’s historical drama set in the last days of the British Raj. These films, collectively and off the screen, tell a story about how moving images are produced and consumed on the subcontinent as well as about how international festival programmers approach the output of the world’s most prolific moviemaking nation.

While these films straddle a spectrum of themes and creative credos, none belongs to the mainstream. Not by a long chalk.

That’s a sure sign that the spirit of cinematic independence, no matter what the naysayers say, is strong and thriving in a vast country forever in the thrall of superstars and their crowd-pleasing extravaganzas.

The 67th Berlin Film Festival will host the world premiere of Amit V. Masurkar’s sophomore venture Newton, a “black comedy” set in election-time Chhattisgarh, a central Indian state, and featuring Rajkummar Rao in the lead role.

Included in the Berlin Forum, Newton, which has clear political undertones, is about a lowly government official who is sent on election duty to a conflict zone.

Despite receiving little help from the

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deployed security forces and facing the threat of a Maoist attack, he does all he can to ensure free and fair polling.

Masurkar’s first film SulemaniKeeda was set in the safer domain of the Mumbai movie industry and dealt with two scriptwriters struggling for a break. Newton, as the synopsis suggests, goes much further afield and turns the focus as much on the political as the personal.

The new Masurkar feature is the latest in a string of independent productions backed by Drishyam Films that have travelled to festivals around the world – Masaan, Umrika, Dhanak and Waiting.

The second Indian film in the Forum is the multiple award-winning Manipuri documentarian HaobamPaban Kumar’s much applauded first narrative feature Loktak Lairembee (Lady of the Lake).

It is a minimalist and evocative cinematic essay that portrays a pastoral lifestyle under siege – a key metaphor for the unending conflict that Paban’ssmall home state in northeast India has been in the grip of.

Loktak Lairembee is the first Manipuri feature-length fiction film to make it to a major international film festival since Aribam Syam Sharma’s Ishanou was screened in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991.

Loktak Lairembee explores the mind of a fisherman who lives in a hut on a floating biomass (phum, in the local language) and is under constant threat of eviction by a government that holds that the dwellings in the river are putting the ecology at risk. One day the protagonist finds a gun.

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Aaba (Grandfather)

by Amar Kaushik

Amar Kaushik, a Mumbai filmmaker, has India’s only title in the competition in Berlinale 2017. The short film, Aaba (Grandfather), is vying for a Crystal Bear in Generation Kplus Nothing is the same again.

The Berlinale outing for LoktakLairembee, loosely adapted from the short story Nongmei by SudhirNaoroibam,is the film’s European premiere. It was first screened outside of India at the 21st Busan International Film Festival last September.

It then won the Golden Gateway Award at the 18thJio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in October. It also made the Indian Panorama cut for the 47th International Film Festival of India, Goa. In January, LoktakLairembee bagged the Special Jury Award at the 15th Pune International Film Festival.

“Berlinale was the festival that I was particularly keen. I am hoping LoktakLairembee will now travel further from here and that I will get somebody good to come on board to represent the film internationally,” says Paban Kumar.

In Forum Expanded, India’s entry is experimental filmmaker Ashish Avikunthak’s Bengali-languageAapothkalinTrikalika (The Kali of Emergency). It is the first-ever feature-length film from India in the segment since its inception in 2006. The 79-minute film, an Indo-German co-production was in the making for seven years.

The director’s note for AapothkalinTrikalikareads: “During social and political

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Aapothkalin Trikalika (The Kali of Emergency)

by Ashish Avikunthak

turmoil what is the manifestation of divine intervention? How do the Gods and Goddesses act in the volatility of the contemporary world? If they walk on earth as men and women, how do they endure the chaos of modernity? Centering on the terrible and the majestic incarnations of Goddess Kali and Her celestial avatars, this film is a metaphysical contemplation in times of perpetual emergencies.”

Avikunthak, who teaches in the Harrington School of Communication and Media of the University of Rhode Island (URI), is known for films underlined by rigorous experiments with form and content.

So fiercely independent and challenging are his films that they do not play in regular movie theatres but in art galleries and museums. A social and cultural anthropologist, Avikunthak has been making experimental films for over two decades.

AapothkalinTrikalika is his fifth featurelength cinematic essay.

In an interview posted on the URI website, Avikunthak says of AapothkalinTrikalika: “This film is a profound political and religious commentary on the state of perpetual and perennial emergencies we live in. It is not a report; but a philosophical comment of the world we live and inhabit, which is deeply vitiated and highly divisive.”

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Newton is the latest in a string of independent productions backed by Drishyam Films that have travelled to festivals around the world – Masaan, Umrika, Dhanak and Waiting

NEWTON

by Amit V. Masurkar

Viceroy’s House

by Gurinder Chadha

He adds: “For me, its selection is an important acknowledgment by the curators of the Berlin International Film Festival of not just my work, but also the state of intense despair we live in. Although filmed in India, this film has a metaphoric symbolism to a new regime of perpetual emergencies we have entered with Donald Trump as president of the United States.”

Another Indo-German venture, the experimental short film Camera Threat, directed by Bernd Lutzeler, is also in Forum Expanded. Set in the innards of the Mumbai movie industry, the film probes the fraught relationship between the city and the moving image.

Camera Threat has been described as “an expanded multi-genre within the constraints of the so-called masala formula”.

The synopsis of the film says: “Seated on a casting couch, two actors are getting trapped in their impromptu conversations on the unwanted side-effects of a world that no longer bothers to tell facts from fiction.”

Amar Kaushik, a Mumbai filmmaker who comes from a decidedly more mainstream space, has India’s only title in the competition in Berlinale 2017. The short film, Aaba (Grandfather), is vying for a Crystal Bear in Generation Kplus.

Set in remote Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh,

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Aabais about an orphan girl from the Apatani tribe who learns that her beloved grandfather is terminally ill. The film, which features non-actors, including village elder Dani Randa and his real-life granddaughter Sunku, pares storytelling down its most elementary form.

Kaushik has been in the Mumbai movie industry for nearly a decade. He assisted Rajkumar Gupta on Aamir and was the associate director of No One Killed Jessica.

The Berlin Generation section, designed for young audiences, has been a happy ground for India in recent years, with several films from the subcontinent (Gattu, Killa, Dhanak) returning with prizes.

Gurinder Chadha’s latest film, Viceroy’s House, a historical drama set in the tumultuous final months of the British Raj in India, screens Out of Competition.

Indian cinema observers will have their eyes on Viceroy’s House for two reasons – Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi plays a key role as an interpreter to Lord Mountbatten and Lady Edwina Mountbatten while the film also features Om Puri in his last screen role.

Viceroy’s House, scheduled for global release in early March, has a multinational cast featuring High Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal and NeerajKabi (as Mahatma Gandhi).

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INDIA AT EFM

TOP INDIAN M&E COMPANIES AT EFM ALLIANCE MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT Alliance Media & Entertainment’s objective at EFM is to acquire (including remake rights) of Film, Short Films, Documentaries and TV movies and TV Series for distribution in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, SriLanka, Malaysia and Singapore and Distribution of the acquired premium content to broadcasters - Pay TV, Free TV, VOD operators, Internet, Home Video, and other platforms like Airline, etc.

BOMBAY BERLIN FILM PRODUCTION LLP

BBFP’s focus at EFM is to meet directors and writers, as well as investors, distributors and sales companies for new projects for the International market. Further, they are looking forward to meet producers and broadcasters, who search for line producers in Europe and India.

CINESTAAN Cinestaan is a boutique film studio championing Indian stories that will resonate worldwide. Formed by an international group of industry professionals. They aim to build a modern studio nurturing and continuing India’s rich cinematic legacy supporting both national and international filmmakers producing and distributing films for a global audience.

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PVR PICTURES PVR Pictures is the motion picture arm of the largest cinema exhibition company in India. Its objective at EFM is to acquire all rights for Hollywood films and other language films for India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Maldives, Pakistan.

CUSTARD APPLE PICTURES Custard Apple is a leading international sales, distribution and production company of independent and commercial films. The company seeks to represent and distribute distinctive quality films for theatrical release in India & internationally. The company has a passioned team to sell films with the same spirit as filmmaker had in creating it.

LOKAA ENTERTAINMENT They are looking to sell two of their award winning, high content driven North Eastern films from the valley of Shillong. Also, they are looking for partners to collaborate with us on various levels on their upcoming film; Shanthi, A powerful true story of India’s star athlete who was ‘failed’ in a gender test and continues to fight for justice.

RUNAWAY LUMINOSITY DISTRIBUTION LLP Runaway is a full service entertainment company engaged in acquisition of films (e.g. “CITIZENFOUR”) for international domestic theatrical and digital distribution.They also look at finishing funds for under production features and documentaries. Runaway has also produced multiple TV shows and is interested in formats.

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69TH BERLINALE PREVIEW

A Bear Hunt to SAVOUR The 2017 Berlin Competition promises to be wide open and, therefore, hugely exciting. Given the depth and range of the contenders, Paul Verhoeven and his jury will have no easy golden and silver picks

By Saibal Chatterjee

T

he 24 films that constitute the main program of Berlinale 2017 – 18 of which make up the Competition lineup – represent an exciting gamut of cinematic voices from around the world, including several that belong to celebrated auteurs with a global fan following.

Among the names vying for the Golden and Silver Bears in Berlin this year are Finland’s Aki Kaurismaki, Poland’s Agnieszka Holland, South Korea’s Hong Sang-soo and Germany’s Volker Schlondorff.

Standing alongside these big guns of world cinema, one director who is likely to receive more critical attention than usual is Calin Peter Netzer. The Romanian’s third feature Child’s Pose won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear in 2013.

Four years on, Netzer is heading back to the PotsdamerPlatz with his latest film, Ana, Mon Amour, the story of a couple whose relationship is put under severe strain by mental illness. Will he pull off another surprise?

While Europe dominates the Competition selection, it does have four women directors and three films from Asia. Also in the 2017 Berlinale Competition are two first-time directors, Austrian actor Josef Hader and

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Pokot (Spoor)

by Agnieszka Holland (Poland / Germany / Czech Republic / Sweden / Slovakian Republic)

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veteran French screenwriter and producer Etienne Comar.

Comar is on a Bear hunt with the festival’s opening film Django, a biopic of jazz legend Django Reinhardt, the father of ‘Gypsy Swing’ who fled Nazi Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone) persecution in German-occupied Paris by Hong Sangsoo (Republic of Korea - South Korea) in the 1940s. The film stars FrenchAlgerian actor Reda Kateb in the title music critic who plots revenge on his role. Django, co-written by Comar, also boss after he loses his job in a Vienna has Cecile de France playing a stellar newspaper. role.

Oscar and Palme d’Or-winning Volker Hader will seek to tame the Golden Bear Schlondorff, a key figure in the New Gerwith Wilde Maus (Wild Mouse), which man Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, is in has him in a pivotal onscreen role as well. the running for the Golden Bear with ReWild Mouse is the story of a renowned turn to Montauk, starring StellanSkarsgard and Nina Hoss.

Based on a story by Swiss writer Max Frisch, Return to Montauk is about a married writer who visits New York for a book release and falls in love with a young woman. Many years later, he, now in his 60s, returns to the city and reestablishes contact with her.

Another German director, Thomas Arslan,is in the reckoning with HelleNachte (Bright Nights), in which a father tries to reconnect with a son he has not communicated with for a long time and takes the latter for a car trip across Norway.

Arslan’s films have figured in the Berlinale Forum and Panorama in the past. Helle Nachte is, however, only his second film to make the Berlin Competition cut after 2013’s Nina Hoss-starrer Gold.

Among the names vying for the Golden and Silver Bears are Finland’s Aki Kaurismaki, Poland’s Agnieszka Holland, South Korea’s Hong Sang-soo and Germany’s Volker Schlondorff 18

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Mr. Lo

by Sa

Alone)

Teströl és lélekröl (On Body and Soul)

by Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary)

Mr. Long

by Sabu (Japan / Hong Kong, China / Taiwan / Germany)

Two other widely lauded European auteurs – Holland and Kaurismaki – are expected to be strong contenders in this field.

Holland’s Spoor, adapted from a bestselling ‘moral thriller’ by contemporary Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk (Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead), is about a woman who settles down in a small mountain village on the Czech-Polish border after retiring as a construction engineer.

She becomes a murder suspect as a series of unexplained deaths take place in the village after her beloved dogs go missing without a trace.

In The Other Side of Hope, Kaurismaki’s first film since 2011’s Le Havre, the path of a Finnish restaurateur and former itinerant salesman crosses that of a Syrian refugee in Helsinki.

The Other Side of Hope is the second part of a trilogy of stories that the director proposes to set in port cities. It began with Le Havre. The refugee crisis that Europe – and the world – is currently in the grip of makes Kaurismaki’s new film especially topical.

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Prolific Korean master Hong Sangsoo, winner of the Locarno Golden Leopard in 2015 (for Right Now, Wrong Then) and the Cannes Prix Un Certain Regard in 2010 (for Hahaha),will be a strong presence in the Berlinale Competition with On the Beach at Night Alone…

British director Sally Potter’s Competition entry The Partyis a “political fable” described by the producers as “a comedy wrapped around a tragedy”.The cast of the film is bound to attract attention: it includes Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Kristin Scott Thomas and Timothy Spall.

Hungarian director IldikoEnyedi, winner

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The Competition also has an animated feature film – the first-ever from China to make it to the Golden Bear race -- Have a Nice Day directed by Liu Jian LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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2/8/2017 4:01:09 PM

The Party

by Sally Potter (United Kingdom)

Ana, mon amour

by Caˇlin Peter Netzer (Romania / Germany / France)

Django

by Etie

Helle Nächte (Bright Nights)

by Thomas Arslan (Germany / Norway)

Return to Montauk by Volker Schlöndorff

by Volker Schlöndorff (France / Germany / Ireland)

The Di

by Oren

of the Camera d’Or in Cannes in 1989 for My 20th Century, returns to cinema with her fifth fiction feature On Body and Soul.

She is a veteran of sorts on the festival circuit having had two films figure in the Venice Competition (The Magic Hunter, 1994; Tamas and Juli, 1997).

On Body and Soul tells an unusual love story that revolves around the dualities of sleeping and waking,of mind and matter. The film poses several questions: “What would happen if you met someone who dreamt the same as you or, to be more precise, had been meeting you in the same world every night for years? Would you be pleased? Or would you feel that you had been in some way robbed? And what if this specific individual didn’t exactly appeal to you? What if you actually hated that person?”

Israeli-American director Oren Moverman’s The Dinner, based on a novel of

the same name by Dutch writer Herman Koch, explores contemporary urban morality and familial compulsions through the story of two couples who meet to discuss what is to be done about a crime that has ostensibly been committed by their children.

The Dinner comes to Berlin with considerable star power. Richard Gere leads a cast that includes Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall and Chloe Sevigny.

Berlinale, which last year gave its top prize to a documentary film (Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire at Sea), has once again included a non-fiction feature in the Competition – German film and theatre director Andres Veiel’sBeuys, which is about the life and times of the controversial performance artist Joseph Beuys.

The Competition also has an animated feature film – the first-ever from China to make it to the Golden Bear race. Titled

Saibal Chatterjee is an independent New Delhibased film critic and writer who has worked on the staff of several leading publications, served on the editorial board of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s volume on Hindi cinema and authored a biography of poet-filmmaker Gulzar.

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ance)

Django

by Etienne Comar (France) – First feature

Toivon tuolla puolen (The Other Side of Hope)

by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland / Germany)

nd)

The Dinner

by Oren Moverman (USA)

Wilde Maus (Wild Mouse)

by Josef Hader (Austria) – First feature

Have a Nice Day and directed by Liu Jian, it hinges on the adventures of a man on the run after stealing a huge amount of money from his gangland boss in order to save his relationship with his girlfriend.

Another man on the run is at the heart of the Japanese entry Mr. Long, directed

by Sabu. A Taiwanese killer, after a failed mission in Tokyo, takes refuge in a small town to keep the underworld off his back.

But this is a town where the people are meddlesome and it doesn’t take the pursuing thugs to figure out the fugitive’s whereabouts.

The other Golden Bear contenders this year are Portuguese filmmaker Teresa Villaverde’s Colo; Chilean director Sebastian Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman; Fernando Perez’s Cuban film Last Days in Havana; and Senegalese helmer Alain

Gomis’ Felicite.

Berlinale 2017’s main program is completed by six Out of Competition films – Danny Boyle’s T2 Trainspotting, a sequel to his 1996 cult hit; Stanley Tucci’s Final Portrait; Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House; James Mangold’s Logan; French director Martin Provost’s The Midwife; and The Bar, a Spanish film directed by Alex de la Iglesia.

Two of the Berlinale Special screenings are expected to be become talking points: The Queen of Spain, Spanish director Fernando Trueba’s follow-up to The Girl of Your Dreams (1998) starring Penelope Cruz, and Haitian-born Raoul Peck’s historical drama The Young Karl Marx, which revolves around Marx’s friendship with Communist Manifesto co-author with Friedrich Engels in their youth.

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JOIN US TO MAKE THE BEST OF INDIA’S ENTERTAINMENT ECONOMY Q India is set to host the third Global Exhibition on Services (GES) in India Expo Centre & Mart Greater Noida from 17 to 20 April 2017.

Q Spearheaded by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, the expo is organised in association with the Confederation of India Industry (CII) and SEPC. The first Global Exhibition on Services will be a global platform to showcase the inherent strength of services sector in India.

Q The GES will bring the Indian M&E service providers under one platform to the expo. Content buyers, technology service providers, production and location executives will benefit. The GES will enable delegates to explore M&E service solutions in the new emerging digital world.

Q Media and Entertainment is among the sectors included in the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ campaign to promote creative services, production, locations and offshoring.

The cost benefits for global M&E companies is estimated to be as high as 60-70%.

Q The Indian content on screen reaches over 85 countries on all major platforms, including Netflix and iTunes. This is just the tip of the iceberg and is set to increase in the coming years. After Hollywood, Indian cinema has the highest reach (in terms of distribution for films) and reaches over 75 territories globally.

India’s strength is emotional content -- telling human stories that resonate the world over, irrespective of the language barrier.

The main objective of the event is to position India as a leader in the Service sector to the rest of the world, to tap potential for services’ exports and to draw further investment into India in the services sector.

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GES 17 - 20 April 2017 Greater Noida, India

Highlights of the Exhibition: O

O

O O O

Participation from national and international government and business leaders and corporates International players with common goals, countries to interact and showcase their strengths Multi-pronged approach to meetings, seminars, discussions Dedicated Seminars and B2B meetings/match making Facilitate deliberations on barriers to services trade For more details write to

neetu.sikka@cii.in | www.gesdelhi.in 23

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WHAT TO GET MEETING PLACE The exhibition would be a meeting place for countries, for global service sector players to forge new business relationships and enhance international trade in services

ONE-STOP SHOP GES will offer a one-stop-shop for meetings, networking and collaboration in the entertainment space. GES is the place to explore film shooting destinations across India

MAKE IN INDIA Media and Entertainment is among the sectors included in the Government of India’s “Make in India” campaign to promote creative services, production, locations and offshoring

GES M&E HIGHLIGHTS Q 100 Buyers of importance from across the world with a specific focus on the top global markets that of the US, Europe and the SAARC region Q Indian content owners/creators and service providers Q MOUs and Sale of Content - strategic collaborations and tie-ups between Indian content owners and international buyers Q Launch of the Digital platform-Media and Entertainment- creation of a Digital market place for M&E contents and services-online Q The B2B meeting zone -with digital screens for promos Q The Screening Zone - small booths for buyers to sit and view content on different screens Q The Stalls’ Display Zone -for Indian companies Q A Make in India Buyers Lounge Q The Great Indian Screen-for visionary panel discussions

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A

It’s loo a bu es s

TO GET AT GES

IA

is ors e f n n to ve ion,

ALTERNATIVE MODELS It’s a great expo to look at alternative and emerging business models especially in the services space

REJUVENATION MODE Start-ups rejuvenate economies, spur innovation, work beyond geographies and create jobs.

Meet top innovators and SMEs from the Media and Entertainment Sector

LAUNCH PAD It is a perfect launch pad for your products and services. If you are an App developer there is a great demand from companies looking at creating innovative Apps

The Indian animation and VFX entertainment industry has evolved rapidly in a very short span of time. Indian production studios and production talent have had the privilege of working with global majors like Disney, WB, DreamWorks, Sony, Viacom/Nick, BBC, Cartoon Network, Fox, Ubisoft and Zynga among several Exhibit and others engage with

Indian M&E industry under one umbrella The demand for

GES is the destination for independent filmmakers, directors, distributors, producers, talents, writers and all those who provide services to the worldwide motion picture industry

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animation services in India is growing at a reasonably quick pace owing to the increase in high-end TV shows -- this sector will grow at about 15%+ per annum over the next few years

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15 ‘BIG BUZZ’

INDIAN

FILMS O F

2 0 1 7

he range is encouraging. The films to watch out for this year are bound to provide a fair representation of the multilingual, multi-locational nature of the diverse Indian movie industry.

In here are potential blockbusters driven by major box-office stars as well as small independent films propelled purely by creative passion. A few of the titles in the latter category could well emerge as hot favourites with festival programmers and hunters of indie gems worldwide

T

By Saibal Chatterjee 26

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BAAHUBALI: THE CONCLUSION

(TELUGU/TAMIL/HINDI)

Director: S.S. Rajamouli The VFX-laden action-adventure fantasy is a sequel to 2015’s Baahubali: The Beginning. Large parts of this film were shot before the first part went into post-production. It explores the goings-on in a kingdom ruled by an evil prince. The runaway success of The Beginning ensures that The Conclusion will have no dearth of takers.

PICKLE INnot.

FACEBOOK The only worry:entertainment will it be merely more of the same?LIKE Hope www.picklemag.in 27 pickle biz guide

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2/8/2017 4:01:32 PM

KAATRU VELIYIDAI

(TAMIL)

Director: Mani Ratnam A Tamil-language romance starring Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari, KaatruVeliyidai, in the wake of Mani Ratnam’s super-successful OK Kanmani, is the story of a pilot and a doctor set in Kashmir. The film was, however, shot primarily in Ooty and parts of Ladakh. The film also has a Telugu-language version, Duet, which is scheduled for simultaneous release. The film has a musical score by A.R. Rahman. Another hit in the making?

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2/8/2017 4:01:33 PM

THE SONG OF SCORPIONS (Hindi) Dir: Anup Singh Anup Singh (Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost) returns with a fable set in Rajasthan. The Song of Scorpions revolves around a camel trader and a Manganiyar woman who employs song as an antidote to scorpion poisoning. Shot in and around Jaisalmer, the film brings together Irrfan Khan and Golshifteh Farhani in what promises to be an acting ‘duet’ to die for.We expect loads of magic

SIMRAN (Malayalam) Dir: Hansal Mehta Watch out for the mercurial Kangana Ranaut (Tanu Weds Manu, Queen) in an intense author-backed role.Simran is about a 30-year-old Gujarati divorcee in the US who is drawn into the world of crime. Directed by Hansal Mehta (Shahid, Aligarh), the film is said to have been inspired by a real-life NRI woman who robbed banks to pay off her gambling debts. Intriguing territory for both actor and director.

RAEES (Tamil)

RAHNUMA (Hindi)

Dir: Rahul Dholakia

Dir: Imtiaz Ali

Raees, jointly produced by Gauri Khan of Red Chilliesand RiteshSidhwani and Farhan Akhtar of Excel Entertainment, has Shah Rukh Khan going against type (as he did in Fan and Dear Zindagi) and donning the guise of a 1980s Gujarat bootlegger. The gangster has to match wits with a tenacious lawman (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) deployed to quash the former’s illicit empire. The cast of Raeesalso features Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.

Director Rahul Dholakia’s first foray into Bollywood mainstream.

Rahnuma will be Shah Rukh Khan’s second release of the year. The highly anticipated film is director Imtiaz Ali’s first collaboration with the Bollywood megastar and hence the excitement.

Anushka Sharma plays the 51-year-old lead actor’s romantic interest in this “unconventional love story”. Plot details are under wraps. All that is reliably known about Rahnuma is that it is being filmed across locations in Europe.

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2/8/2017 4:01:34 PM

POWER PAANDI

(Tamil)

DADDY (Hindi)

Dir: Dhanush

Dir: Ashim Ahluwalia

All eyes will be on Power Paandi primarily because the film marks the directorial debut of 33-year-old actor Dhanush. He co-produced Vetrimaaran’s Visaranai and M.Manikandan’s Kaakkaa Muttai, both of which were huge festival favourites. While Dhanush’s acting career has been going great guns, he has also displayed a keen eye for quality scripts as a producer. His maiden film as director has, therefore, aroused significant interest.

After Miss Lovely, a trippy and terrific probe into the underbelly of the soft-porn Hindi film industry of the 1980s, Ashim Ahluwalia attempts a change of pace with a biopic about Mumbai gangsterturned-politician Arun Gawli. Arjun Rampal, a mainstream Bollywood actor, plays the protagonist.

Daddy is also co-produced by mainstream player Eros Entertainment. A challenge no doubt for Ahluwalia but one whose outcome should be worth keeping an eye on.

JAGGA JASOOS (Hindi)

RANGOON (Hindi)

Dir: Anurag Basu

Dir: Vishal Bhardwaj

The much-delayed Jagga Jasoos stars Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. The breezy, quirky film is about a young detective who sets out in search of his missing father, a quest that turns into a life-altering adventure. The film reunites Ranbir Kapoor with the director of the biggest hit of his career (Barfi), Anurag Basu. If Jagga Jasoos replicates even a bit of that magic, it will be a surefire winner.

Vishal Bhardwaj (Maqbool, Omkara, Haider), in a move away from Shakespeare and present times, directs this World War II drama reportedly inspired in part by the life and times of Fearless Nadia, a fabled stunt movie actress who delivered a string of hits in her heydays. Rangoon has been described as an intense love triangle set in tumultuous times and it stars Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut.

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2/8/2017 4:01:35 PM

JONAKI (Hindi)

TUBELIGHT (Hindi)

Dir: Aditya VikramSengupta

Dir: Kabir Khan

The conceptually abstruse Jonaki is highly anticipated because it is the sophomore effort of Aditya Vikram Sengupta (Venice Best Debut Director prize winner Labour of Love). He has roped in 1960s-1970s Hindi and Bengali film actress Lolita Chatterjee to play an 80-year-old comatose woman.

Jonaki, which means firefly, is said to be a complex exploration of a mind ticking inside a lifeless body.

Unconventional fare, by all accounts.

Tubelight, an ambitious action drama set against the backdrop days of the 1962 Sino-Indian war, is helmed by Kabir Khan (EkTha Tiger, BajrangiBhaijaan). The film will be Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s customary Eid release.The ambitious period film has the actor playing opposite 32year-old Chinese actress and former MTV VJ Zhu Zhu in has the looks of a cross-cultural love story.

Could be expected to burn bright.

VIJAY-61 (Tamil)

DEVI (Bengali)

Dir: Atlee

Dir: Rick Basu

Vijay’s upcoming film, for the sake of convenience, is simply called Vijay-61. The highly anticipated project still awaits a formal title. After the super success of Theri, this flick will see the popular actor team up again with Atlee. To top it, Vijay-61 has a trio of leading ladies - Samantha, Kajal Aggarwal and Nithya Menon. It has aroused widespread interest also because this will be the 100th venture of Sri Thenandal Films. Tipped to be a commercial entertainer with some period passages, the film has been scripted by Vijayendra Prasad, father of ace director S S Rajamouli of Baahubali fame. Prasad is the man behind the scripts of his son’s blockbusters.

In the 100th year since the publication of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay’s Devdas, Kolkatabased director Rick Basu puts a flashy and daring feminist spin on one of India’s best-loved and mostadapted literary tales. The character of star-crossed alcoholic Devdas is reimagined as a drug-addled girl whose life spins out of control in inevitably tragic circumstances. The versatile Paoli Dam plays the eponymous female protagonist.

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2.0 (TAMIL)) Director: S. Shankar An eagerly awaited follow-up to 2010’s sci-fi fantasy Enthiran (Robot), S. Shankar’s 2.0 will see Rajinikanth reprising the dual role of Dr. Vaseegaran and Chitti. The film will be released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. One huge point of interest for audiences nationwide is the casting of Bollywood star Akshay Kumar as the principal antagonist. Amy Jackson plays the female lead. It’s a Rajini film. Enough said.

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2/8/2017 4:01:37 PM

Shubhra Gupta Film Critic Indian Express

Shubhra Gupta, as ďŹ lm critic with Indian Express, has been reviewing movies for more than two decades. She is witness to many changes in the industry and experienced the transition ďŹ rst-hand Pickle_Feb_Berlin_2017_Inner_Pages.indd 34

2/8/2017 4:01:37 PM

THE CHANGING FACE OF BOLLYWOOD

50 FILMS That Changed Bollywood As Shubhra saw it...

In ‘50 Films That Changed Bollywood, 1995– 2015’, Shubhra Gupta throws light on movies that redefined things in Hindi cinema. From DDLJ and Rangeela to Satya and Dev D to Queen and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, she offers a fascinating glimpse into how these films spoke to their viewers and how the viewers reacted to them.

Every week you have been religiously watching two to three new Hindi movies for over two decades. How tough is to reduce list to “50 Films That Changed Bollywood”?

It seemed like a near impossible task when I sat down to it, because I’ve lost count of the number of films I’ve watched over these decades.

To prune thousands of films over twenty years wasn’t so hard because obviously there is much more dross as compared to the gold.

To get it down from 100 to 50 was extremely difficult, because there were many worthy films which we could have included if the number was doubled.

But I had to stick to the mandated number, sigh.

The add on ‘Game Changer’ section in your book after every review is commendable and has effectively captured the mind of the filmmaker as well as the viewers. What makes a film into the game changer listing?

When a film becomes so influential that its impact is felt over the years, or is instrumental in changing the narrative of not just future

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movies, but the film industry (after DDLJ, for example, it was impossible to make romances any other way), it becomes iconic. Or it could be a film which catches the zeitgeist just by virtue of coming out at the time it did, perfectly reflecting its times.

Those are the films which I’ve chosen : They are all game changers in their own way.

Bollywood is viewed in various shades across the world and it has become a phenomenon. Bollywood is not Indian cinema -- What is Bollywood to you?

Post 1995, Hindi cinema morphed into the creature that is Bollywood today, reaching out not just to those who live in the country and its faithful fans, but to movie-goers around the world.

These movies made primarily in Mumbai ( formerly Bombay) speak to many more people globally. Some of them have broken out of the strictly NRI ( non-resident Indians) audiences which used to be their target : with the success of a film like `The Lunchbox’, for example, the idea of Bollywood has taken a giant global leap-- that it is not only song-and-danceand-drama, that it can tell universal tales with economy.

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1. Dilwale Dulahania Le Jayange 2. Rangeela 3. Bandit Queen 4. Border 5. Hero No.1

19. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S

36. Om Shanti Om

20. Hum Tum

37. Ghajini

21. Black

38. Dev D

22. Bunty Aur Babli

39. Band Baaja Baaraat

6. Dil Se

23. Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

7. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

24. My Brother,,, Nikhil

8. Satya

25. Dhoom 2

42. Delhi Belly

9. Zakhm

26. Golmaal: Fun Unlimited

43. Gangs of Wasseypur

27. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

44. Vicky Donor

10. Sarfarosh 11. Hera Pheri 12. Kaho Naa...

Pyaar Hai

29. Omkara

14. Lagaan

30. Rang De Basanti

15. Monsoon Wedding

31. Bheja Fry

17. Haasil

46. The Lunchbox 47. Ankhon Dekhi 48. Queen 48. Doom Lage Ke Haisha 49. Dum Laga Ke Haisha

33. Chak De! India

As a passionate film reviewer how do you view yourselves... as a fan of Bollywood or a critic?

I think someone who has been a film critic for a reasonable length of time-- and I have done this for over twenty years consistently without a break-- has to really love what they do. I’m not sure if I’d call myself a fan, because that word connotes a non-critical view. I try and watch as many films as I possibly can, and appreciate all good cinema, whether it is Bol-

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45. Shahid

32. Black Friday 34. Jab We Met

40. Love, Sex Aur Dhokha 41. Udaan

28. Khosla Ka Ghosla

13. Gadar; Ek Prem Katha

16. Gangaajal

36

35. Johnny Gaddaar

18. Jismi

50. Bajrangi Bhaijaan

lywood, Hollywood or from any other part of the world.

The difference is, Bollywood is mine!

In the changing face of Bollywood, which period saw rapid changes (1995-2005 or 2005 to 2015)?

I think the last twenty years have seen rapid changes through the country, some of which have been reflected in meaningful mainstream Bollywood cinema. Sometimes we can underLIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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WHAT IS IT ABOUT? The book provides a snapshot of the way Hindi cinema has progressed in the last 20 years, the years when Hindi cinema actually became Bollywood. It was necessary to document that progress as these two decades have wrought the kind of social, political, economic changes in the country not seen probably in the previous 50. And who better to document that than Shubhra Gupta, arguably India’s best film critic and journalist. The original reviews provide context and also a lookback at Shubhra’s take on a film at the time. And through the game changer section, we get a view of the connects between the films that make them symbolic of the journey Bollywood has made. The book is an important document of contemporary Hindi cinema, which has influenced and been influenced by social/economic changes during the period.

Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri Editor, HarperCollins Publishers India

stand change better if it is shown through the prism of popular culture, and certainly cinema is a great tool in this respect.

The changes have been even more fast-paced in the last five years, with story-telling, styles, and treatment shifting according to audience preference.

And this is a young, impatient audience, with so many demands on their time and attention.

If you don’t grab them fast, they are gone. And they stay gone.

Bollywood, like all other art forms, is trying to stay relevant to this growing younger audience across India and the world.

Your list ends in 2015. What would have been your pick (or picks) for 2016?

I have mentioned several movies that came out in 2016 through the course of the book, because the book came out almost at the end of last year.

I’ll let them come as a surprise for readers!

Why do film critics appreciate artistic films more than mainstream commercial films?

This is common across the world?

Hmm, I’m not sure if that can be an acrossthe-board assessment of what film critics do.

As ‘critics’ we are geared to watch and appreciate all kinds of cinema, and we train ourselves to do much of the heavy-lifting a really ‘different’ film demands, which will not serve you its wares in easy-to-digest morsels.

But that’s not to say that I, and I can only talk of myself here, do not enjoy a full-on, full-blown mainstream movie. All I want is that it should be well made, and should talk to me.

I like any film which connects with me, whether it is mainstream or arthouse.

You have not only been reviewing for over two decades, but managed to review continuously for Indian Express? How enjoyable is reviewing?

I love it. Wouldn’t swap lives with anyone. It’s challenging, frustrating, and at the same time, very rewarding!

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MAKE YOURSELF VISIBLE IN PICKLE-MAY 2017 CANNES FILM MARKET ISSUE Pickle reaches out to audio visual companies in over 50 countries; Targets global buyers and distributors; Film Festivals and markets; Animation production companies; Global companies looking at offshoring from India; Co-production seekers and location service providers. Pickle business guide tracks the entertainment business in India.

SPECIAL 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

INDIA AND BEYOND 38

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We hear voices.

3BEEP Uncommon creativity in the heart of New York City.

3B www.3beep.net

TIM WERENKO tim@3beep.net

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CHARLES DARBY charles@3beep.net

2/8/2017 4:01:41 PM

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

W

e We are delighted to present the latest issue of Pickle on the occasion of Berlinale and European Film Market 2017. India is represented in Berlinale 2017 by two independent titles in Forum, one experimental cinematic work in Forum Expanded and a short film in the Generation Kplus competition, besides Gurinder Chadha’s historical drama set in the last days of the British Raj. We are witnessing exciting times to be in the new emerging digital media world.

The Indian media ecosystem is changing fast. There are few markets in the world where you could see both traditional and new media flourishing. There are 850 TV channels, 800,000 hours of TV content output, 950 million mobile phones (550 million active mobile users , 94,000 newspapers published daily, 1,200 feature films. And, Indian start-up ecosystem is beginning to mature specially in the digital media and ecommerce space.

India already has 250 million digital screens including smartphones, tablets, laptops PCs, which are way beyond the

total number of film and TV screens in the country.

The Over-the-Top (OTT) space is gaining attraction in the Indian market with the presence of Hotstar, ErosNow, Ditto TV, HOOQ, Sony LIv. ALT Digital, Yupp TV, VOOT among others. The entry of Netflix and Amazon Prime have already impacted distribution modules especially Indian content’s reach in the global territories.

If you are have plans to visit India, schedule it around end of April and be part of the Global Exhibition on Services (17 to 20 April) , Greater Noida, India. The expo will be a global platform to showcase the inherent strength of services sector in India. India is happening place now.

Make in India, Show the World. It’s time do some serious business.

Our forthcoming April issue for MIPTV and NAB SHOW is focused on the new emerging digital consumption market in India. Pickle will also be celebrating ten anniversary in May 2017 with a special edition for Cannes Film Market.

Do drop in a line to get connected in the Indian M&E business.

n vidyasagar pickle media nvidyasagar@picklemag.in, www.picklemag.com

Pickle Volume X 3rd edition Published by Pickle Media Private Limited Email: natvid@gmail.com O Mumbai O Chennai No.2, Habib Complex Dr Durgabhai Deshmukh Road RA Puram CHENNAI 600 028

Printed by Dot Arts Private Limited, Chennai - 24.

Ph: 044-64509066,

Editorial Coordinators : M Sai Email: natvid@gmail.com

For advertising: natvid@gmail.com

C

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Pickle is an ad supported business guide tracking the filmed entertainment business in India.

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