Flos: Foreign Language Oscar Submissions
Rima Das and I first met in 2016 when I gave the Cannes Producer Workshop Tour of the Marché. Then she was making ‘Man with the Binoculars : Antardrishti’. We met again in Tallinn at the Black Nights Film Festival where her film ‘Village Rockstars’ was playing. Since that time, she has made her third film, ‘Bulbul Can Sing’ which premiered in Toronto in 2018 and showed again at the AFI Fest this fall when we caught up again and had a long discussion of her short career which has succeeded to such an extent that ‘Village Rockstars’ was submitted by India for Academy Award consideration for Best Foreign Language Film.Dhunu is played by Bhanita Das in ‘Village Rockstars’
Village Rockstars premiered at Tiff 2017 (Toronto Ff), played in San Sebastian, Goteborg and more than 70 other festivals.
The Hollywood Reporter aptly describes it as “A film that...
Rima Das and I first met in 2016 when I gave the Cannes Producer Workshop Tour of the Marché. Then she was making ‘Man with the Binoculars : Antardrishti’. We met again in Tallinn at the Black Nights Film Festival where her film ‘Village Rockstars’ was playing. Since that time, she has made her third film, ‘Bulbul Can Sing’ which premiered in Toronto in 2018 and showed again at the AFI Fest this fall when we caught up again and had a long discussion of her short career which has succeeded to such an extent that ‘Village Rockstars’ was submitted by India for Academy Award consideration for Best Foreign Language Film.Dhunu is played by Bhanita Das in ‘Village Rockstars’
Village Rockstars premiered at Tiff 2017 (Toronto Ff), played in San Sebastian, Goteborg and more than 70 other festivals.
The Hollywood Reporter aptly describes it as “A film that...
- 12/28/2018
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
In the wetlands of northeast India, a group of kids had a dream to make it big as a rock band. Their instruments weren’t real, but that didn’t matter. Their dream was real.
“Children can dream no matter where they come from,” director Rima Das told TheWrap’s Steve Pond at a Q&A on Monday following a screening of her film “Village Rockstars,” India’s entry into the Oscar foreign film race.
The children’s dream and one camera were the only ingredients necessary to make “Village Rockstars,” a story following 10-year-old Dhunu, a young girl (played by Bhanita Das) with a dream to get a guitar and start a band with some friends. Her dream remains strong despite the world around her. Dhunu’s village is constantly hit with heavy floods and her widowed mother (Basanti Das) constantly battles adversity to support the family.
Also Read:...
“Children can dream no matter where they come from,” director Rima Das told TheWrap’s Steve Pond at a Q&A on Monday following a screening of her film “Village Rockstars,” India’s entry into the Oscar foreign film race.
The children’s dream and one camera were the only ingredients necessary to make “Village Rockstars,” a story following 10-year-old Dhunu, a young girl (played by Bhanita Das) with a dream to get a guitar and start a band with some friends. Her dream remains strong despite the world around her. Dhunu’s village is constantly hit with heavy floods and her widowed mother (Basanti Das) constantly battles adversity to support the family.
Also Read:...
- 11/20/2018
- by Omar Sanchez
- The Wrap
CinemaYes, there is a steady layer of pain and deprivation in this child's journey, but we are not allowed to trespass and rightfully so.Sankeertana VarmaWhen the women in the village scold Dhunu and threaten her with punishment for hanging out with boys, it angers her mother. She questions why no one is bothered that she does both a man’s and woman’s work in her household. She says this three times—‘I do everything.’ There is a pain in her voice, an uncharacteristic helplessness. And there is no one to answer; or rather there is no answer. Rima Das’ Village Rockstars (Assamese) is filled with many such poignant moments of silence—at times peaceful, at times deafening—where the message waits for you to find it, rather than handing itself to you. If you don’t like reading between the lines, then this film might not be for you.
- 10/9/2018
- by Sowmya
- The News Minute
The Film Federation of India has chosen Rima Das’ “Village Rockstars” as the country’s entry to the Oscars foreign-language category. The film follows a 10-year-old growing up in straitened circumstances in a flood-prone village in the state of Assam, with ambitions of starting her own rock band.
“Rockstars’ premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It has played the global festival circuit since and has won multiple awards including best film, best film on gender equality and the young critics award at the Mumbai Film Festival; best artistic contribution at Cairo; and best original score at Buenos Aires.
At India’s national film awards “Village Rockstars” won best film and best editing for Rima Das, best child actress for the lead Bhanita Das, and best sound for Mallika Das.
Variety reviewer, Maggie Lee wrote: “In “Village Rockstars,” tucked away in an Indian backwater, a moppet has rock ‘n’ roll dreams,...
“Rockstars’ premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It has played the global festival circuit since and has won multiple awards including best film, best film on gender equality and the young critics award at the Mumbai Film Festival; best artistic contribution at Cairo; and best original score at Buenos Aires.
At India’s national film awards “Village Rockstars” won best film and best editing for Rima Das, best child actress for the lead Bhanita Das, and best sound for Mallika Das.
Variety reviewer, Maggie Lee wrote: “In “Village Rockstars,” tucked away in an Indian backwater, a moppet has rock ‘n’ roll dreams,...
- 9/22/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
CinemaWhile Fahadh has been nominated for ‘Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum’, Keerthy has been nominated for her performance in ‘Mahanati’.Digital NativeDigital NativeThe Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (Iffm) is scheduled to take place from August 10 - 22. On the jury are Simi Garewal, Nikkhil Advani, Sue Maslin, Jill Bilcock, Andrew Anastasios and Geoffrey Wright who will be selecting winners under these categories – Best Film, Best Indie Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Role and Best Director. A majority of the films competing for the awards are from Bollywood, such as Padman, Hichki, Padmaavat, Sanju, Secret Superstar and Raazi. Two Tollywood films, Mahanati and Rangasthalam, are also in the competition for the Best Film award. The nominees for the Best Actor award are Ranbir Kapoor (Sanju), Varun Dhawan (October), Fahadh Faasil (Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum), Ranveer Singh (Padmaavat), Akshay Kumar (Padman), Manoj Bajpayee (In the Shadows), Soumitra Chatterjee (Mayurakshi) and Shahid Kapoor (Padmaavat). The heroines vying for the Best Actress award are Keerthy Suresh (Mahanati), Rani Mukerji (Hichki), Vidya Balan (Tumhari Sulu), Deepika Padukone (Padmaavat), Alia Bhatt (Raazi), Bhanita Das (Village Rockstars), Tillotama Shome (Sir) and Zaira Wasim (Secret Superstar). In the Best Director category, the nominations are Rajkumar Hirani (Sanju), Shoojit Sircar (October), R Balki (Padman), Siddharth P Malhotra (Hichki), Advait Chandan (Secret Superstar), Dipesh Jain (In the Shadows), Ere Gowda (Balekempa), Suresh Triveni (Tumhari Sulu), Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Padmaavat), Rima Das (Village Rockstars), Meghna Gulzar (Raazi), Tabrez Noorani (Love Sonia) and Rohena Gera (Sir). Samantha Akkineni has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for her performance in Mahanati. A galaxy of stars, including Freida Pinto, Rani Mukerji, Vicky Kaushal, Ram Charan, Richa Chadha, Rajkumar Hirani, Ali Fazal, Simi Garewal and Malaika Arora, will attend this year’s Iffm. Legendary actors Shashi Kapoor and Sridevi, who passed away recently, will be honoured with special screenings of their iconic films Siddhartha and Chandni, respectively. Also read: Marathon hearing on Section 377 concludes, Sc reserves verdict (Content provided by Digital Native)...
- 7/17/2018
- by Monalisa
- The News Minute
Set in rural Assam, where the backwaters of India can almost leave you desperately moving your entire life in a wooden boat, Dhunu (Bhanita Das) – a young girl on the brink of puberty wishes to form a rock band. Even though she defies multiple norms set by the repressive, culturally appropriate elders of the village – the ones that want her to stop climbing trees like a boy while learning supposedly ‘womanly-ethics,’ her imagination and sincerity make us vouch for her. Supported by a single mother who is as important as the little girl in this quiet tale with cardboard dreams, Rima Das’s Dhunnu feels like a character made out of her own soul.
“Village Rockstars” runs as part of the 9th edition of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, that runs at 15 cinemas, across London, Birmingham and Manchester, from 21st June to 1st July, with 27 films, including features and short films,...
“Village Rockstars” runs as part of the 9th edition of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, that runs at 15 cinemas, across London, Birmingham and Manchester, from 21st June to 1st July, with 27 films, including features and short films,...
- 6/8/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
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