13th River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival: From Ganges to Arno … and Tiber! #R2RFIFF

Shabana Azmi (Photo: Bollywood Hungama / License: CC BY 3.0)

My final (and favourite!) film festival of the year always is the lovely River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival in Florence/Italy (flickr photo album). This year (2013), its 13th edition will take place from Friday, November 22, until Thursday, November 28, at beautiful Cinema Odeon on Piazza Strozzi, followed by a weekend in Rome (November 29 to December 1) at Nuovo Cinema Aquila, via L’Aquila 68).

The programme has just been released today.

Following 2012’s special guest Amitabh Bachchan (video below), this year’s guest of honour will be Shabana Azmi (photo). Wikipedia: „(…) She made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of Parallel Cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and neo-realism. (…) Azmi has appeared in over 120 Hindi films in both mainstream and independent cinema, and since 1988 she has acted in several foreign projects.“

Some of her best works, including Shyam Benegal’s „Ankur“, Mahesh Bhatt’s „Arth“, Vinay Shukla’s „Godmother“ and Deepa Mehta’s „Fire“, will be screened during a retrospective.

Festival trailer

River to River 2012: Q&A with Amitabh Bachchan
During a Q&A session at River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival, I asked Amitabh Bachchan about the differences between working for Bollywood and Hollywood movies.

The location of River to River in Florence: Cinema Odeon

Previous posts about River to River

• Shukriya, Amitabh Bachchan! (Celebrating 100 Years of Indian Cinema at River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival)
• YouTube: „Gandu“ director Q. on his soundtrack choices … and why he is sick of Bengali music
• YouTube: „Gandu“ director Q. on being self-taught
• YouTube: „Gandu“ director Q. on guerrilla marketing and having a torrent hit
• YouTube: „Gandu“ director Q. on the meaning of the title term
• YouTube: „Gandu“ director Q. on the first (and last) screening in India (at a beachside film festival)
• YouTube: „Gandu“ director Q. answers an audience question about his courage
• YouTube: „Gandu“ director Q. on the audience reaction he expected at „River to River“
• From Ganges to Arno: 11th River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival
• Aparna Sen and Rahul Bose at River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival
• Qype: River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival in Florenz (in German)
• Flickr post about my first visit in 2005

River to River Facebook fan page / Facebook event page / Twitter hashtag: #R2RFIFF / My 2013 River to River tweets

While we’re at it …
Save the date: 11th Indian Film Festival in Stuttgart (July 16-20, 2014)
I particularly enjoyed the 10th edition of the Indian Film Festival in Stuttgart in July 2013 (my 2012 review) because my friend Selvaggia Velo, director of River to River, was present as a member of the short film jury again. It was fun hanging out with her and various Indian festival guests, including Vikram Dasgupta (director of the brilliant short „Calcutta Taxi“ which I had enjoyed in Florence last year already) and actor Vipin Sharma („Calcutta Taxi“ and „Gangs of Wasseypur“, another Florence favourite from 2012). The above photo was shot at 3 a.m. on the festival’s red carpet by a security guard, after a night out on the town.

Preview page of Indian Film Festival 2014 at Stuttgart.de

Peter Jebsen