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“Second Chance,” the directorial debut of Indian filmmaker Subhadra Mahajan, has been picked up for international sales by Thailand-based Diversion ahead of its world premiere at the 2024 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film is set to debut on July 2 in the festival’s Proxima Competition section.

The film tells the story of Nia, a young woman from the city who returns to her family home in the western Himalayas after a decade-long absence. Grappling with personal trauma, Nia forms an unexpected bond with Bhemi, an elderly mountain woman, and Sunny, a spirited young boy. As Nia begins to heal, she must confront the demons of her past while striving for a new beginning.

“Second Chance” was developed through various industry programs, including Produire Au Sud Kolkata 2020, Nfdc Film Bazaar Co-Production Market 2020 and the Cannes Marche du Co-Production Day 2021. The film also participated in the Film Independent Global Media Makers...

Exclusive: Deadline can reveal a first look at writer-director Subhadra Mahajan’s debut feature, Second Chance, which will premiere at the upcoming Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The black-and-white film from India will compete in the festival’s Proxima section, which kicks off on June 28. Set in the Pir Panjal range of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, the film follows the story young woman Nia, who after experiencing the first major trauma of her life, retreats to her family home in the Himalayas where time, nature and unlikely friendships help her heal. The caretaker of the house departs on an errand, leaving his mother-in-law Bhemi, 70, in charge along with his son Sunny, 8.

In a statement, Mahajan said that the film is inspired by some of her personal experiences, especially growing up in Himachal Pradesh — although she currently resides in Mumbai. The film features Hindi, English and Kullavi languages.

There are multiple complexities, the other world and darkness always seep into his creations. And that is because National Award-winning filmmaker Bhaskar Hazarika very casually says that he has an extremely bleak view of humanity.

“We are forever ruled strongly by our egos. Why should we assume ourselves to be the most heroic of species only because we have intelligence? This superiority complex has made us destroy so many other beings in the world. Just because we can walk on two legs does not make us special in any way. All these issues guide me when I make films, precisely why my viewpoint is so cynical,” says the director who runs a small studio that just finished its fourth movie. “Now we are making a Hindi horror film as well and an Assamese one too,” he tells Ians.

Hazarika, whose 2019 Indian Assamese-language romantic horror film ‘Aamis’ was called by many...

The first edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival (Ciff) has revealed 20 projects that will participate in its accompanying market.

Comprising 17 features and three series, several of the projects are by creators who have found acclaim both internationally and in South Asia.

From Bangladeshi auteur Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (Busan title “Something Like an Autobiography”) comes Hindi and English-language unconventional romance “To Hell With Love.” Alankrita Srivasttava (Tokyo winner “Lipstick Under My Burkha”) has English and Hindi-language drama “Girls of Orlem,” an adaptation of Lindsay Pereira’s bestselling novel “Gods and Ends.” Gurvinder Singh is prepping Hindi, Punjabi and English-language historical thriller series “The Trial.”

“#Jack” is a thriller film from Bhaskar Hazarika (Tribeca selection “Aamis”), while “Chhaal” (“The Skin”) by Don Palathara (Rotterdam title “Family”) is a folk thriller adapted from a story by Vijayan Detha. “Encounter” by Anurag Singh (the Jatt and Juliet franchise) is a drama-thriller in...

India’s Film Bazaar, South Asia’s largest film market, has selected a range of projects from around the world for its annual co-production market.

The 20 selected projects are from 11 countries, most are already structured as co-productions, and they are all South Asian-themed. From Israel, the Hebrew-language “Raju” by Dror Sabo (“Dead End”), will be produced by Lee Yardeni for My TV Productions (“Nevelot”). Rafael Kapelinski, director of Berlinale winner “Butterfly Kisses,” is at the market with English, German and Hindi-language Germany-India-France-Poland-u.K. co-production “The Distant Near,” produced by Katharina Suckale for Bombay Berlin Film Production (“Loev”).

Hindi-language Germany-Luxembourg-France co-production “Kohinoor,” by Udita Bhargava (Berlinale selection “Dust”), will be produced by Martin Lehwald for Schiwago Film (Berlinale winner “Styx”). Fresh off Busan’s Asian Project Market, feature debutant Aakash Chhabra’s Hindi-language “I’ll Smile in September” will be produced by Sanjay Gulati for India’s Crawling Angel Films and...

Every year, horror fans and aficionados attempt to take on the daunting task of watching a horror movie for each day in the month of October. Aptly named 31 Days of Horror, the challenge usually consists of viewers watching a mixture of their favorite classics, recent releases, and popular genre staples that may be new to them. In celebration of the spooky season, we at MovieWeb have curated our own suggestions for the month, providing a plethora of favorites from our contributing writers and editors. Check out our 31 Days of Horror posts every day this October, and embrace all the freaky found footage, vicious vampires, and stalking slashers you could ever hope for. Today, we kick off Day 24 with the Assamese-language movie, Aamis.

Forbidden love and romances are an age-old subject in storytelling. In cinema, it is all too common to frame them in rosy lenses, developing the myopic passion in beatific isolation,...

Brennan Lee Mulligan wants to return to Critical Role as Dungeon Master, but this time with Matt Mercer as one of the players. Mulligan stepped into the role of Dungeon Master on Critical Role with the prequel miniseries, Exu: Calamity, to great success. While the miniseries did include three of Critical Role's main cast members, Mercer was not one of them.

In a recent interview with Screen Rant to promote Dimension 20's new season, The Ravening War, Mulligan revealed his desire to return to Critical Role. He explains how Mercer DMing The Ravening War in the world of Calorum has inspired him to want to revisit Exandria. Mulligan shares how he wants to return the gift of playing in the world one created to Mercer. Check out Mulligan's full quote and interview below:

Brennan Lee Mulligan: Exandria's got, let's call it, a fair amount of lore. They've been playing in...

Exclusive: Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, shared the five short films directed by fellows selected to participate in its Global Media Makers Fall 2022 LA Residency.

The mentoring initiative and cultural exchange program that fosters relationships between filmmakers and industry professionals in the U.S. and abroad.

The shorts are a result of a workshop where Gmm fellows participating in the Residency’s Creative Producing Track were paired with Los Angeles-based Film Independent fellows to direct a short impressionistic film encompassing their personal views of Los Angeles. This collaborative initiative is an opportunity to establish a creative dialogue between international and local filmmakers while exploring the city.

“Providing our Gmm Fellows a space and time to explore our city of Los Angeles, guided by a local Film Independent Fellow, is central to the mission of the program: building bridges and fostering a dialogue...

The 19th edition Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles has announced an expanded virtual lineup of shorts and narrative and documentary features after canceling 2020’s event due to the pandemic and lockdown.

Taking place from May 20 to May 27, the Iffla boasts 40 films spanning 17 languages, with 16 women directors.

The festival will open with Ajitpal Singh’s “Fire in the Mountains,” which immerses audiences in the splendor of the Himalayas, and close with Akshay Indikar’s “Sthalpuran (Chronicle of Space),” which explores the inner life of its young protagonist, Dighu. Singh and Indikar’s films will be followed by Q&As with Asif Kapadia and Anurag Kashyap, respectively.

Special programs include “Childhood on Edge,” curated by Uma da Cunha; a panel featuring South Asian showrunners; and a screening of Prakash Deka’s “Fireflies” followed by a panel on transgender and non-binary representation in India and the diaspora.

Iffla’s feature lineup includes...

Film Bazaar, South Asia’s largest co-production market, has revealed 21 eclectic projects from several countries and in a welter of languages, for its 2021 online edition.

The selected filmmakers will pitch their projects virtually to a curated audience of Indian and international producers, distributors, festival programmers, financiers and sales agents at an open pitch session. This year, Film Bazaar has also collaborated with the French Embassy in India which will be sponsoring the French Institute Award for one market project.

As is the usual case, the projects are a mix of festival favorites and debutants.

From India, Berlinale title “Eeb Allay Ooo!” editor Tanushree Das and Rotterdam title “Nasir” cinematographer Saumyananda Sahi make their directorial debuts with Bengali-language “Baksho Bondi” (aka “How Long Is Tomorrow?”), produced by Naren Chandavarkar (Rotterdam Fipresci winner “The Bangle Seller”); Tamil-language “Bommainayagi” (aka “Queen Doll”) by debutant Shanawaz Nizamudeen, produced by Pa. Ranjith, director of Rajinikanth...

Indie Meme’s 5th Annual Film Festival went virtual in May showcasing the best of South Asian cinema online over two weekends – May 1-3 & May 8-10, 2020.

An American film festival held in Austin, Texas, Indie Meme’s mission is to promote socially relevant independent cinema from South Asia, in an effort to influence social and cultural awareness and consciousness, and encourage and facilitate conversations around the issues the films address. Indie Meme showcases independent cinema – feature, documentaries, short films, etc. from South Asia. One of the best things about the festival is that it engages, educates, entertains, and brings together different communities around the country, and provides audiences in the United States with a culturally enriching experience, through a view into a part of the world that audiences may not be familiar with.

The virtual experience was similar to the live, in-person, Indie Meme Film Festival. All the screenings were...

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) today announced its full lineup of narrative and documentary features, and shorts for the festival’s 18th edition, which boasts 5 World, 1 North American, 4 U.S. and 10 Los Angeles premieres, spanning 12 languages, with 50% of all films premiering directed by women. The renowned premiere global showcase for groundbreaking Indian cinema, Iffla will take place this year April 1-5 at Regal L.A. Live: A Barco Innovation Center in Los Angeles. The Opening Night Gala presentation will take place at ArcLight Hollywood, with an after-party to follow hosted by Spice Affair in Beverly Hills. Passes and Gala tickets go on sale today, February 19. Individual tickets will go on sale on February 25 at www.indianfilmfestival.org.

The festival will open with An Evening with Imtiaz Ali, one of Hindi cinema’s most respected and charismatic writer-directors. Ali will be joined onstage by celebrated Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap (Gangs of Wasseypur,...

The Indian Film Festival Los Angeles will kick off not with a new film, but what is billed as An Evening With Imtiaz Ali, the writer-director of such films as “Jab We Met” and “Rockstar.” He will be joined for an onstage conversation with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. A screening of Ali’s 2014 film “Highway” will then unspool. The opening night gala presentation takes place April 1 at ArcLight Hollywood.

“The MisEducation of Bindu,” directed by Prarthana Mohan and produced by Mark and Jay Duplass, will close the festival on April 5. In between, a bevy of international film festival hits from Tribeca and SXSW to Venice and Toronto will screen including Bhaskar Hazarika’s “Aamis,” Arati Kadav’s “Cargo,” Alankrita Shrivastava’s “Dolly Kitty and Those Twinkling Stars,” Gitanjali Rao’s animated “Bombay Rose” and Geetu Mohandas’ Malayalam-language “Moothoon.”

There will also be an array of documentaries and shorts playing during the festival,...