Many Indiathemed films in world’s largest singleday film fest
Promoted as the “world’s biggest film festival – ever”, National Canadian Film Day 150 will feature exactly that number of films, with as many as 1700 screenings scheduled across the country and other places in the world on Wednesday. And a bunch of those films have India and Indo-Canadian themes.
Leading Indo-Canadian director Deepa Mehta enjoys pride of place in the pack with four of her projects on show.
The one-day festival is an initiative of the non-profit
Reel Canada, is supported by the Canadian Government and will mark the 150th year of the country becoming a confederation.
The films directed by Deepa Mehta in the show are Fire, Bollywood/Hollywood, Water and her adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. “Showcasing ALL Canadian films on April 19th is such a great way of celebrating Canada’s 150th Anniversary. I am thrilled my films are a part of this endeavour. The fact that the films are in Hindi makes is an important nod towards celebrating our diversity,” Mehta said in an email.
On multiple films made by her figuring in the festival, she said: “It feels pretty cool and is quite unexpected. In fact I can’t stop (rather immodestly) grinning.”
Also on show is Such a Long Journey by Sturla Gunnarssonis, based on the book by Rohinton Mistry. Gunnarsson’s other film, Monsoon, is a documentary that tracks the entire season in India.