This year, the Bucharest Film Festival (June 28 to July 6) honours arthouse productions of contemporary Indian Cinema in the special program FOCUS INDIA: it is not very known that 10 percent of the Indian film production belongs to the so called parallel cinema beyond the Bollywood industry. These films have a niche audience and are often presented abroad. They win awards but have almost no chance to be released in regular theatres at home.
Made by a new generation of young film makers, the films of this so called “Hinglish Cinema” tell the story in a more approachable manner. They are fun to watch, however serious in subject and engaging in style. “Hinglish” stands for a more open, more free cinema, that tackles subjects still regarded as taboo: corruption, sexual fantasies, adultery, homosexuality and unemployment. The content is more realistic than in popular cinema, the characters more substantial and the psychology is deepened within the narrative.
This years' special program at the Bucharest Film Festival screens for the first time in Romania a selection of five intriguing Hinglish films. This program, curated by Rada Sesic, includes:
MIXED DOUBLES - Rajat Kapoor, India 2006, 97 min.
KHOYA KHOYA CHAND (Lost Moon) - Sudhir Mishra, India 2007, 131 min.
HEY RAM (O God!) - Kamal Haasan, India 2000, 186 min.
RAGHO LAHE MUNNA BHAI (Carry on Munna Bhai) - Rajkumar Hirani, India 2006, 144 min.
Festival guests of the FOCUS INDIA are Rajat Kapoor (director of MIXED DOUBLES), Sunil Doshi (producer MIXED DOUBLES), Sudhir Mishra (director KHOYA KHOYA CHAND), Raka Dutta (director of short in competition CHINESE WHISPERS) and Nishtha Jain (director of documentary in competition LAKSHMI AND ME).
The competitive sections of the BFF comprise programs dedicated to Shorts and Documentaries, to International Films and to long-features from the Black Sea Region (CineBlackSea).