River- to-river showcases indian films in Italy

Selvaggia Velo, founder and guiding light of the River-to-River Review of Indian cinema in Italy, is a woman with a mission. Her mission is simply to bring the best of the copiously rich but sadly underseen cinema of the Indian sub-continent to European eyes. The setting of the festival is Florence (Firenze) Italy, and the name of the fest refers to the River Arno which flows through Florence, and simultaneously to the sacred River Ganges which is the main waterway of india. Given that India produces far more films than any other country in the world (between 600 and 700 yearly) in a variety of local languages (Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil and Malayalam, to name a few of the most important ones) there is a lot to choose from.

For the programming of River-to-River Selvaggia has elected to narrow it down to what is known in India as the "Alternative Cinema". By this is meant the serious non-commercial kind of films which we usually think of as "art films", but which are not necessarily regarded as "arty" in India -- but rather as too intellectual for the mass audience taste which runs to Bollywood and simple-minded musical melodrama cheapies, ground out by the dozens all year long. Of course, a certain number of the "better" Indian films inevitably turn up at major film festivals (notably the films of Mira Nair, such as "Monsoon wedding" and "The Namesake", and a few other name directors) but there is no festival in Europe that regularly showcases an entire batch of the newest indian films while simultaneously running historical retros and other parallel events all concentrating solely on Indian Cinema.

The seventh edition of the River-to-River festival of Indian cinema in Florence opens in the city of Michelangelo and Bocaccio (and let's not forget Franco Zeffirelli, also a native son of Firenze)on December 7th this year and will run for a full week until the thirteenth. During this time six new Indian feature films, eight documentaries and ten short films will be presented as well as a full retrospective of the inportant director Bimal Roy (1909 - 1966) who, because he introduced the Neo-Realistic style of filming in India in the early fifties is regarded as the "Indian De Sica". This director was active all through the forties, fifties and sixties and typical films from his various periods will be shown. He was also the cinematographer of 18 films, a producer and writer, in other words a major presence on the indian film scene, entirely unknown outside of India itself.

This year the festival moves over from its former side-street venue in the art-house Cinema Uno to the refurbished historical Gambrinius theater on one of the main squares of the city. Says Selvaggia, "I was a bit wary of moving out of our cozy Cinema Uno nook, but this being the seventh year of our existence, I decided it was time to take a step forward". As usul a variety of film professionals from India, directors, Actors, journalists, etc. will be present and as usual a
savory Indian food buffet, provided by Indian restaraunteurs of Florence, will add curried spice to the proceedings.

An important humanitarian note: In view of the recent disastrous floods in Bangla Desh, culturally very much part of India although politically separate, Selvaggia has earmarked all the proceeds from ticket sales at the Gambrinius to go to the Bangla Desh disaster relief fund.
The Florence River-to-River festival of indian Cinema, opening a wide window on one of the most important, but also one of the most neglected film cultures of the world, is truly a significant addition to the European festival calendar and we wish it continued growth and success.

by Alex Deleon for www.filmfestivals.com