Siraj Syed’s IFFI 2016 diary, V: And the Oscar for restoring classics goes to…AMPAS! American body Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is best known for presenting the annual awards, which are characterised by a figurine called the Oscar. Though that is the face of the academy, it does much more service to the cause of both American and international cinema than most people would imagine, including holding an annual student Oscars. At the Black Box of Panaji&rsqu...

BANGKOKIANS are due to get a special pre-festival screening of the classic Robert Wise Academy Award© winning film, West Side Story, on Sunday, February 12 (2006). The movie will be shown free of charge on outdoor screens set up in public areas outside the massive new Siam Paragon retail and entertainment complex which will be used as the centre for the upcoming Bangkok International Film Festival (Feb 17 - 27). The screening will feature musical performances of songs from West Si...