Best of European films to enthrall Indian audiences

Cine buffs in the capital have something to look forward to in an otherwise lean month for films. Around 20 film from 19 countries will be screened as part of the 14th European Union Film Festival that kicks off Thursday.

The March 5-April 22 festival will open with the screening of Czech Republic's noted film "Czech Dream" at the Siri Fort Auditorium here Thursday evening.

"We are now in the 14th edition of the European Union (EU) festival and it has become a recurrent tradition. The festival has a bouquet of films that will present the EU cultural diversity to the Indian audience," said Carlos B. Acosta, head of European Commission delegation.

Some of the films to be screened are "Welcome Home" (Austria), "A Perfect Match" (Belgium), "Fighter" (Denmark) and "Beauty and the Bastard" (Finland) among others.

The event is being organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's Directorate of Film Festivals in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Commission to India and the Czech Embassy along with other EU member state embassies.

Besides promoting mutual respect and understanding, the aim of the festival is to encourage cultural and commercial relations between Europe's film industry and Indian filmmakers.

"Music and movies are the easiest things to impose upon people. Movies are a part of understanding our work, our realities and our families. One of the ways of travelling across countries is through movies, and the background of the movies, settings and the visual appeal can tell a lot to an average Indian about our culture," Hynek Kmonicek, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to India.

The festival will travel to other cities including Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Jamshedpur.

The number one film in the entire world

Riding on the waves of post-Oscar fame, Slumdog Millionaire rose over the weekend to be the number one film across the globe, grossing $27 million, nearly $12.5 million of the total gross came from the United States where it is playing in nearly 3000 movie houses. The worldwide gross for the film now stands at about $210 million.

"The whole world is falling in love with the film," said Ashok Amritraj, the producer of 100 films in Hollywood. Amritraj who is also a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) that gives out the Oscars.

"People are able to relate to this film across the world. India is not the only country with slums and street children. The fact that this is a very hopeful film, which has fabulous artists from India ranging from Anil Kapoor to Irrfan Khan, and the lovely newcomers Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, is also helping it. And let us not forget the fabulous music by A R Rahman."

The film, which is yet to open in Germany, Sweden, Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and many other countries, could end its record setting dream run with $300 million.

Turner plans to increase headcount, launches new channel in India

Turner Entertainment on Wednesday said it plans to increase its headcount in India. The company also launched its English entertainment channel, called WB, in collaboration with its group company Warner Brothers.

Turner Broadcasting Systems Asia-Pacific president Steve Marcopoto said, "We have put a freeze on hiring on all other markets. But in India we will be increasing our headcount for the two new channels that we have launched."

Turner launched its Hindi entertainment channel Real in collaboration with Miditech on March 2 and plans to launch the English language entertainment channel on March 15.

Mr Marcopoto did not specify the exact number of people the company is looking to hire but only said the numbers are significant.

Talking about the India market, Warner Brothers International Television president Jeffrey R Schlesinger said, "India is a key market for us and together with HBO we will expand Turner’s English entertainment package."

The company, which has interests in the broadcast, movie production and merchandising business in India, was also planning to launch an amusement park in partnership with real estate developer Unitech.

"That is the only part of the business that has been impacted because of the economic slowdown and has got delayed," added Mr Marcopoto.