film synopsis

About the films.

QUEEN (2014)

(HINDI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

RUNTIME 2HRS 26 MINS

(AT TOWER CINEMA NEWCASTLE ON 8TH MAY 6PM ONWARDS)

Queen is a movie about growing up. Rani (Kangana Ranaut) is a Delhi girl from a conservative family who is ditched by her fiancé just before her wedding. Shocked by this, she decides to set out on the planned honeymoon alone. As she travels the world and meets new people, she gains new experiences and discovers her own identity.

Director: Vikas Bahl

Writers: Vikas Bahl (story), Chaitally Parmar (story)

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Lisa Haydon

At the 62nd National Film Awards, the film won the awards for Best Hindi Film and Best Actress for Ranaut. At the 60th Filmfare Awards ceremony, Queen won a leading six awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress for Ranaut, Best Background Score for Amit Trivedi, Best Cinematography and Best Editing.

YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI (2013)

(HINDI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

RUNTIME- 2HRS 41 MINS

(AT REGAL CINEMA NEWCASTLE ON 9TH MAY 8PM ONWARDS)

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is the story of the relationship between two characters, Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor) & Naina (Deepika Padukone), at two separate but defining times in their lives... first, when they are just out of college and standing on the crossroads of multiple decisions that will shape who and what they become... and then later on, in their late-twenties when they meet again, holding on to certain fulfilled and certain unfulfilled dreams, at a crossroads of another nature this time... how these two characters affect, change, befriend and eventually fall in love with each other is the journey the film aspires to take us on...

Director: Ayan Mukherjee

Writers: Hussain Dalal (dialogue), Ayan Mukherjee (story)

Stars: Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Aditya Roy Kapoor

SHAPATH: CAN'T TAKE THIS SHIT ANYMORE (2015)

(HINDI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

RUNTIME - 52 MINUTES

(AT REGAL CINEMA NEWCASTLE ON 9TH MAY 5:30PM ONWARDS)

It is the story of six married women who returned to their parents’ homes for lack of toilets in their new homes. Faced with the indignity and discomfort of having to defecate in the open, these women chose to weather the social pressure and return to their parents’ homes, something unthinkable for a married woman in these parts.

THE RAT RACE

(HINDI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

RUNTIME - 52 MINUTES

(AT REGAL CINEMA NEWCASTLE ON 8TH MAY 5:30 PM ONWARDS)

A legion of hired killers stalks the streets of Mumbai. The victim senses danger and dives into a gutter. The glare of a searchlight strikes him. He freezes. THWACK!!

Home to 13 million people, Mumbai has an equal number of rats competing for the same space and resources! The Rat Race reveals the contradictions of a developing economy where the constant consumption and garbage accumulation allow rats to thrive. The stories of rat killers armed only with sticks tackling the infestation represent the human struggles and livelihood issues, the biggest challenge for a fast emerging economy.

Winner of the Mipdoc Co Production Challenge (Cannes), Audience Award (Florence), Best Film (Kerala International Film Festival) and the Indian Documentary Producers Award for Best Social Film. The Rat Race has travelled to Chicago, Austin, London, Korea, Amsterdam, Prague and has had theatrical release in India as well the USA.

Producer/Co-director: Miriam Chandy Menacherry

Set in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district (India), the documentary is a grim reminder of the desperate situation of the womenfolk who are supposed to observe pardah on the one hand and on the other hand are forced to relieve themselves out in the open. Through interviews with the protagonists and a social activist, Asma, also the narrator,the film tells the stark tale of the daily lives of women- the indignity and dangers they face while defecating in the open. Owing to Asma’s campaign and the media coverage of the issue, the government authorities finally built toilets in the six homes. While documenting the stories of these six women, who had the courage to stick to their demands, the film also questions the priorities of the families who spend beyond their means on the wedding but do not have enough money to build a toilet in their backyard.

Director: Vinod Kapri

This film is the winner of the Indian National Award for Best Social Documentary, 2015.

DANCING TO THE TUNES OF BOLLYWOOD PART II (2015)

(ENGLISH/HINDI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

RUNTIME - 30 MINUTES

(AT TOWER CINEMA NEWCASTLE ON 8TH MAY 6PM ONWARDS)

This film analyses the role of the Indian folk dance forms in Indian cinema, in particular, Hindi/Bollywood cinema. The rich folk and classical dance forms of India have immensely influenced Bollywood song and dance sequences. Bollywood choreographers have over the years utilized Indian folk, classical and traditional Indian dance forms to create, innovate and experiment different style of song and dance sequences. Most of the folk dance forms are glamorized and exoticised while they are represented on screen. In last few decades, Bollywood has been utilizing various dance forms especially the Western popular dance culture, and often plays the role of a catalyst to bring exoticised, spectacularised, glamorised and glocalised images to people. Utilising interviews with filmmakers, dance experts, performers and Bollywood fans, the documentary brings to the fore discussions regarding how Bollywood song-dance sequences are having considerable influence on the traditional folk dance forms of India, both in terms of form and content.

Director: Vikrant Kishore

UNTOLD (2010)

(ENGLISH/HINDI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

RUNTIME - 30 MINUTES

(AT TOWER CINEMA NEWCASTLE ON 8TH MAY 6PM ONWARDS)

Will her dream of being written about by the love of her life be fulfilled?

Right from childhood Manav wanted to tell stories and become a writer. For Mukta, there is nothing more important than being the center of his attention that she expresses as “write, a story about me”. In childhood, annoyed by her insistence upon telling a story about her, Manav comes up with a nonsensical story that involves a tiger eating her up when she goes to a garden to fetch a mango.

His dreams of becoming a writer and her family pressures come in the way of their love for each other and she gets married and moves to Mumbai. After sometime, they meet again as Manav comes to Mumbai to work as a columnist for a news portal.

As Manav begins to hope that the past mistakes will be amended and their lives will once again entwine together, his childhood prank story begins to unfold as a prophecy for her life.

Director: Vasu Vangala

Producer: Sanjay Suri, Raj Suri