Comment on ARTS: The Sweet Spot | June 22, 2012

Everything old was new again at this year’s Cairo Film Festival. Filling out a super-sized 45th edition, the Egyptian event introduced a new section dedicated to heritage titles, showcasing 10 gems of world cinema, among them titles like “The Lonely Wife” and “The Color of Pomegranates” to mark the centenaries of film greats Satyajit Ray […]

Raja Krishna Menon’s Bandra West Pictures is producing “Harbir,” the debut feature from Angad Bawa. It is being presented at Film Bazaar in Goa. The film follows Harbir, a 15-year-old Sikh boy who is scouted for an admission trial at Mumbai’s prestigious Bombay International School of Swimming. During the trial, concerns are raised about his […]

A new streaming series centered on Kerala’s ancient martial art Kalaripayattu is being developed by director Abhilash Vijayan (“That Elephant From the Bridge”) and producer Nithin Lukose (“Paka: River of Blood”) and is participating at India’s Film Bazaar. Set in 16th century Kerala, “Chekavar” follows a teenage warrior who secretly takes on a mission from […]

Venice Fedeora award winner Aditya Vikram Sengupta (“Labour of Love”) brings his new Hindi-language project “The Employer” to India’s Film Bazaar co-production market. The film follows Michael, a recently widowed chauffeur in Mumbai working for a veteran actress with political aspirations, whose life becomes entangled in both a missing diamond earring case and his maid’s […]

CAA has taken North American sales rights to psychological horror-thriller “Feral.” The project, set in 1950s India, already has Oscar-nominated producers Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger (“Little Miss Sunshine,” “Nebraska”) attached as executive producers. It heads to Film Bazaar as its creative team pursues further co-production partners and final financing.

The 45th edition of the Cairo Film Festival concluded with the top prize, the Golden Pyramid Award, going to Bogdan Mureșanu’s “The New Year That Never Came.” The black comedy, which previously won the Horizons sidebar at the Venice Film Festival, is set in 1989 during the festive season that immediately precedes the downfall of […]