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Canadian cinema showcase at IFFI
03rd Dec 2004 16.00 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau

Canadian cinema has gained considerable visibility in India in recent years, and it is little wonder that films from this country are being showcased at the ongoing 35th International Film Festival of India.

A total of six films are being screened in the Canadian Showcase, apart from four other films from that country being screened in the Cinema of the World Section.

The films being screened include the French film 'Barbarian Invasions' directed by Denys Arcand, which won the Best Foreign Film Oscar last year in addition to two awards at Cannes. Other important films are the historical 'Ararat' by the unusual, highly acclaimed filmmaker Atom Egoyan and ‘Spider’ by the maverick celebrated director David Cronenberg.

Other films in this section include the 'Seduction of Dr Lewis' by Jean-Francois Pouliot, a film in French from Quebec, which has been a huge success at the Canadian box office and 'A Touch of Pink' by Ian Iqbal Rashid, a risqué Canada-UK co-production starring Jimi Mistry which was screened at the famous Sundance Film Festival.

Also included is the award-winning 'Daniel and the Superdog' directed by Alain Melancon and produced by Rock Demers, the celebrated Montreal film producer who has two India productions, 'Hathi' and 'My Little Devil' starring Om Puri , to his credit.

In the Cinema of the World Section, four independent films from Canada are being shown including 'Manners of Dying', a feature film based on a story by the Booker prize winning Yann Martel directed by Jeremy Peter Allen with Gautam Hooja as associate producer.

According to Hooja, this is a highly stylized, yet powerful feature drama on an important social issue. It premiered recently in Montreal during the World Congress against the Death Penalty with the great French actress Catherine Deneuve and Bianca Jagger at the film's launch. It is everyman's tale in the face of impending execution. The cinematic device used is suggestive of Nava Rasa from ancient Indian dramaturgy. The film moves forward in a cyclic, elliptical fashion reminiscent of Run, Lola Run and Ground Hog Day.

The screening at IFFI is the international premiere of the film.

Other independent films from Canada include 'Hold on to your Hat' by Denis Boivin and 'I Love Only You' by Claude Fournier, both from Quebec, and 'On the Corner' by Nathaniel Geary from Vancouver.

The Festival also has a rare Retrospective of twelve short animated films produced by the National Film Board of Canada, the word renowned documentary and short films institution curated specially for Goa.

Included in this Retrospective are several Oscar award-winning films by some of the greatest animation specialists in the world, including two films, Paradise and Divine Fate by Ishu Patel who was at the National Film Board for thirty years.

Delegates from Canada attending the film festival include directors Jeremy Peter Allen, Denis Boivin, Nathaniel Geary and producers Rock Demers and Hooja himself.