Hollywood
London Indian Film Festival to screen Marathi film ‘Hemalkasa’
NEW DELHI: Jeffrey Brown’s film Sold and Samruddhi Porey Marathi film Hemalkasa will be the opening and closing films, respectively, of the 2014 London Indian Film Festival.
In the festival to be held from 10 to 17 July, Sold will mark the European premiere while Hemalkasa will mark its world premiere.
Featuring Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni and Mohan Agashe, Hemalkasa is a biopic that follows the selfless journey of Dr Prakash Baba Amte and his wife Dr Mandakini Amte who dedicated their lives to a project for the development of tribal people of Maharashtra.
Praveen Morchhale’s Barefoot to Goa, Amit V Masurkar’s Sulemani Keeda, Shilpa Ranade’s animation film Goopi Gawaiiya Bagha Bajaiiya, Anup Singh’s Qissa, Kaushik Ganguly’s Apur Panchali and KR Manoj’s Virgin Talkies are some of the well-known films that will be screened at the festival.
Million Dollar Arm by Craig Gillespie which will have its British premiere is the Centrepiece, while Hank aur Asha by James E. Duf and Sulemani Keeda (Writers) by Amit V Masurkar are other films among the 18 features to be screened.
The Kannada Ulidavaru Kandante by Rakshit Shetty, Bangladeshi director Munsur Ali’s Shongram and Pakistani film Anima State by Hammad Khan are also being screened among others.
In addition, there will be a Satyajit Ray Foundation’s Short Film Competition.
There will be master class by the renowned Santosh Sivan and a screen talk by Farhan Akhtar.
Hollywood
Iger’s final act: Disney boss wraps up epic saga with a new captain at the helm
After 15 turbulent years, two stints in the c-suite, and billions spent on blockbuster acquisitions, Bob Iger is stepping away from the Magic Kingdom.
CALIFORNIA: The 75-year-old chief, hailed as one of the most transformative leaders in modern media, officially hands over to former parks chief Josh D’Amaro on 18 March. And this time, he’s getting the succession right.
Iger’s legacy glitters with big bets and epic wins: the $7.4bn Pixar buy, $4bn Marvel swoop, and the colossal $71bn 21st Century Fox deal. He dragged Disney into the streaming age, fought off activist investor Nelson Peltz, and saw off a political scrap with Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
But it hasn’t all been pixie dust. The forced return of Iger in 2022—after the short, shaky reign of successor Bob Chapek—tarnished an otherwise stellar run.
Now, D’Amaro takes the wheel with a streamlined leadership team and Disney firing on all cylinders. The firm’s streaming business is in the black, theme-park attendance is soaring, and five global films have hit $1billion at the box office in the past two years. Not bad for a firm that was on the ropes just months ago.
D’Amaro’s first move? A slick reorg under new president and chief creative officer Dana Walden, folding film, tv, streaming and gaming into one punchy unit. Sean Shoptaw, heading up the gaming division, now reports directly to Walden—bringing Fortnite and Epic Games collaborations closer to Disney’s creative heart.
Iger isn’t sailing off into the sunset just yet. He’ll keep busy with Angel City FC, the women’s football club he owns with his wife. And as Ann Mooney Murphy of Stevens Institute predicts: “A guy like that never truly retires.”
One era ends. Another begins. And the House of Mouse bets big on a future beyond the king.
