Hollywood
India in focus in the ‘New World View’ at Zurich Film Festival
NEW DELHI: A total of 12 Indian features and six shortfilms are being showcased in the ongoing Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) in which India is the focus in the ‘New World View’ section.
The Festival is being held from 25 September to 5 October. Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘Lion of the future’ winner Court and recent festival favourites Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus and Kanu Behl’s Titli are among the selected films.
A package of shorts curated by Swiss Short Film Festival Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur will be on display as well. There are six shorts made by Anurag Goswami , Varun Chawla , Hossein Mozdgir Roozane , Rodd Rathjen , Payal Kapadia and Gitanjali Rao.
The other features include Fandry by Nagraj Manjule; Gulabi Gang by Nishtha Jain; I.D by Kamal K.M.; Katiyabaaz by Deepti Kakkar and Fahad Mustafa; Liar’s Dice by Geethu Mohandas (which is India’s selection for the Oscars); Lucia by Pawan Kumar; Monsoon Shootout by Amit Kumar; Soodhu Kavvum by Nalan Kumarasamy, and Sulemani Keeda by Amit Masurkar.
Festival’s artistic director Karl Spoerri, one of the festival founders in October 2005, said, “The event will also include a Game Changer award for Mediakraft Networks president Christoph Krachten, honouring a visionary who breaks new ground while choosing to ignore convention and popular opinion”.
ZFF will also introduce an out-of-competition strand to present television productions that have garnered international attention.
The third International Film Music Competition will also be held during the festival and brings with it Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, who will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award and a concert of his most famous works.
ZFF’s partnership with San Sebastian Film Festival will continue, with each hosting a window dedicated to films from their respective countries rather than competing for titles.
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.
