International
Rome Fest to honour Tarantino with lifetime award
MUMBAI: The 7th Rome Film Festival has decided to confer its Lifetime Achievement Award on director Quentin Tarantino.
Tarantino will receive the award on 4 January at the hands of celebrated film-composer Ennio Morricone. The occasion will also mark the screening of his new film Django Unchained that stars Jamie Foxx, Leonardo Di Caprio, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Kerry Washington.
The American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer, who has directed cult films such as Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill:Vol.1, Kill Bill:Vol.2 and Inglourious Basterds, won an Oscar earlier for Pulp Fiction.
Said Rome Film Festival artistic director Marco Müller, "Quentin Tarantino‘s vision has radically influenced our collective imagery over the past twenty years . He is a profoundly American yet very European filmmaker, because the relationship he has established with cinema and its history is as analytical as it is passionate.
He has cultivated a coherent project of mise-en-scene, an authorial project that has grown richer thanks, to his experimentation with language and also to constant cinematic cross-references. As a result his films are both alive and vivacious to the extreme, they blast away the codes and conventions of film genres but each of them does express the spirit of his time."
In Quentin Tarantino‘s new film, Django Unchained, Jamie Foxx stars as Django, a plantation slave who partners with Christoph Waltz‘s (Inglourious Basterds) bounty hunter to seek vengeance on his former owners and rescue his wife (Kerry Washington.
International
Russia-India cinematic spectacle Persimmon of My Love set for grand Moscow debut
Hindi cinema style musical revives Indo-Soviet cinema ties for today
MUMBAI: A new chapter in cross-border storytelling is set to unfold as Persimmon of My Love gears up for its premiere in Moscow on 1 April 2026, marking the first large-scale cinematic collaboration between Russia and India in decades.
Positioned as a modern nod to the cultural exchange that once brought Indian classics to Soviet audiences, the film blends Hindi cinema flair with Russian storytelling, aiming to rekindle a long-standing cinematic friendship.
Directed by Marius Weisberg, the musical comedy follows two brothers navigating a lively world of music, family and romance. The lead roles are played by Demis Karibidis and Mikhail Galustyan, with Karibidis also contributing as a screenwriter.
Shot entirely in India, the production leans heavily into Hindi cinema style spectacle. Filming took place across Mumbai studios and the cities of Udaipur and Jodhpur, whose architecture was used to create the fictional setting of Khurmada. A crew of over 350 worked on the project, with large-scale sequences featuring up to 1,000 extras.
The film also brings Indian creative talent into the mix. Dance sequences are choreographed by Jay Kumar, while music by Zurab Matua features songs in both Hindi and Russian, adding to its cross-cultural appeal.
Backed by TNT channel, MyWayStudio and the Russian Cinema Fund, the project reflects a broader push to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries.
With its mix of colour, comedy and cross-border collaboration, Persimmon of My Love is not just a film release but a reminder that cinema, much like music, travels well across borders.
