A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
Genre: Biography – Comedy - Drama
The mostly true story of the legendary director of awful movies and his strange group of friends and actors
Genre: Biography – Comedy - Drama
The story of acerbic 1960s comic Lenny Bruce, whose groundbreaking, no-holds-barred style and social commentary was often deemed by the Establishment as too obscene for the public
Genre: Biography – Comedy - Drama
A story about "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane and his friendship with John Carpenter
Genre: Biography – Drama - Music
Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work
Genre: Biography – Drama –Thriller
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco.
Genre: Biography – Comedy - Crime
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government
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| "Biopics - A Cine experience" Poster |
A great opportunity
is just around the corner for the cineastes in Delhi and surrounding areas. The Embassy of the United States of America in
collaboration with Cinedarbaar is organizing a cinematic feast—‘Biopics - A
Cine experience’—for the diehard enthusiasts of world cinema from 24th – 26th
July at the American Center Auditorium, 24, Kasturba Gandi Marg, New Delhi -
110001. During the course of the three-day-long film festival as many as six
specially curated biopics would be screened viz. Ed Wood (1994), Lenny (1974), Auto Focus (2002), I'm Not There. (2007), The Insider (2007), and The Wolf of Wall Street
(2013). And, the best part is that the entry to the festival is free but is on a
first come, first served basis. All you need to have is a copy of the festival
poster. You can either carry a digital copy of the poster in your smartphone or
a printout of the same. Also you would need a valid photo ID card to enter the
American Center.
It is widely believed
that motion picture is the most effective means of communication ever devised,
for the message reaches everywhere and to everyone. A biographical motion
picture—abbreviated as biopic—is a film that depicts the life of an actual
person or people in a somewhat dramatic fashion. Such films present the life of
an important person or a historical figure and are usually eponymous i.e. named
after the central character. The history of biopics can be traced back to the
earliest days of the silent era with films like Georges Méliès’ Jeanne D’Arc (1899),
Cecil DeMille’s Joan the Woman (1916), D. W. Griffith’s Judith of Bethulia
(1914), Abel Gance’s Napoleon (1927), Lloyd Ingraham’s Jesse James (1927), and Carl
Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). Biopics usually try to capture
the events like war, political or social conditions surrounding the central
character's entire life as he/she meteorically rises to fame and glory or slowly
fades into oblivion.
Unlike Bollywood, "Biopics" are a tried
and tested formula in the West. As a matter of fact, it’s considered to be one
of the most bankable genres of all. More often than not, an already existing
biography or an autobiography of the personality concerned serves as the source
material for the biopic. But, as oppose to the popular notion, making a biopic
is far from being a cinch. The director and the screenwriters usually have
their work cut out for them. After all, it’s no kid’s play to emphatically depict
larger-than-life personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson
Mandela, Malcolm X, Adolf Hitler, Howard Hughes, Truman Capote, Queen
Elizabeth, Bob Dylan, Mark Zuckerberg, Grace Kelly, etc. on the celluloid and simultaneously
satisfy all the sections of the audience. And, sometimes, when the central figure is
as controversial as someone like J. Edgar, Julian Assange, Freddie Mercury, or Jordon
Belfort, it becomes next to impossible for the makers to present a somewhat balanced perspective, and the biopic invariably ends up garnering flak from both the critics and the
fans (of the biopic's subject) alike. But, the toughest job by far is that of
the actor (or the actress) who has to play the eponymous character. It’s a
classic case of make or break for the performer. If somehow he succeeds in
getting into the skin of the character, he is set to grow in stature, considerably. If, however, he fails to strike the right cords, it can most
definitely cast a severe blow to his acting career.
Coming back to the Biopic Film Festival, please bear in mind that the movie screening will be followed by the interactive sessions with eminent film scholars who
would be sharing their knowledge and thoughts about the films on display at the festival as well as the ‘Biopic’ genre at large.
The audience members can also win exciting prizes by answering fun quiz
questions based on the movies. Once again I would like to reiterate that the
entry to the festival is free and is open for general public, strictly on a first
come, first served basis.
Festival Schedule
1.
July 24, 2014, 6:00
pm
Ed
Wood (1994) by
Tim Burton, 127 Min
Genre: Biography – Comedy - Drama
The mostly true story of the legendary director of awful movies and his strange group of friends and actors
2.
July 25, 2014, 3:30 pm
Lenny
(1974) by Bob Fosse, 111 Min
Genre: Biography – Comedy - Drama
The story of acerbic 1960s comic Lenny Bruce, whose groundbreaking, no-holds-barred style and social commentary was often deemed by the Establishment as too obscene for the public
3.
July 25, 2014, 6:15 pm
Auto
Focus (2002) by
Paul Schrader, 105 Min
Genre: Biography – Comedy - Drama
A story about "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane and his friendship with John Carpenter
4.
July 26, 2014, 12:00 pm
I'm not there (2007) by Todd Haynes, 135 Min
I'm not there (2007) by Todd Haynes, 135 Min
Genre: Biography – Drama - Music
Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work
5.
July 26, 2014, 3:00 pm
The Insider (1999) by Michael Mann, 157 Min
Genre: Biography – Drama –Thriller
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco.
6.
July 26, 2014, 6:30 pm
The
Wolf of Wall Street (2013) by Martin Scorsese, 180 Min
Genre: Biography – Comedy - Crime
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government
Readers, please feel free to ask your queries by leaving your comments. We will be happy to respond to them at the earliest possible!
- Murtaza Ali
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