From Blighty With Love

Runumi G | Festivals & Contests | November 2, 2009 at 6:33 am

The UK Film Council has announced From Blighty With Love, an initiative that will see the best of British film light up Indian screens (in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore) next year.

The festival, which will run from 26th Feb to 10th March, 2010, will screen recent independent UK films in the first such initiative by Britain to bring independent specialised British films to the English speaking audience in India.

There will be simultaneous screening of each film on multiple screens in 2K digital cinemas across Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune, along with ‘virtual’ in-conversation events with key talent from each film, such as directors and cast, using the latest Skype technology.

Sarah McKenzie, the UK Film Council’s Senior Executive for Export Development, announced From Blighty with Love at the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival, and said, “From Blighty with Love is an exciting example of the UK Film Council’s drive to open up UK film to international markets and audiences. It will showcase some of the best UK independent features of the last 18 months none of which have ever been seen on the big screen before in India. There is a large English-speaking population in India enthusiastic to experience British independent cinema, particularly since the huge global success of Slumdog Millionaire.”

The festival will feature classy literary adaptations such as Stephen Elliot’s Easy Virtue and Julian Jarrold’s Brideshead Revisited, to international hits such as James Marsh’s Oscar-winning Man On Wire and Armando Iannucci’s satirical comedy In the Loop. There will also be films from renowned British filmmaking talent such as Michael Winterbottom, Sally Potter and Danny Boyle.

From Blighty with Love will be delivered by the UK Film Council with the help of project partners, UK Trade and Investment, the Mumbai Film Festival, Book My Show and Reliance Media Works. Cinema partners include Big, and Fame, said McKenzie.

The full festival programme will be announced in January 2010 at a special reception in India.