Screening Of Frozen…
I didn’t know how to start this post. But as the hope for the release of Frozen is getting brighter I was advised to do some self-promotion.
Frozen has become something like an “underground film”.
People talk about it but have not seen it. It’s a different matter that it has been to 30 International Film Festivals and has won 19 awards in the last one and half years. I had talks with nearly all the big production houses in India for an India release but each one of them couldn’t develop a marketing strategy for “the product”. They told me that the Indian Audience is not intellectual enough to understand Frozen. My arguments like let the audiences decide, the audience is changing, and people are open to world cinema etc. etc. fell in deaf ears. They told me no stars, no songs, no items, and black and white film… nah it is not fit for our audience. I was even told by one top executive that why don’t I copy or lift ideas from west and come out with something? Mind you I have got the best director award at MAMI film festival in Mumbai last year and the citation says the award goes to me for my originality, creativity and courage. Someone commented that if I had taken Mr. B instead of Mr. D my film would have got a release.
Well Enlighten Film Society is organizing a screening of Frozen on 22nd of February, 10 am at Cinemax, Infinity Mall, Versova, Mumbai for its members. I have been told that I could get 100 people as my guests. Now let me tell you little bit about Enlighten. It is managed by these young guys, Pranav Ashar and Jimmy Mistry and they are doing fabulous work of bringing word cinema to India. There website is http://www.enlighten.co.in. I saw Pather Panchali in one of the screenings on big screen and it was an amazing experience. So these guys have taken up the challenge of taking Frozen forward.
We still need the audience. Some friends told me that 10 am on a Sunday morning is bad timing but I believe if people want to come they will come. Also it is not in my hand as the schedule of Enlighten is such. So people if you want to watch Frozen on big screen with good sound I think this is the time. But mind you no songs and item dances and a black and white film. I don’t have a celebrity to pull the media out of their beds at 10 in the morning. My point is I went up to 14000 feet in -25 to -30 degrees temperature to shoot the film. I believe the time has come when the filmmakers and the media treat audiences as celebrities. I rest my case.
I am putting up some clippings from The Making of Frozen.
Tags: danny dengzongpa, frozen, shivajee chandrabhushan
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Cannot see the clips. It is all showing up as embedded code
Count me in… Am i suppose to get an invite of some sort…?
best wishes Shivajee…hope it releases soon…the real joy to watch this film is on silver screen.
@turtle
We are working on that,
@Ali
Just drop in at the Cinemax gate at 9:45 and ask for Triparna or Sumit,
@Kumar Gautam
Thanks man…
Give it 30 mins or clear your cache.
Saw this movie at IFFLA last year and was blown away. Frozen is superb!! Amazingly shot, beautifully scripted and some fantastic acting by Danny.D..
Mumbaikars..avail this oppurtunity and try not to miss it.
I seem to always miss the screenings. Wish I were in Bombay to watch it.
Tons of wishes Shivajee! Would have loved to attend it! Anyways, hope this screenings makes way for better things
Shivajee wish all the good luck.
i had seen your movie at mami, was wondering why it has still not been released.
It was good to see danny after such a long time, and good he was not wasted .
@Mitch
Hard luck…:-)Anyway pray that it releases soon…
@Tanul
@cinemausher
Thank you I appreciate…
Oh by the way Danny D mentioned at an interview that this is his best work ever.Coming from him with 35 years in the industry and with more than 150 films(Frozen was 150th) it is a great compliment.
Hi, i want to attend this screening with a friend. How to go about it…ne tickets??
@Prateek
Kindly look for Triparna or Sumeet at the Cinemax. They will get you in. You have to be there by 9:45.
It is on first come first basis.
And yes it is free!
hi sir…i hope the screening will get gud response and i’ll inform all my friends in mumbai about this….but i want to know is there any plans for screening this film in Delhi….i knw it was shown in Osians film fest but at that time i missed this film…but sum of my blessed friends watched this film…and they r really fascinated by Frozen….
@Karan
hi, thanks to your friends for appreciating Frozen. As we are hoping of an India release now,it would be tough to do a separate screening. So as of now pray that we get the release.
Shivajee…
Are you saying that I just have to be at Infinity at 9:45 am and I will get a chance to see this? I know you just wrote that but kind of re-confirming. I will be there for sure.
@Varun…
You read it right…
@Shivajee,
Please write about, experiences while shooting teh movie.
I wanted to ask why you prefer to shoot movie in black and white.
On the note,do not the name of the girl who played danny,s daughter, but i must say i developed a crush over her.
No offence to actress but she looked more beautiful on screen.I must say Frozen in one of the top ten Visually brilliant movie of the decade.
@cinemausher
Wow…Thanks for the last comment.
Well about Gauri,the actress she is a very simple girl but is dazzling on screen as you saw and of course she is a great performer.
I think if you check my older postings there is a whole post on why Black and White. Also if you check Danny’s interview he also has answered that specifically.
@Shivajee,
My apologies i overlooked your previous articles.
:-)
LOVELY !!!
:(( i am not in mumbai, i hope to catch it someday.Great work Shivajee , good to see someone making independent films outside bollywood
@Njudo-E-Dara
Thank you…Unless the audience supports us the independent film makers are gonna die a painful death. Sad but true.
Great to hear about this…Our society here in Delhi could do something for the film. Would like to get in touch with you.
@nitesh
I would love to do that as I am a Delhite. I chose Osians for World premier over Toronto just for that.
Shivajee- I am so keen to watch it , but missing it as I’m not in Mumbai.Hope to catch it sometime soon.All the best for the screening.
@Sethumadhavan
Thanks man…
Trailer of Frozen…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lELsIqbyDWs
Saw Frozen last year in Mami…was simply mesmerized by the visuals…Can’t wait to get intoxicated again this Sunday by possibly the most stunning visuals ever in Indian cinema!
Thanks Shivajee, DOP Shankar and the entire team for making this film!
Are there any screenings in calcutta by any chance?
@Debarun
I had enquired with few people in Kolkata just a few days back but then I didn’t get any encouraging replies.
Otherwise “Frozen” was the opening film at the Kolkata Film Festival 2007.
Hi Shivajee, would want to be there (two of us actually). Should we follow the same procedure – be there at the Cinemax gate by 9.45 and look for Triparna or Sumeet? Just checking, dont shoot me!
Unfortunately not in Mumbai…Would really like to see this film sometime tho…Al the best SC…
Thanks Arthi…
You migh have already done this. But why not approach individual multiplexes with exclusive sceening rights? I know it restricts the scope of the film. But on the brighter side, it will be watched by critics, will get the reviews and will get the people to the theatre. Again you would know better. I think at this point visibility is important.
@Ravi
Multiplexes don’t deal with individuals. If by chance they agree to talk to me then I will have to book one screen,one show at one multiplex in one city. And of course pay a hefty amount,which is not possible.
how about a screening in chicago?
i live 5 hours away but am willing to drive there just for frozen..
@Dhara
I am talking to someone for a screening in Chicago. It might happen in a festival. Keep your fingers crossed. I can assure you that your 5 hour drive will not go waste.
Cameron Bailey,now Co-Director of Toronto International Film Festival saw Frozen here in Mumbai just before leaving for Tornoto and he mentioned during the intro at the International Premiere at TIFF that for 20 hours of flight he just couldn’t forget the Black and White images. I confessed to him that I knew that would happen, that is why I scheduled my screening with him after he had watched around 300 films from India. :-).
When will the Bangalore screening be held? You could get in touch with Suchitra film society, who actively promote independent cinema.
@Ullas
Bangalore screening should happen in March. The Shrishti College of Art,Design and Technology wants me to conduct a workshop along with the screening. I would get in touch with the Suchitra film society.
Would have loved to see Frozen. Wish I had planned a trip to Mumbai this week, I missed out on the meet too.
Any screening in Delhi, Shivajee. One of those official one’s – for the PM or others?
@Arun Prakash
:-) Pray that we get the national award then definitely we will have screening even for the Prez…Pray…
@Shivajee
Now i saw all Danny-interview and behind the scene. Don’t you think you could have made better making of frozen ,just by editing the two parts and comparing takes with original shots , inter cutting interview with behind the scene, you could have added your interview ,few crew members and few artist.
—
As independent filmmaker Don’t you feel need to market your voice in better manner.come on man! this is your first contact with people who want to be your audience and you should impress them.
——-
When you say
“… hope for the release of Frozen is getting brighter I was advised to do some self-promotion”
Self promotion could done in much better way. And what it takes? Few hours on FCP and adding music track which you already have.And why not take pains in marketing when you already took pain while production. It may give borderline audience chance commit crime
—–
“…Unless the audience supports us the independent film makers are gonna die a painful death…”
My point is
Audience is like wannabe criminal, ready to commit crime, as society you should give them enough reasons.There was much better scope of “making of frozen” and i think you can still make it. It is not too late…
a well wisher
@Njudo-E-Dara
1. This is just a very very small part of making of Frozen which would be available with the DVD. Yes I have all the material and the music etc as I said these are just clippings. There are teasers,12-13 seconders,promos etc but the film is not yet released or sold to anyone. So I have to use the material with much discretion.
2. I am still learning to use the internet to impress people.
3. I have sat in front of FCP trying to edit small clips which are easily uploaded. It does take lot of time. As this was aimed in conjunction with the screening on 22nd in Mumbai, I hadn’t had all the time to do this in a better way.
4. I know it is still not too late and I also do know what a professionally made making of a film is. If you thought this is amateurish, yeah I agree it is. Thank you to you for taking out time to go through this and write a detailed message. Point taken.
A Film Maker
Do you plan to show it sometime in Bangalore?
shivajee..
this si srikant from melbourne…i am missing the screening i wish i was in mumbai…any chance of bringing it on towards the melbourne film festival..any other screening . when is the dvd out.
@srikant
I couldn’t come to melbourne last year as it was clashing with some other festival. Lets hope they invite me again.
Well the DVD would come out after the theatrical release whenever that happens.
@Shivajee
Good to hear from you.I mean packing is bare minimum requirement today. And who needs packaging better than a Indian independent filmmaker.And i never felt your effort as amateurish , i felt it wasn’t packaged that well.Anyway Best of luck. i hope you will get release.
@Njudo-E-Dara
Only thing from me this is not the final making anyway….
No excuses…point taken :-)
@ Shivajee (39)
this movie is the catalyst i need to book my tickets to visit ladakh!!
looking forward to the drive..
Hi Shivajee, jst came back after watching the movie. It was definitely a very good story. I think first time i saw in a Hindi movie where camera is used to tell the story…i mean the shot composition, danny looking into camera (Aamir Bashir’s POV, lighting. I did attend Q&A session but can u clarify again these two questions:
1. Was black & white used to denote that Gauri’s character is living in her mind and imagining her kid brother/ And it changes to color in the very end, because she has come out of her imaginations and stepping into the real world??
2. When Aamir Bashir’s character hands over the transmitter (army phone) to Danny and we cut to next shot where Danny jst stands there with phone and see them going away. Was this shot a dolly-zoom. I think i saw that danny’s image size remained same but background was zooming in? If it was dolly zoom then i think it was used to show that things and situation arnd Danny’s character are suddenly changing.
3. One more ques. You said u have no formal cinema education or ne docu/short film experience. But going by the shots…do u have photography background/education?
Will be really glad to get Your reply. Please go ahead n tell more stories that u want to tell thru your craft :-)
Shivajee,
I watched the trailer and I must say the film looks promising. I have always been a fan of independent films. You guys need to step up, make some noise and kick butts (not in the manner of Ram sena or whatever those idiots are called, LOL). I don’t know whether I would be able to watch it in theater, considering the part of the world I am living in but I would definitely buy a DVD once it’s out. Wish you all the best for the success of the film and hope you continue making such films.
@sonofabeech
Thank you :-)
Hi shivajee!
Am dying to see your film.
Hi shivajee!
Am dying to see your film. Why not try and arrange a screening in Pune? I will personally try to help u out. You have FTII and NFAI here and a large community of film buffs to support u. Please give it a shot.
Regards,
Kunal.
@kunal
You will get to see Frozen very soon…:-)
Frozen will be screened in Pune Shivajee? Cool!..Plz do let us know when exactly before whenever it will be…Thanks!..
@Arthiji
Am working on it…You would know :-)
@ Shivajee Chandrabhushan :- Awards notwithstanding, Just the fact that the movie is shot at that magically entrancing place called Ladakh makes it a must-watch for me!
And if you’re planning a Pune screening and want some assistance, We’re here…
@Nimish
Thanks for the support…
hey shivajee, waitin anxiously for frozen….frm whr can i collect more info on “frozen” ?
regards,
freeman
@freeman
very soon…just closing some open ends regarding the various deals.
what sort of info do you want? you could mail me your queries :-)
@Shivajee..
i so very wanna see this movie.. any chances of screening it in Bangalore?
@Shivajee
just went thru ur previous replies wherein u have mentioned of a screening in Bangalore to be taking place in March.. did this happen? is it goin to happen? any details?
@Vishal
No I canceled the screening in March as we are talking of an India release now. The planned screening in March was for a institute in Bangalore where they wanted me to conduct a workshop. I have postponed it for later this year now.
Thanks for showing interest :-).
@Shivajee
My luck!! :(.. Just saw Danny sir’s interview, Must say he looks all the more better as he is aging.. one thing he mentioned is that you sent him a hand-made brochure of ladakh, along with the script.. please make it available for us along with the DVD.. just a suggestion, M sure all fans(ok m still to watch the movie but i just cant wait!!) would luv it. And yes do update us on the release plans.. anything concrete yet?
@Vishal
:-) Danny saab has stopped aging.
Actually he has wrongly mentioned it as a brochure. It is a hard bound book of Black and White images of the actual locations where I was to shoot. I had got two of them made, one is with him and the other with me.
We would be coming out with a limited edition coffee table book of the images. I am sorry but can’t make it available otherwise because of the cost factor of printing of such a stuff.
limited edition book is a fair idea too.. fine do update us on the releases.. (movie..dvd..book).. God you have so much to be busy with!! let me know if I can help somehow[:D]
@Vishal
I would surely keep you posted. I still haven’t told you about the exhibition of the photographs :-).
Thanks for your offer of help. I really appreciate it. I would require volunteers to help me during the release time.
Would email you :-)
here you go – ladhanivishal@yahoo.com
Any idea when is the film releasing in Bangalore…want to watch the movie badly
@Sourav
Well the prints are with our distributors and though there was a talk of releasing Frozen in Bangalore but now it is postponed indefinitely. As far as the schedule I know Frozen will be released in Kolkata in August. We are also in the process of finalising the release date of the DVDs.
Thanks for showing interest :-)…