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The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), the largest celebration of Indian cinema outside of India and a multi-award-winning festival, proudly announces "My Melbourne" as the opening night film for its 15th edition. The festival will run from August 15th to 25th, 2024, showcasing a diverse range of films that celebrate the rich tapestry of Indian cinema. "My Melbourne," an official production backed supported by the Victorian Government’s screen agency Vic Screen and Federal Government’s Screen Australia. represents a groundbreaking Indo-Australian collaboration. This ambitious project unites four prolific Indian filmmakers—Kabir Khan, Imtiaz Ali, Onir, and Rima Das—in an anthology of short films centered around the vibrant city of Melbourne. Inspired by true incidents, each short film explores themes of race, gender, sexuality, and disability, reflecting the core values of diversity and inclusion that lie at the heart of both the festival and the city. The films include Emma by Rima Das, Jules by Imtiaz Ali, Nandini by Onir and Setara by Kabir Khan. Mitu Bhowmick Lange, Festival Director of IFFM, expressed her excitement: "We are thrilled to open this year's festival with 'My Melbourne,' a film that truly encapsulates the essence of our festival's mission to celebrate diverse voices. This project is a testament to the power of storytelling in bridging cultures and fostering understanding."Director Rima Das said, “It was a very emotional and uplifting experience, dealing with everything sensitively and trusting the process. The theme of our film is disability and we wanted to keep it very authentic and real. We worked with a mix of senior actors and relatively new actors, including members of the deaf community. I am happy with the outcome and look forward to seeing how the audience receives the film. I hope it initiates dialogue about how we can be more inclusive in all walks of life, including art and welcome diverse perspectives and narratives esp from those living with disabilities. Two of my films were screened at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. It was wonderful returning to Melbourne, shooting at the iconic locations and having Mitu as the Producer. My Melbourne is her brainchild and very special to her. The Producer, Mitu, the mentee director, Samira, the entire cast and crew from Australia worked together with me towards a common goal of making a very special film. My sincere gratitude to Vicscreen and Screen Australia for supporting this endeavour”. Kabir Khan added, “Hearing the story of Setara for the first time in 2021 immediately drew me in. True stories portraying the triumph of the human spirit always have a special appeal for me. Setara's unique escape from Afghanistan to Melbourne and her finding a sense of belonging through cricket made this a story I had to tell. Working with local emerging creatives and the wonderful girls' cricket teams of Melbourne made this an even more authentic and wonderful experience”. Director Imtiaz Ali, said, “I was moved by the story of two very different yet displaced women in marvellous Melbourne. To bring the film to life with the most bright and diverse group of young, local minds, turned out to be a huge learning experience for me. I could share my insights and test my ideas freely with the different creative voices that comprised the team and all of us came out richer from the wonderful My Melbourne experience. Hope you like our piece – Jules in My Melbourne”.Onir concluded with saying, “My Melbourne for me is a film that celebrates what Melbourne stands for… A space that embraces diversity and celebrates inclusion. The film captures this essence through various migrant experiences .As a filmmaker too, it was about sharing of cinematic language and culture, being an Indian filmmaker working with an Australian cast and crew . And lastly as a person, Melbourne always made me feel that I Belong and that I am Loved”. The 15th annual IFFM promises to be a spectacular celebration of cinema, culture, and community, with "My Melbourne" setting the stage for a memorable festival.

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