Indian Film Festival of Alberta is a homegrown movement initiated out of the Edmonton Movie Club, where a monthly Indian film is featured at the Garneau Theatre. Their mandate displayed on the posters is “Bridging cultures through cinema” and they have shown they excel at doing just that!
As people mulled about outside Mitesh pictured here with his family told me that he was looking forward to seeing the featured show, “Gurati is my language and the Lago Sharto film won Best Picture this year.”
At the entry Rachel, a Henna Artist, said, “There will be a Bollywood actor coming later that I am excited to see.”
A couple seated near the front with their young children seemed filled with anticipation, the gentleman sporting an elegant royal blue turban said, “We are here especially for the cultural program; we brought our children to see the dancing.”
Edmonton Movie Club Intern Kathan said:
“The cultural program and dance groups have no primary choreographer, but they do it themselves and come up with their own arrangements.”
Full colourful skirts whirling with complex hand movements articulated the artistry and hard work put into the pageantry as the ladies’ dance troop danced in sync to the dramatic movie themes.
One number involved them holding large pitchers on their heads as they manoeuvred their way around the platform.
The Garvi Gujarat dance troupe wore long multi-coloured headdresses with red, gold and purple as they moved with the moved with the percussion the gold embossing shimmied with their spinning. While little girls jumped on in and danced in the aisle.
The program got started a little late but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd as a corporate shout went up when the guest of honour entered the theatre. After watching the full feature film that was full of comedic je ne sais quoi the viewers were primed with their questions. Excitedly they gathered around the platform and inquired of the actor who played the hero from this year’s Best Film in India.
Images of the featured films faded in and out on the screen as colourful descriptions were made of each one. Motion picture legends that have passed away this year were remembered fondly with warm words about their lives and performances.
Shelley, the MC for the evening, highlighted the importance of independent film often rendered in State languages as a realistic and grassroots juxtaposition to Bollywood’s heighten idealistic version of Indian life.
Organizer Madhan Selvaraj further explained that this festival which started in Edmonton is now spreading to Toronto and Montreal as well as Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Fort Murray and will finally be closing for the year in Cold Lake. The Indian Film Festival of Alberta is surely making a mark on the Canadian arts scene, from its humble beginnings as a movie club they are accomplishing their goal to bridge culture through film.
