Eight Feature Film Projects Selected for Second Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab

Eight Feature Film Projects Selected for Second Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab Posted Mar 12, 2013

Mumbai, India Mumbai Mantra, the media and entertainment division of the Mahindra Group, in collaboration with Sundance Institute, has selected eight Indian Screenwriters and their feature film projects for the second annual Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab, which began Sunday, March 10 ata Club MahindraResort and ends Friday, March15.

This year's Screenwriting Fellows, selected from submissions from around the world, are:Sarthak Dasgupta (The Music Teacher); Pratim D. Gupta (Ink); Nitin Kakkar (Black Freedom); Abhijit Mazumdar (Delirium); Terrie Samundra (Betamax); Renuka Shahane (Tribhanga); Kavanjit Singh (Television); and Neha Sinha (Forgiven).

At the Lab, Screenwriting Fellows will engage in an artistically demanding process that offers indispensable lessons in craft, a fresh perspective on their work and a platform to fully realize their material. Screenwriting Fellows will have the opportunity to work intensely on their feature film scripts in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking, with the support of a distinguished group of established Screenwriters and Directors serving as Creative Advisors.

Creative Advisors include:Bill Wheeler(The Reluctant Fundamentalist, The Hoax),Joshua Marston(Maria Full of Grace), Asif Kapadia(The Warrior, Senna),Habib Faisal(Do Dooni Chaar, Ishaqzaade - Born to Hate... Destined to Love),Sabrina Dhawan(Monsoon Wedding),Anjum Rajabali(Rajneeti, Aaraakshan),Marti Noxon(Mad Men, Glee),Carlos Cuaron(Y Tu Mam Tambin, Rudo Y Cursi),and MaliaScotch-Marmo(Hook,Once Around).

The Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab was announced and inaugurated On March 10 at independent cinema's biggest annual event. The following were sighted: Anil Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Irrfan Khan, Rahul Bose, Tisca Chopra, Kunal Kapoor, Siddharath Basu, Meeta Vashishtha, Sanjay Suri, Onir, Swara Bhaskar, Sushma Reddy, Sridhar Raghavan, Tanuja Chandra, Sidharath Kak amongst others.

Rohit Khattar, Chairman, Mumbai Mantra, said, We are at an exciting storytelling stage in the history of Independent Cinema in India. With the help of our exceptional collaborator, Sundance Institute, we are keen to recognize, nurture and hone talent in India and across the world. We welcome to the Lab the nine remarkably talented Screenwriters and Directors who are sparing their valuable time to guide the Screenwriting Fellows. We congratulate the eight Screenwriting Fellows selected for the second Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab and look forward to their next films with great anticipation. I thank theAdvisory Committee members for so generously giving back to the Indian Film Industry byreading innumerable screenplaysin order to arrive at this shortlist.

Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, and Paul Federbush, International Director, Feature Film Program, said, Sundance Institute and Mumbai Mantra share a commitment to supporting the growth of independent artists in India, and we look forward with excitement to our second Screenwriters Lab together. We are grateful to the accomplished screenwriters who are bringing their expertise and generosity to the Lab as Creative Advisors and the very talented group of Indian screenwriters who have been selected for the Lab.

Mumbai Mantra received over 500 applications for the Lab from Indian screenwriters across the globe. After intense debate and deliberation and consultation with the Sundance Institute, the final eight projects were decided.

The Selection Advisory Committee included Dev Benegal, Ira Bhaskar, Pubali Chaudhuri, Uma Da Cunha, Rashmi Doraiswamy, Habib Faisal, K. Hariharan, Deven Khote, Prakash Kovelamudi, Ram Madhvani, Neeru Nanda, Sriram Raghavan, Anjum Rajabali, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Mahesh Samat, Meenakshi Shedde, and Anahita Uberoi.

The Lab is one facet of a creative and strategic collaboration between Sundance Institute and Mahindra Group that helps Indian filmmakers connect to ever-increasing global audiences. The inaugural Lab that was held last year was an overwhelming success. Last year's Screenwriting Fellows and their projects included - Charudutt Acharya (Sonali Cable Centre), Shonali Bose & Nilesh Maniyar (Margarita, With a Straw), Vikas Chandra (Toothache), Rajnesh Domalpalli (Avani), Prashant Nair (Umrica), Anusha Rizvi & Mahmood Farooqui (Opium), Ajitpal Singh (Manjhi) and Kartik Singh (Public School).

At the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A., Sundance Institute and Mahindra announced four recipients of the Sundance Institute | Mahindra Global Filmmaking Awards, which includes a cash award of $10,000 and attendance at the Sundance Film Festival for a specially curated five-day program of targeted creative and industry meetings, screenings and panels. The 2013 award winners are Sarthak Dasgupta / THE MUSIC TEACHER (India), Etienne Jonas Carpignano / A CHJANA (Italy/US), Vendela Vida & Eva Weber / LET THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ERASE YOUR NAME (UK/Germany) and Aly Muritiba / THE MAN WHO KILLED MY DEAD BELOVED (Brazil).

Now in its third year, the award has proved to be a vital platform for some of the most promising international filmmakers. In the past year, three former award winners wrapped production on their projects Bogdan Mustata's Wolf (Romania), Seng Tat Liew's In What City Does It Live (Malaysia), and Tayla Lavie's Zero Motivation (Israel) with several others poised to begin production this year.

PROJECTS AND SCREENWRITERS SELECTED

The Music Teacher / India

The life of a small town music teacher takes a sharp turn when one of his ex-students, now estranged, a big celebrity in the far-away cit

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