MUMBAI: Two Indian films, Sidharth Srinivasan‘s Pairon Tale and Amir Bashir‘s Harud, have been added to the slate of Indian films to be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Both the films will be screened in the Discovery section of the festival that lasts from 9 to 19 September.
Pairon Tale is produced with the support of Rotterdam International Film Festival‘s Hubert Bals fund. Importantly, the Fund provides automatic distribution in the Benelux territories. It was among the 25 projects that were selected from over 350 other competing films.
Toronto international film festival co-director Cameron Bailey said, "Srinivasan makes a bold break with traditional Indian art cinema here. Although the film shows some influence both from Ingmar Bergman and the socially engaged tales of Satyajit Ray and Gury Dutt, Soul of Sand feels much more contemporary."
Actor-turned director Aamir Bashir makes his directorial debut with Harud (Autumn). The film shot in Kashmir tells the story of Rafiq and his family and their struggle to come to terms with the loss of his older brother Tauqir, a tourist photographer, who is one of the thousands of young men who have disappeared since the onset of the militant insurgency in Kashmir.
The festival’s Discovery section showcases new and emerging directors. This year the section includes 27 films, out of which 15 will have their world premieres.
Other Indian films to be screened at Toronto this year are Anurag Kashyap‘s That Girl in Yellow Boots and Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat.
