ওয়াশিংটন বাংলা রেডিও Washington Bangla Radio

I must confess I cannot wait to see that film.!,

What a smart choice and programming from Tribeca.

Let me share with you one of my dearest professionnal experiences as a film distribution (with Columbia at the time). When I was handling the world premiere in Cannes of Boyz'n the Hood, The film revealed both John Singleton as a director, and Ice Cube as an actor and received  2 Academy Award nominations.

“This is the renewed rebellion
This is the recharged fight against the establishment of the expected-
This is the rebirth of the battle for brave new ideas-
This is Sundance, reminded-
This is your call to join us”

The Tribeca Film Festival - the renowned international film festival co-founded by Robert De Niro - has announced its program, which includes several films with French roots.  Since its founding nine years ago, Tribeca has showcased a breadth of work from around the world.  This year's films represent contemporary international filmmaking at its finest, bringing together fresh voices with established storytellers.  

New York Festivals Television & Film Awards, honoring the "World's Best Work", announced the 2010 competition finalists today.  The GRANDJURYTM, comprised of award winning television and film professionals,   selected finalists from twenty-nine countries around the globe.

Aspen Film announced today the competition finalists that will screen at Aspen Shortsfest 2010, which will be held April 6-11 at the historic Wheeler Opera House in Aspen and the Crystal Theatre in Carbondale. More than 2,500 submissions from almost 80 countries were considered, and 85 short films were ultimately selected for the six-day Oscar®-qualifying International Competition. With additional out-of-competition presentations, this 2010 edition will screen over 100 shorts from North and South America, Europe, Africa Asia, Africa and the Pacific.

EDN - European Documentary Network has announced that The EDN Award 2010 is presented to IRDFA - Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association. IRDFA receives the award for their outstanding contribution to the documentary culture.

Mar 19, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Bengali movie actress Ananya Chatterjee is well known in the Kolkata Bengali film industry for her roles in Sharan Dutta's Raat Barota Paanch (2005) [DVD], Agnidev Chatterjee's Prabhu Noshto Hoi Jai (2007), Suman Ghosh's Dwando (2009) [DVD], Atanu Ghosh's Angshumaner Chobi (2009), Rituparno Ghosh's Abohoman (2010), Aparna Sen's Iti Mrinalini, Basu Chatterjee's Tok Jhal Mishti (2002) [DVD] and so on.

Washington Bangla Radio's WBRi Kolkata Tube affiliate VNNBangla.com has published an exclusive interview video with Paromita Pal and actress Ananya Chatterjee to mark the launch of Dwando in North America (USA and Canada) in DVD and VOD formats. (Order Dwando on DVD, or from Netflix online). Dwando is written and directed by acclaimed award-winning NRI film-maker Suman Ghosh, who has previously written and directed Podokkhep (2006) [DVD] which won Soumitra Chatterjee a National Award.

Ananya Chatterjee talks about how she would have performed differently if Dwando was filmed again, and how all actors and actresses in the Cinema industry always look back at their performances and wonder if they would have delivered a better performance given another chance. These are matters of introspection common to heroes and heroines across the board. But, in the case of Dwando, whatever performances came out were a united and inspired effort towards delivering a great film. "We did not want Dwando to be something else, we wanted it to be the way it is", she says, which perhaps hints at satisfaction on the performances as they are.

Ananya Chatterjee plays the character of "Sudipta" in Dwando. On how she approached and what she felt about the role of Sudipta, Ananya says it is vitally important for any actress to visualize the entire film in terms of its storyline and message before trying to fill in the shoes of the character to be played. It is not right for any actress to think about the bigger context of the picture while half way into shooting her role.

About any similarities between Ananya Chatterjee's portrayal of Sudipta and any real-life incidents, Ananya says every actress has her own way of performing - some actresses think about painful incidents in their own life while playing a sad incident on film, some others think about the character's emotional state. In Dwando, she hints at approaching Sudipta as Sudipta would have been if she were real.

When talking about the internationalization of Bengali film and Dwando, Ananya Chatterjee correctly reminds us all that Bengali film-makers have delivered world-class films for a long time now. Satyajit Ray, Ritwick Ghatak and so on have already proven a long time ago that "international-level" movies can be made in Bengal by Bengalis, and one should not confuse world-class film-making with international marketing or distribution of movies.

Watch the entire video interview on-line via You Tube.

Mar 19, 2010 (Washington Banga Radio) The Bengali community in North America (USA, Canada) who have Netflix membership, are already putting Suman Ghosh's "Dwando" starring Soumitra Chatterjee in a lead role in their list of must-watch Bengali movies. Those who do not have Netflix membership are already being attracted by the fabulous of offer from Netflix of the first month's membership free of charge. This provides the opportunity of watching the latest Bangla film release DWANDO for free.

To learn more about the great free first-month offer, click here >

Bengali NRI Film-maker Suman Ghosh's critically acclaimed movie "DWANDO" (2009) has been released in North America (USA and Canada) on DVD on March 16, 2010. Expatriate and NRI Bengali cinema lovers have congratulated Suman Ghosh and the producers of Dwando for this opportunity to watch the film.

The DWANDO Bengali Cinema DVD release is available for purchase via Washington Bangla Radio KOLKATA TUBE blog's trusted secure affiliate online store - click here to order DWANDO DVD online >

In Dwando, which literally means "conflict" in Bangla, a woman is torn between two choices. The film revolves around Sudipta (Ananya Chatterjee) who faces a serious ethical dilemma. She is torn between two choices, each with vast and cascading repercussions affecting the lives of several people. In this situation, a neurosurgeon Dr Ashoke Mukherjee (Soumitra) becomes crucially involved in her life. Her dilemma is ultimately resolved through the intervention of Dr Mukherjee who subtly maneuvers Sudipta's thought process and guides her to a choice, saving an innocent life in the process.

Suman Ghosh's prior Bangla film Padakshep (2006) [BUY DVD], also known as Footsteps and Podokkhep, received great critical film reviews as well. Podokkhep had a star cast of Soumitra Chatterjee, Nandita Das, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Sabitri Chatterjee, June Malia and others, again with Music directed by Mayookh Bhaumik.

Watch the theatrical promo-preview trailer of Bengali Movie DWANDO Online:

Mar 19, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) In an unexpected move and a story flashed across all the tabloids, acclaimed actress Rupa Ganguli (Roopa Ganguly), perhaps driven by frustration, has gone public with sad tale of the stereotypical successful Indian woman's "husband wanted me to be a house-wife and could not stand my success" story.

Listen to Roopa Ganguly in an exclusive interview here >

In stories posted all over the internet today, including this one, Rupa Ganguly has apparently opened some closets exposing the skeletons of her challenging marital life with Dhrubo Mukerjee. Rupa married Dhrubo in 1992. She admits to having attempted suicide thrice, and claims her marriage hit a nadir when Dhrubo, who wanted a "domesticated" house-wife, could not stand her success in showbiz.

Rupa (42) is currently dating Dibyendu (30).

Mar 19, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Hindus have strongly condemned reported Molotov cocktail attack on Roma homes in Hungary on March 18.
 
Expressing shock, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, asked for its early and thorough investigation and taking preventive measures nationwide that such things did not happen in future frightening the Roma community. Zed argued that Roma faced apartheid like conditions in Hungary.

What made you start Raindance?

প্রিয় বন্ধ,

জলবায়ু সমস্যা বর্তমান বিশ্বের প্রধান সমস্যা। জলবায়ু পরিবর্তন জনিত কারণে বাংলাদেশ আজ সবচেয়ে বেশী হুমকির মুখে। আমরা যেকোন মূল্যেই হোক আমাদের প্রিয় মাতৃভূমিকে রক্ষা করতে চাই। যদি আমরা আমাদের প্রিয় বাংলাদেশকে বাচাতে পারি তাহলেই বিশ্ব বাচবে। পৃথিবীকে বাসযোগ্য করে রাখার তীব্র আকাংখা থেকেই আমি তৈরী করেছি ব্লগ সাইট “ বাংলাদেশ বাচলেই বিশ্ব বাচবে” ডয়েচে ভেলের বেস্ট অব দ্য ব্লগ কনটেস্টে আমার এই ব্লগটি সেরা এগারোতে মনোনিত হয়েছে। এখন আপনার ভোট দেওয়ার পালা। দয়াকরে আপনি/আপনারা আমার ব্লগ সাইটকে ভোট করুন আর প্রিয় মাতৃভাষাকে বিশ্বের দরবারে প্রতিষ্ঠিত করুন।

The European Independent Film Festival (ÉCU), Europe's premier event for independent cinema, announces the festival's award winners.
ÉCU 2010, in partnership with G-Technology by Hitachi, screened 72 films from 28 countries over the weekend of the 12th, 13th and 14th of March 2010 at Cinéma Le Grand Action and Le Triomphe Théâtre in Paris.

Festival Director Patrice Williams announced today that Disneynature's "Oceans" will premiere at the 2010 Going Green Film Festival at the Writers Guild Theatre in Los Angeles, April 4, 2010. The festival runs April 2-4, 2010.

Mar 18, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) AZAAD 26/11 is a thoughtful and well-directed music video released as a tribute to the innocent victims of the infamous Mumbai terrorist attacks. The video is directed by Manish Jain and the music director is Rahul Bhatt. Top Indian Cinema and Showbiz personalities including Isha Koppikar, Gul Panag, Celina Jaitley, Jaaved Jaaferi, Ausshima Sawhney and Chris Bhansali come together in this sensitively produced video which depicts a poor kid of Mumbai running to the locations of the coordinated bomb blasts spreading confidence, hope and peace with a big smile and a red rose. The film captures accrately the emotional state of the residents of the great city of Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay), their shock, resilience, sadness and hope in a delicate portrayal of human reaction to pure evil.

The music video is produced by Shot Ok Motion Pictures and Whistling Woods International. Watch the AZAAD 26/11 official full music video.