ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/28/2006 23 NOVEMBER 2006
ACCLAIMED AUSTRALIAN FILM-MAKER TO HEAD JURY
AT 2006 INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA
Acclaimed Australian film-maker Rolf de Heer will head the jury at this year’s International Film Festival of India (IFFI), held in Goa from 24 November to 3 December 2006.
Rolf de Heer will join leading film-makers from India and around the world at IFFI 2006, where a retrospective of his multi award-winning films will also be screened.
Presented as part of AusArts India – Celebrating Australian art and culture 2006-2007, the two year cultural promotion in India supported by the Australian Government, de Heer’s films provide audiences with a snapshot of the diversity of Australia and the excellence of his film-making. Australian films, and the work of Rolf de Heer, will also feature prominently at upcoming Indian film festivals in Chennai (17-25 December) and Mumbai (14-28 January 2007), and were also part of the recent Kolkata film festival.
"Australia's strong cultural links with India have been forged over many years with the encouragement of both governments. Australia’s participation in Indian festivals in 2006 and 2007, including the prestigious International Film Festival of India, is part of the AusArts India program and highlights the enduring strength of the Australia-India cultural relationship and the warmth of the people to people links.” noted Australian High Commissioner to India, Mr John McCarthy.
He added that “The two-year AusArts India promotion is all about bringing to India the best of Australian film, literature and arts. Mr de Heer’s works fit the bill perfectly, being renowned as among the most captivating films to come out of Australia.”
Rolf de Heer is one of Australia’s most respected film-makers, and his films consistently challenge conventions and push the boundaries of the film-maker’s art. This retrospective features some of de Heer’s most significant films and includes the stunningly beautiful Ten Canoes, winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, and the first feature film to be shot entirely in Aboriginal language. This film, along with his 2002 production, The Tracker, showcase the dramatic natural beauty of the Australian outback and chronicle stories from Australia’s indigenous communities, providing a unique window into Australian culture, landscape and history.
The Rolf de Heer films at the International Film Festival of India are:
Ten Canoes
Bad Boy Bubby
Alexandra’s Project
The Tracker
The man who read love stories
Dance me to my song
The Quiet Room
For further information, please contact Mr Shekhar Nambiar, Senior Public Affairs adviser, on 011 4139 9900.