Allights

ALIIFF: Bringing fresh air

The genesis of film festivals can be traced to the rise of the film society movement that wanted to alert the viewers about the immense possibility of the wonderful medium. The pioneers thought that if the market-oriented pot-boilers and action packed dramas were allowed to rule the outlets, the enlightening power and charisma of cinema would be lost in the vortex of entertainment. If the audience continued to reel under the pressure of the market, then the society itself would be at a loss. Thus, the film festivals started with opening up of the alternative window to see the better creativity that often get lost in the din created by hegemonic popular culture. Even in times of spreading newer communication technology and making access to films wider and easier, the general filmgoer might find it hard to select better films as media hypes kills the genuine and lift the mediocre and the stereotyped. Film festivals strongly address this problem ever since it came into being at Venice in 1932 and in India two decades later. But the most delightful thing about it has been the continuation of the original efforts. Since then the seeds of the film festival culture grew and their influence spread to new frontiers.

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HONG KONG FILMART 2015

Hong Kong is a land of rich cultural diversity, a major tourism destination attracting thousands of tourists every year. Besides the serene environment, Hong Kong is also famous for 'Hong Kong FILMART, Asia's largest film and entertainment market held every year to promote Hong Kong as the regional hub for sales and production of film and television.

Organised by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the 19th edition of the film market will be held from 23rd to 26th March at Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. Regarded as a significant cross - media, cross - industry entertainment trade platform, the FILMART excels in promoting areas of film financing, distribution, production, post-production, TV, digital entertainment, film & broadcasting and also location shooting.

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Michelle Yeoh Queen of Martial Arts

Cinema is constituted as such by becoming a narrative, by presenting a story and by rejecting its other possible directions. Incomplete without a male and a female character, our movies are often stereotyped with female characters who are possibly damsels in distress, caged all over by men's energy and in need of a daring hero to rescue them from all trouble. But evidently enough with passing time, female leads took over the action part and stunned the audiences with their glamour and mind boggling valour and courage. Asian cinema which is popular for its 'Martial Arts' genre is often recognised by the likes of Jackie Chan, Jet Li who are also referred to as the 'Gods of Action Cinema', but in this league entered a female lead who rose to become the 'Queen of Martial Arts'. 

Michelle Yeoh, (Yeoh Choo Kheng) the Asian beauty icon and an internationally renowned action movie star was born in Ipoh, Malaysia at August 6, 1962. She grew up in the tropical tin-mining town, as a tomboy who loved sports. As a teenager,she represented Malaysia at national level for swimming, diving, and squash and was the Perak state representative for squash and once the Malaysian Junior Squash Champion.

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KAMASUTRA 3D - A GRAND EPIC FROM THE SEA

Ocean, an indispensable part of the Earth's life-support system, always brings about a surprise for the man.  Be it weather, waves or the wildlife, ocean always poses challenges to the one who tries to explore it. Humanly efforts to tame the sea never saw triumph, yet many of the earthlings successfully mastered the challenges presented by it. And there were some creative brains that have successfully blended ocean’s mesmerizing beauty with their fictional world. For the one who portrayed a great story on the background of seascape and the depths, success never came as a surprise. 

It is estimated that more than 500 movies were made in the sea and many of those narrated success stories.  Of those, there were several notable movies already set a bench mark for the industry; Jaws (1975), Titanic (1997) and The Abyssis (1989) to name a few.  But unfortunately the last decade witnessed the death of good movies shot in the sea. However, the editorial team of All Lights Film Magazine hopes that this year will bring a positive change to the global cinema industry. A grand epic is being shot in the sea and it is all set to break the 3D movie viewing experience. Kamasutra 3D, a perfect blend of music, epic and erotica is now considered as the most anticipated movie of the year. 

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