Osian's Cinefan

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Introduction 10th OCFF

Film List

Contacts

In association with
the Government of NCT of Delhi

Hospitality Partner

theme had entered our programming as early as 2002 when
we began receiving an array of works examining the meaning
and consequences of intolerance – with seriousness and
humanism.
In 2004, Cinefan merged with Osian’s and was rebaptised
Osian’s-Cinefan. With the new moniker came a slew of events
that reflected Osian’s vision and activities under the rubrique
of IBM2 – an auction, exhibitions from the Osian’s collection
and a series of seminars, conferences and panel discussions
to highlight the entire cycle of a film’s life: the Philosophical
Framework, Aesthetics and Creativity in Filmmaking, The
Economic Responsibility of Cinematic Idealism and The
Sustenance and Preservation of Cinematic Heritage and
Education.
This was also when the Lifetime Achievement Award to an
Author / Critic / Scriptwriter for Distinguished Contribution to
Cinema was instituted, the first such award to be presented
at a festival. Eminent scholar, writer and director Chidananda
Das Gupta was the recipient was of the inaugural prize. Others
to be honoured were Donald Richie, Peggy Chiao and Tadao
Sato, all of them outstanding personalities in the world of
cinema.
Talent Campus began in the same year with support from
the Berlin Film Festival, Berlinale Talent Campus and Max
Mueller Bhavan. Osian’s-Cinefan was one of the select groups
of festivals to host it. This unique space was carved out for
aspiring young filmmakers to meet, listen to and interact with
stalwarts like Christopher Doyle, the Makhmalbafs, Aparna
Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Jean-Claude Carriere, Nasiruddin
Shah and many others.
Arab cinema from outside of Asia (Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria,
Morocco and the Gulf countries) entered the festival as a
special section called Arabesque in 2004. The films - despite
the limited production in these countries - indicated a
seriousness of purpose and a mature handling of the medium.
Last year, the festival brought them out of the confines of a
section and took them in across the board. Osian’s-Cinefan
became a full-fledged Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema.
Over the years, the Festival has focused on a certain number
of countries: Korea, Turkey, Indonesia, digital films from
Malaysia, Egypt and Japan (including a selection of samurai
films and a benshi performance by a renowned artiste Yuko
Saito). Martial Arts films have featured in the festival as have
the Indian Comedy, films on Buddhism on the occasion of the