On Monday, the IIFFT (International Indian Film Festival Toronto) board announced the list of films that would be premiering at the 8th edition of their annual festival to be held virtually from Aug 9-15, 2020. The list of six films comprised an Indo-American short Padmavyuha and the recent popular Indian docu-film Batch of 2020 – Beyond Degrees & Certificates along with Karthi starrer Kaithi (Tamil), Nani starrer Jersey (Telugu), Hrithik Roshan starrer Super 30 (Hindi) and Fahad Faasil starrer Trance (Malayalam).
The International Indian Film Festival Toronto is a not-for-profit cultural organization with an aim to celebrate and promote Indian Cinema in North America. Its vision is to build stronger relationships through the art of cinema.
Join us for the 8th edition of the International Indian Film Festival (virtually) this year: Aug 9-15, 2020.
Film line-up includes:#JERSEY #SUPER30 #KAITHI #BATCHOF2020 #PADMAVYUHA #TRANCE @NameisNani @ShraddhaSrinath @iHrithik @mrunal0801 @Karthi_Offl @jaavedjaaferi pic.twitter.com/fUcJeDD70D
— IIFFT (@iifft_official) July 27, 2020
Karthi starrer Kaithi was one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2019. Helmed by Maanagaram fame Lokesh Kanagaraj, Kaithi was bankrolled by SR Prakash Babu and SR Prabhu‘s Dream Warrior Pictures.
Also Read: Lokesh Kanagaraj Interview: Kaithi Is About A Father’s Love And That Rare Bond Between Strangers
The non-commercial action-drama film dealt with the challenges a former prisoner faces after unexpectedly encountering a policeman who has a duty to accomplish. Apart from the lead actor, the film also starred Narain, Vijay TV fame Dheena, Ramana, Baby Monica, Arjun Das, and Mariam George. Sathyan Sooryan has cranked camera, Philomin Raj has taken care of editing, Sam CS has composed music with Anbariv choreographing action sequences. The film is streaming on Hotstar.
An official Hindi remake of the film is also in the offing with Ajay Devgn reprising Karthi’s role.
It premieres on August 12th, Wednesday at 6 pm.
Nani starrer Jersey tells the story of a cricketer who gives up his game, only to take it up later for his son. Directed by Gowtham Tinnanuri, the film was bankrolled by Suryadevara Naga Vamsi under the Sithara Entertainments banner with PDV Prasad presenting the film.
It was a sensitively crafted tale of a love that turns bitter, a wife who gives up her dreams and works to keep the house running, a child who shares a wonderful bond with his former-cricketer father and inspires him to do better, and how a talented cricketer falls by the wayside due to various reasons. The film had music by Anirudh Ravichander, Sanu John Varughese on camera, Navin Nooli on edit, and Avinash Kolla on art.
The film also had Shraddha Srinath, Harish Kalyan, Sathyaraj, Sampath Raj, Ronit Kamra, and Viswant Duddumpudi in important roles. The film was one of the highest Telugu grossers of 2019.
It premieres on August 11th, Tuesday at 7 pm.
Hrithik Roshan starrer Super 30 is a biopic drama that narrates the life of mathematics educator Anand Kumar and his educational program ‘Super 30’. The program picks 30 students from backward classes and provides them training for the Joint Entrance Exam, the entrance test to IITs. Kumar provides food, accommodation, and books for the duration of the course.
Helmed and co-produced by Vikas Bahl, the film was jointly bankrolled by Sajid Nadiadwala under the Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment banner, Anurag Kashyap under his Phantom Films banner and Shibasish Sarkar under the Reliance Entertainment banner.
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The film also starred Mrunal Thakur, Virendra Saxena, Nandish Singh, Pankaj Tripathi, Vijay Varma, Amit Sadh, Sadhana Singh and several others in important roles. Music is by Ajay−Atul Gogavale, camera by Anay Goswamy, editing by Sreekar Prasad, and art by Amit Ray & Subrata Chakraborty. The film was one of the highest Bollywood grossers of 2019. The film won the ‘Best Film’ award at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2020 and Hrithik bagged ‘Best Actor’ at the same.
It is noteworthy that the film is also re-releasing in the Netherlands at Pathe Cinemas at Pathe Arena, Pathe De Kuip, and Pathe Spuimarkt from 6th August.
It premieres on August 15th, Saturday at 7 pm.
Read: Super 30 Review: An Unworthy Biopic That Shouldn’t Exist
Fahadh Faasil starrer Trance is an action drama directed by National Award-winner Anwar Rasheed. The film is scripted by Vadakkan Vincent, and produced by Rasheed himself, under the banner Anwar Rasheed Entertainments. Apart from direction and production, Rasheed has also done the cinematography for the film.
It revolves around an atheist motivational speaker Viju based out of Kanyakumari who undergoes training when he is called by a corporate body to work as a Christian pastor for a religious scam. The film also had Nazriya, Gautham Menon, Vinayakan, Soubin Shahir, Chemban Vinod, Sreenath Bhasi, and Alphonse Putharen in important roles.
Amal Neerad handled cinematography, Praveen Prabhakar was on edit, Jackson Vijayan on songs along with Sushin Shyam for the background score, and Ajayan Chalissery on art. The film received good reviews and collected well at the box office.
The film was recently re-released in Dubai when theatres had opened up post-lockdown in the country.
It premieres on August 13th, Thursday at 7 pm.
Read: Trance Review: Fahadh Faasil Is Charged Up, But The Film Is A Half-hearted Mess
The Indo-American short Padmavyuha reportedly deals with the concept of faith weaving in the idea of the popular military formation Padmavyuha depicted in the Mahabharata. Written by Raj Krishna it is being presented by California Studios. It stars Jaaved Jaaferi, Nikhil Prakash, Ross Turner, and Pooja Batra in the lead.
It premieres on August 9th, Sunday at 12 pm.
The docu-film Batch of 2020 – Beyond Degrees & Certificates is a dedication to the batch of 2020 and every youngster in general who has succumbed to the pressure and anxiety of being defined by just certificates and degrees. The one-hour film has been created by Under 25’s Anto Philip and features Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, critic Anupama Chopra, comedian Tanmay Bhat, filmmaker Anand Gandhi, YouTube duo Jordindian, and several others.
It premiers on August 10th, Monday at 7 pm.
The film is also available on YouTube. Watch it here.