{"id":5790,"date":"2021-06-15T20:56:44","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T19:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalindianstories.com\/?p=5790"},"modified":"2021-06-17T11:53:34","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T10:53:34","slug":"alka-bagri-shares-her-excitement-as-liffs-title-supporter-for-the-seventh-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalindianstories.org\/index.php\/2021\/06\/15\/alka-bagri-shares-her-excitement-as-liffs-title-supporter-for-the-seventh-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Alka Bagri shares her excitement as LIFF’s title supporter for the seventh year"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) 2021 is set for it’s Gala Opening Night on the\u00a017th June in London, with a positive, power-packed documentary\u00a0Women Of My Billion (WOMB);<\/em>\u00a0in a back-drop of a rather grim Covid scenario in India. LIFF this year is poised to premiere the very best of new indie films from the Indian subcontinent with a\u00a0lineup of 75 films including the shorts, celebrating Ray and Gandhi, Great British Asians and ecology as themes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bagri Foundation continues to be the main sponsor and supporter of the online programme and the Satyajit Ray short film competition this year.\u00a0LIFF is the custodian of the Satyajit Ray Foundation and the winners of the short film competitions are announced by the jury at the end of the festival every year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Screenings will be held across London, Birmingham and Manchester from 17th June to 4th July and the online viewings has been geo-locked for UK viewers only.\u00a0The\u00a0festival calendar shows the length and breath of the festival: londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk\/festival-calendar-21<\/a><\/p>\n

A long-standing relationship<\/h4>\n

The title sponsor Bagri Foundation has been supporting LIFF since 2015. Dr Alka Bagri, Trustee of the Bagri Foundation, responded to globalindianstories.org<\/a> about how the\u00a0 long-standing partnership started and what brings her back to supporting them every year. “We began the partnership in 2015 and have seen the Festival Director Cary Sawhney adapt each year to ensure the films tell diverse, important stories and appeal to both South Asian and broader audiences.”<\/p>\n

“In fact, one of the festival\u2019s great strengths is how it not only thrives on regular, returning audiences, but also how it offers a space that welcomes first-time spectators to discover Indian cinema through such a multi-disciplinary strand of feature films, documentaries, shorts, and classics. I am also a big fan of independent Indian cinema so I personally enjoy seeing which selection of movies will be shown at LIFF each year.”<\/p>\n

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Alka Bagri, Trustee, Bagri Foundation with Festival Director Cary Rajinder Sawhney MBE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bagri Foundation is a UK registered charity, inspired by unique and unexpected ideas that weave the traditional and the contemporary of Asian culture. The Foundation, with its roots in education, is driven by curiosity and a desire to learn, and aims for each project to challenge, engage and inspire. Through a diverse programme of film, visual arts, music, dance, literature and talks, the Bagri Foundation gives artists and experts from across Asia and the diaspora, wider visibility on the global stage.\u202fwww.bagrifoundation.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Satyajit Ray short film competition and the online format<\/h4>\n

LIFF adapted a new format since last year amidst the pandemic, when the festival went online for audiences based in the UK. The format seems to have worked well and will be replicated this year, along with the physical screenings.<\/p>\n

About supporting the new online format, Alka said “after last year\u2019s successful online programme, which allowed many more audiences to access the films, it made sense to support the festival to continue this format. With so many UK lockdowns, the hybrid festival was extremely important to offer individuals a choice of how they viewed the films on offer.”<\/p>\n

2021 is the birth centenary of the maestro of Indian cinema, Satyajit Ray and this year, the\u00a0Satyajit Ray short film competition has been split into two sections, making it bigger than the previous years.\u00a0“The Satyajit Ray short film competition is also special this year because it allowed for two parts to be screened in the cinema, with a total of 11 films online \u2013 twice as many as in the previous years!” Alka confirmed.<\/p>\n\r\n