Vidya Balan starrer 'Natkhat', Marathi film 'Habbadi' to open Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2020

After seven months of being locked in the confines of our homes, cinephiles across the world are inevitably missing the lack of intimacy and fervour at film festivals. 

Luckily for movie buffs, the month of October has a special treat awaiting. The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne which is hosted in August annually, year on year for the last 10 years, is looking at going virtual this year. 

Though the festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange had hoped to do a compact schedule at the original venue, keeping in mind the threat of the pandemic the festival will now be hosted virtually between October 23 and 30.

All the popular sections of the festival namely Hurrah Bollywood, Beyond Bollywood, Film India World, Documentaries and Shorts are expected to be on the schedule. Interestingly, the festival's short film competition section this year made a record number of entries. This is over and above their new property, IFFM FILM CLUB that kicked off in June and has hosted some of India's biggest filmmakers including Shoojit Sircar, Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen, Vidya Balan amongst others, the festival will retain the short film competition (which will be converted into a virtual competition). 

Plans for the much-awaited awards gala are being reworked to fit into the rules in the post-pandemic era. Opening the virtual festival is the Vidya Balan starrer Natkhat, which marks the actress's production debut as well. The film is a confronting story of a mother teaching her young son about gender equality and calls out toxic misogyny. Natkhat premiered on Youtube as part of the prestigious We are One: A Global Film Festival, and will now screen at IFFM. This will premiere in a double bonanza package along with the Marathi film Habbadi which traces the story of a young boy with a speech impediment, being true to IFFM’s core value of Celebrating Diversity through Cinema.

Lange said in a statement, "It's an unusual time that the world is going through and now more than ever before, cinema has been people's support system and respite through fairly dark times. IFFM stands strong in its spirit to entertain movie buffs across the world and hope that we heal a little together."