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FTW: Tickets to the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2016

Stevi Lee

Mon Aug 08 2016

IFFM2016

WHAT can you expect from this year’s Indian Film Festival of Melbourne? Stevi Lee has her highlights and gives you the details on how you can win one of two double passes to the event.

IFFM2016

Returning to Melbourne for a fifth year this August is the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, which focuses its theme on empowering women this year.

Aimed to both empower and celebrate the courageous and inspirational women who challenge the idea of equality in the community, this year’s festival will not only see films celebrating women but will also deliver some of the best that India has to offer.

From August 11 to August 21, see the latest from Bollywood, indie films by local producers and documentaries all emanating from one of the most populated countries in the world.

To make selecting a film to see easier, we’ve chosen four films that we feel you’re sure to enjoy.

Parched

The opening film for the festival, Parched, focuses on the old cultural customs that are slowly transforming in a North-Indian village.

Living in a patriarchal society, Rani and her friends, Lajjo, Bijli and Janaki experience different events that could possibly change their lives. Breaking free and liberating themselves from the old traditions of arranged marriages and identifying their worth as women, the four friends embark on an extraordinary journey as they come to terms with their own personal struggles.

Neerja

Neerja is a retelling of the Pan Am Flight 73’s hijacking in Karachi, Pakistan, on the September 5, 1986. Neerja, the flight’s head purser, risked and sacrificed her life to help save 359 lives of passengers and crews on board.

Filmed as a biographical thriller, Neerja, directed by Ram Madhvani, brings its audience into Neerja’s point of view, seeing the hijacking unfold from her perspective.

A box office success in India, and one of the few films in the country that to have commercial success with a leading woman, Neerja looks to be a tense viewing experience.

The Hidden Truth

The Hidden Truth is an indie film focused on a Sikh family who’ve settled in Australia and unpacks domestic violence, an issue that’s still very much prevalent within the Indian society.

Directed by Gurmeet Sran, a Melbourne-based filmmaker, The Hidden Truth explores the life of migrants who lack knowledge of Australia’s rules and laws, and the protection that they are entitled to.

Performed by local actors from Australia, this indie film encourages domestic violence victims to reach out and speak up about their problems.

Angry Indian Goddesses

This year’s film festival would be incomplete without a closing film celebrating women’s independence, power, freedom, youth and integrity. Angry Indian Goddesses, just like its title, entails a story about women’s desire, dreams, fears and unshaken bond with one another.

Focusing on bride-to-be, Freida and her girlfriends, the film plays out like an Indian version of Bridesmaids and is simply about a group of girlfriends supporting each other, finding their inner-self and independence. Girl power all the way!

For your chance to see one of these films and more at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Meld Magazine is giving you the chance to win one of two double passes to the film festival. To win, simply enter our Rafflecopter competition below and you can go into the running! 

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will take place between the August 11 – 22. For further information about The Indian Film Festival, including tickets, film screening schedules, visit the official website.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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