Yellowstone International Film Festival Kickstarts In Delhi
Showcasing 50 plus shorts, documentaries and feature films from United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada, INDIA, Cyprus, Italy, Netherlands, Chile, Spain, Pakistan, Belgium, Turkey, Srilanka, New Zealand and Sweden, the Yellowstone International Festival kicked off on Friday, 30th September 2022, at DLF Cyberpark, Gurgaon. With star-studded red-carpet attendees namely - Shabana Azmi, Divya Dutta, Ishvak Singh, Rajesh Telang, Mukul Chadha, Karan Tacker and others.
The festival opened with the India premiere of the fantasy feature film Fairy Folk starring Rasika Dugal and Mukul Chadha and screening of Faraz Ansari’s short film Sheer Qorma and an intimate panel discussion with the starcast.
Yellowstone International Film Festival is a platform to celebrate world-class cinema. YIFF's primary focus is to enrich the audience with independent cinema from around the world covering thought-provoking topics that can further create meaningful conversations. In its 3rd edition, the YIFF will be in a hybrid format wherein we will be hosting the opening red-carpet premiere along with a closing night, the rest of the festival will run virtually. YIFF is curated by Tushar Tyagi, Film Director whose short film Saving Chintu was shortlisted for Oscars 2021.
“We at YIFF have had over 1500 film submissions from around 122 countries across the globe. Our programming team, with an over 6 month screening period, has meticulously handpicked 56 films including features, shorts, animated, and documentaries. The selections are Unique in each context, with relevant and touching stories, Films that showcase quality storytelling,” said the spokesperson.
Actress Divya Dutta said, "It is an absolute pleasure that my film Sheer Qorma screened at YIFF and I am very grateful to the entire YIFF team for conferring me with the award and looking forward to attending it."
Shabana Azmi expressed her pleasure in receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, said "I am extremely humble and honored to receive this award and so much love from the audience. Yellowstone International Film Festival is doing a great job to showcase independent cinema which creates a much-needed dialogue and a hope for change."
Commenting on the festival Actor Ishvak Singh, said "YIFF is a festival that showcases the best of Indie films which makes it a great platform to meet and interact with some of the most ingenious people in the business. I'm extremely glad that my show Rocket Boys has won the award at YIFF, it's a proud moment for the entire team"
Actor Jim Sarbh expressed his happiness, "Thank you to the Yellowstone International Film Festival for honouring me for my performance in Rocket Boys. There is no one better than Homi Bhabha to quote, “What comes after death no one knows. Nor do I care. Since, therefore, I cannot increase the content of life by increasing its duration, I will increase it by increasing its intensity. Art, music, poetry and everything else that I do have this one purpose - increasing the intensity of my consciousness of life.”
One of India’s first improvisational new age fantasy films, Fairy Folk is writer-director Karan Gour’s labor of love starring real-life husband-wife actor duo Rasika Dugal & Mukul Chada. Fairy Folks is a film about ‘Thorny questions of love and sexuality which takes centre stage in this magical realist drama in which a genderless woodland being crashed into the lives of a jaded couple.’
Sheer Qorma is a story of belonging and acceptance, identity and family told through courageous, queer women who choose to embrace love that exists beyond their personal beliefs and social moralities. Directed by Faraz Ansari the film stars veteran actress Shabana Azmi, Divya Dutta and firebrand Swara Bhaskar.
Commenting on the festival, Tushar Tyagi, Founder of Yellowstone International FIlm Festival, said “We are living in extreme uncertainty, the current pandemic, ongoing war, and other calamities in the world need us to introspect on our lives and the things we often shy away from talking about. Cinema has always played an integral part in churning debates and opinions, our selection of films promises to nudge those thoughts.”
Pushpa Bector, Executive Director of DLF Retail, said,“We at DLF are cognizant of the prevailing consumer & market trends which enables us to divulge into partnerships with a plethora of stakeholders & renowned partner brands to create wholesome experiences. The Yellowstone International Film Festival is a celebration of the world of cinema and we are glad to kickstart this festival at DLF Cyberpark."
