Shemaroo Entertainment launched their World Cinema label on 10 December 2008, Wednesday at Versova Cinemax. Bollywood veteran film maker Subhash Ghai graced the occasion being the Chief Guest.
Shemaroo launched their first three World Cinema titles namely ‘Downfall’; ‘All About My Mother’ and ‘Amen’. [Details of films enclosed].
The launch saw the presence of some stars, directors and who’s who from the film industry, along with Shemaroo Entertainments Joint Managing Director Atul Maru and Director Hiren Gada. The launch was followed with a screening of the German film ‘Downfall’, directed by ‘Oliver Hirschbiegel’ which has won 14 awards.
The world cinema category is a sub-brand, under the umbrella brand of Shemaroo Entertainment. The launch of this sub-brand on 10 December 2008, will be followed with promotional activities of the forth coming Shemaroo World Cinema titles.
Shemaroo World Cinema is glad to have Whistling Woods International (WWI) - Asia’s premier film and media school - as its Knowledge Partner. World Cinema, as the name suggests, will be dedicated to promoting and making available world class cinema in the retail market. As a bonus, the ‘Special Feature’ section in all Shemaroo World Cinema DVDs will carry ‘Purple Patch’ - selected short films made by students of the premier Whistling Woods International Institute. The Institute will also create the content for the booklet that will be enclosed in all World Cinema DVDs. Shemaroo and WWI will also launch various promotional activities and events to promote World Cinema among the potential target audience.
Subhash Ghai, Chairman, Whistling Woods International said, ‘This is a fantastic initiative by Shemaroo. As movie sensibilities evolve among Indian audiences and they take a global outlook, there is a critical mass developing for all types of cinema. Shemaroo has taken the lead in making available global cinema easily to everyone who appreciates the same. As an International film institute, we are proud to be associated as a Knowledge Partner. Whistling Woods International regularly exposes our students to international cinema and has regular Master Classes with film-makers of international repute like John Landis, Leonard Goldberg etc. I believe such initiatives will help promote our understanding of various cultures and cinema styles thereby raising benchmarks of film-making in India.’
Added Hiren Gada, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment, ‘Shemaroo is excited to launch World Cinema to Indians. We have picked the finest world cinema titles from the best makers. To widen the reach of World Cinema, we have priced the DVDs reasonably, included Hindi subtitles and lots of other features - like the booklet and short films - through our tie-up with WWI as Knowledge Partner.
All the Shemaroo World Cinema films will be in the respective original language with English and Hindi subtitles and at an MRP of Rs. 349/ - each
About Shemaroo World Cinema
Shemaroo Entertainment is taking a magnificent step to make World Cinema more accessible to the Indian audiences like never before. All this - while retaining the ingredients of "a Popcorn Movie" - to strike a similar chord with the viewers. So, get ready to appreciate World Cinema, just as we do for any popular Indian Cinema!
Our huge repository includes, unique cinematic experiences cutting across all genres and films, critically acclaimed titles across the world and titles which have won prestigious awards like Cannes, Oscar, Venice and Berlin among others.
Our World Cinema catalogue includes movies that have transcended all the temporal and spatial boundaries. There are titles which have won the hearts of masses, classes and critics too.
Names of some of our Award Winning Titles
Shemaroo is certainly looking forward to reach out to audiences with its collection of more than 100 award winning World Cinema titles. To name a few - Downfall (German/ Russian); The Sea Inside (Spanish); Jean De Florette (French); Amen (English/ German); L'amant (The Lover) (French/ English); All About My Mothers (Spanish/ Catalan/ English); Audition (Japanese); Rashomon (Japanese); Germinal (French) and L' Homme Du Train (French) among many others.
Names of some Directors
Shemaroo’s World Cinema catalogue is also impressive because of the movies of some renowned film makers like Jean-Luc GODARD, Akira Kurosawa, François Truffaut, Claude Berri, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Pedro Almodóvar, Takashi Miike, Roman Polanski, André Téchiné and Claude Chabrol among many others.
Our World Cinema DVDs
Shemaroo’s World Cinema DVDs are inclusive of bonus features such as - a booklet that will contain an essay on World Cinema, on the particular film and its respective country; a section called ‘Purple Patch’ which includes short movies from ‘Whistling Woods International’; a special feature section containing of deleted scenes and interviews of the cast and crew.
Our aim at Shemaroo is to bring World Cinema at your doorstep and that too at affordable prices. For unique cinematic experience, all the titles will carry subtitles in various languages (starting with English and Hindi).
To make World Cinema more accessible, we are bringing world cinema titles to your homes on DVDs, Video on Demand, Television and may also be showcased at a theatre near your home.
We believe Indian audience can apply, analyse, study or discuss World Cinema in their daily activities which are directly related to their life style!
For more information, please visit www.shemarooworldcinema.com
About Whistling Woods International
Promoted by Subhash Ghai, Mukta Arts Ltd & Film city Mumbai, Whistling Woods International is Asia's largest Film, Television, Animation and Media Arts institute. WWI provides world-class education in all technical and creative aspects of filmmaking and television through 2-year, full-time residential programs in 8 specializations namely Acting, Animation, Business of Film & Television, Cinematography, Direction, Editing, Screenwriting & Sound.
The full-time faculty of Whistling Woods International is a body of academics and industry professionals (like Subhash Ghai, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajen Kothari, Anjum Rajabali, etc), with regular guest lectures by leading film-makers, actors & technicians (like Rakeysh Mehra, Vishal Bharadwaj, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Ashok Amritraj, Syd Field,Shyam Benegal, Madhuri Dixit, Govind Nihalani, Farah Khan, John Landis,Makarand Deshpande, Suhasini Mulay, Shelley Page, Neeta Lulla, Rajkumar Hirani, Nagesh Kukunoor, etc).
WWI has initiated affiliations with several international film schools. Some schools that we have finalized tie-ups with are Griffith College Australia, Seneca College Canada, and The Norwegian Film Institute, Bradford College & Deakin College Australia. WWI is also in advanced talks with several top-tier film-schools from the USA, UK & Canada, with finalized agreements with these schools expected shortly.
All in all, WWI strongly marches towards becoming THE place for media education in Asia, if not the world. For more information, please visit www.whistlingwoods.net
About Shemaroo Entertainment
Shemaroo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is an integrated Film Production, Post Production, Distribution and Animation player. With an excellent library of Hindi films, it has penetrated into the television content syndication scene. It also has state-of-the-art studio facilities and has successfully leveraged emerging technologies like the Broadband, Internet, IPTV and Mobile among others.
Apart from this, Shemaroo has taken classic Bollywood Films across the seas and around the globe to Hindi Film fans all over the world. Shemaroo is also a joint venture partner with Sony Pictures, USA, for Sony Entertainment Television.
Shemaroo’s Foreign Films Business has some excellent international titles to its credit including major award winners. Some films for which we have the rights are ‘World’s Fastest Indian’; ‘Beyond the Sea’; ‘The Graduate’; ‘Ran’ and ‘Samsara’ among many others.
Shemaroo has alternate content in genres ranging through edutainment films for children, television content, sports and animation among others.
Shemaroo has also made a foray into film-making with its Films Division. The critically acclaimed award-winning ‘Omkara’ – presented by Shemaroo Entertainment - was a massive success and the recent ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ of Shemaroo’s stable too won many accolades.
Shemaroo Animation is creating animation content for Indian as well as International markets, with an Indian flavoured narrative with animated films like ‘Bal Ganesh’ and ‘Ghatothkach – Master of Magic’. This year, Bal Ganesh bagged the prestigious Lil’Star Awards in the categories of ‘Best Animation Film’ and ‘Best Animated Character’, presented by Red Chillies Entertainment.
We promise to continue providing wholesome entertainment and quality content to audiences all over the world!
