"Making the Cut Before Red Carpet", A Discussion with Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF

AVID Learning, is an Essar initiative, who foster creative learning across the fields of Culture & Heritage, Literature and Art – including Visual, Performing & Applied Arts – through workshops, panel discussions and other programs. I got associated with AVID at their Travel Writing Workshop, with Dilip D'Souza at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

Last week I was invited by AVID for their event "Making the Cut Before Red Carpet", A Discussion with Cameron Bailey. Cameron Bailey is the Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival and Board member of Tourism Toronto, on the Advisory Council for Western University's school for Arts and Humanities and for Haiti's Cine Institute Film School. He has been a writer and broadcaster. He reviewed for Toronto's NOW Magazine, CBC Radio One and CTV’s Canada AM. The discussion was hosted by Nasreen Munni Kabir, a Television producer, director and author best known for producing an annual season of Indian films for the British television's Channel 4. She won the 1999 Women of Achievement Awardig Arts and Culture and was a governor on the board of the board of the British Film Institute serving a 6 years term.

Cameron Bailey and Nasreen Munni Kabir

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the world's most influential and prestigious film event. Cameron talked about the secrets of creating a great festival, how TIFF shapes the film industry, the future of film festivals and how audience shape independent cinema. Cameron shared how their expert work on selecting the best Films to be screened at the TIFF. Also TIFF is a great platform to network for Film Makers, where distributors from different countries gather, to purchase the films. He also shared, though cinema has reached small screens, even the cellphones, watching the film on a big screen at film festival still holds its significance. He also remembered the screening of the Bollywood movie Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, when the fan went crazy to get a glimpse of their favorite actors and director, Karan Johar, Amitabh Bachchan and ShahRukh Khan. The event ended with reception. You can visit TIFF webpage here, to know more about the festival and submission procedure.

Too Young To Wed:

AVID Learning, Consulate General of Canada and ICIA celebrate Women's Day with a week of Artistic Introspection around a Photo-Exhibition on Child Brides by Photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair. 

The exhibition is from March 20th to 28th 2015, at ICIA Gallery, ICIA House, Rampart Row, Kalaghod, Mumbai. Interested ones can have a tour of the exhibition.