The Ottawa Indian Film Festival Brings Bollywood to Ottawa!

Keith Whittier

8 years ago

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I feel like I can’t catch my breath in Ottawa this year. There are so many wonderful activities for one to partake in. If I didn’t know better, I would think it’s the 150^th birthday of Canada or something.

This coming weekend (May 18-21) the Ottawa Indian Film Festival Awards (OIFFA) takes center stage and I am quite intrigued. We will get to the movies in a moment.

The event will take place in and around the Lansdowne area. The movies will be shown at Cineplex’s Lansdowne VIP, which is a marquee theatre in the city. Centrally located and with multiple screens this is an ideal location for this event.

But this festival isn’t simply about movies as the true Bollywood experience is coming to the nations capital. You will also have the chance to be part of the biggest open-air dance floor at Aberdeen Square. This is a phenomenal chance to see some of the wonderful dancing that we usually only see in movies or on TV. (I may partake)

Regarding the movies, a combination of feature length and short films will be shown over the next several days. I love Indian cinema. From The Guru to Monsoon Wedding and one of my all time favourites Slumdog Millionaire. I find these films not only have wonderful stories but do a fantastic job of depicting Indian culture.

The film kicking off the festival is called Lipstick Under My Burkha and tells the tale of four women in search of a little freedom. This film plays Thursday May 18 at 3pm.

Other titles include, Man with the Binoculars which is a story about a man in the final stages of his life reflecting back on his accomplishments. Alifa’which is a saga of human-wildlife conflict competing with basic questions of love, hatred, dreams and desires as well as the frailties of human nature and wider social bonding.

Several feature length and short films will be featured during this festival.

Films run Thursday with films starting at 3pm, Friday, with films starting at Noon, Saturday, with films starting at 9:30 am.

There will be an Awards Gala on Sunday May 21 at Casino Lac-Lemay.

For more information, please go to http://oiffa.com/