ARTS and CULTURE: 

The New Zealand Film Commission funded short film musical Impossible is gearing up for the international festival circuit in 2021, with the production team’s larger goal being a feature-length version.

Everyone has a unique journey. When my life had given me a chance to restart, I made the move from being a banker to a film-maker. I am grateful that I could continue to work in the industry after completing my film studies back in 2017.

Navaratri (nava-nine, ratri-night) and Dussehra (dus-ten, hara-annihilation) are festivals celebrated over a period of ten days. The first nine days constitute the Navaratri festival. The tenth day is called Dussehra, marking the triumph of Lord Rama, seventh Avatar of Vishnu, over the demon king Ravana, who abducted Lord Rama’s consort, Mother Sita. Since this Vijaya (victory) happened on Dashami (10th Lunar day of the Hindu calendar month), hence also known as Vijayadashami.

Two imperial guards are charged with protecting an iconic landmark. A water-deprived village receives a curious new resident. A group of women introspect about the various avatars they have taken on. A family invites us to explore their migrant journey.

Dil Bechara, the film of late Sushant Singh Rajput, is all set to release in New Zealand and Fiji on August 7, in cinemas near you. This movie has Sushant and Sanjana Sanghi in the main lead, and is the last film where Sushant can be seen giving his spectacular performance. The film originally released on 24th July on Disney+ Hotstar

The ongoing exhibition at Depot Artspace in Auckland, Sex Workers of Aotearoa – a day in the life of, is unique in every possible sense. While challenging the beliefs, the stigma and the stereotypes that surround New Zealand’s sex industry, it is also a behind-the-curtain into an industry still fighting for mainstream space, almost 17 years after the Prostitution Reform Act was passed in 2003, which decriminalised sex work in Aotearoa New Zealand. “But most importantly, the exhibition is about sex workers taking charge of how they want to be represented. We need to tell our own stories. Sure, stereotypes exist, but they don’t represent everyone,” says Jordan Quinn, the curator of the exhibition.

Raksha Bandhan, is a very popular and traditional Hindu festival which falls on the full moon day of Shravan month of Hindu calendar every year. Raksha Bandhan is celebrated in India, Nepal and some other parts of Indian subcontinent. Though this tradition of women tying sacred thread to men’s wrist is centuries old where ladies would tie a sacred thread for the safety and wellbeing of men folks going for wars.

When Rajshree Anand, a teacher, left Dehradun in January to visit her daughter in Auckland, little did she knew that she would be stranded in New Zealand for few more months than originally planned. Credit to her though, she used her time wisely and has just released her 33-page-long book on Amazon titled, Kaushiki The one who is enveloped in silk: The Goddess in every women.

Four celebrated Māori and Pasifika events will receive up to $100,000 each in funding from the new Creative and Cultural Events Incubator fund, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford has announced. The four events that were successful in the inaugural funding round are: Kia Mau Festival, Wellington; Māoriland Film Festival, Otaki; Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, Gisborne; and Te Matatini, Auckland 2021.

At the Depot Artspace, Devonport in Auckland, from July 15 to August 3, Robert Peper’s art photography celebrating Indian life will be showcased.

Coconut Theatre, a wing of Coconut Media Box, has taken an ambitious and challenging project during this world-wide lockdown, called “Chai-Wai & Rangmanch – 2020”. We organize daily online session with one theatre expert from India and various other countries on our official Coconut Theatre Facebook Page at 6pm Indian Standard Time.

As COVID-19 struck and countries went into lock-down, Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Neon, Hulu, and many more, have seen a historic rise in subscriptions. This has also led to these service providers diversifying their content to meet audience interests across age brackets.