With critically-acclaimed movies like The Terrorist and Firaaq, award-winning editor Sreekar Prasad takes regional centrestage at the fifth annual Habitat Film Festival

With critically-acclaimed movies like The Terrorist and Firaaq, award-winning editor Sreekar Prasad takes regional centrestage at the fifth annual Habitat Film Festival

With seven National Awards in his kitty, editor Sreekar Prasad is a master magician when it comes to cinema in the regional realm, and beyond. To acknowledge his extraordinary contribution, the fifth Habitat Film Festival is screening some of the best films treated by him. The line-up includes works by mavericks Mira Nair, Vishal Bharadwaj, Santosh Sivan, Nandita Das and Farhan Akhtar, to name a few. The festival, which kicked off in the capital on May 2, saw a musical performance by Gokul Bhaskar, Sreekumar and Khalid of Asima, the iconoclastic male choir and percussion ensemble from Kerala. The concert was composed and directed by Australian born music director Devissaro.

A still from Antaheen

Cinema calls

Entertaining film lovers across the city for over a decade now, the Habitat Film Club focusses on honouring the contribution of regional Indian directors to cinematic culture. Speaking on the occasion, Vidyun Singh, director programmes, Old World Hospitality, says, "The festival has grown from strength to strength and it is an eagerly awaited event. Every year, we celebrate the work of one person (the ones who are behind the scenes), like cinematographers and scriptwriters, so that we can give them their part under the sun in an otherwise actor-dominated industry."

Sreekar's story

The festival chooses the best, award- winning and critically-acclaimed regional films of the preceding year.

"This year, we are doing a retrospective of films edited by Sreekar Prasad, for his continued contribution to regional films. His works have engaged and enthralled audiences for decades, and this festival brings together a package of the finest," reveals Singh.

Handful of Prasad

"Three movies showcased in the festival last year won awards, so we expect more to gain national and international awards this year," she adds. Some of the best films by Prasad to be screened at the festival include Mani Ratnam's Yuva, Shaji N Karun's Kutty Srank, Santosh Sivan's The Terrorist, Nandita Das' Firaaq and the recent Antaheen by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury to name a few. The festival will also feature the AIDS JAAGO Series -- short films by Mira Nair, Vishal Bharadwaj, Santosh Sivan and Farhan Akhtar.

Another highlight of the festival is the daily Face-to-Face with directors of the films, giving cinema lovers an opportunity of a focussed interaction with their idols. Roll it.

5th Habitat Film Festival
At The Stein Auditorium, Habitat World, India Habitat Centre
Till May 9

Today

6.30 pm
Documentary film Choti SI Asa (Hindi/30mins)
Dir: Usha Albuquerque

7 pm
Paltadcho Manis (Konkani/2009/96mins)
Dir: Laxmikant Shetgaonkar

8.30 pm
Ek Cup Chya (Marathi/2009/120mins)
Dir: Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar

May 5

6.30 pm
Basundhara (Assamese/2009/117mins)
Dir: Hiren Bora

8.30 pm
Angshumaner Chobi (Bengali/2009/140mins)
Dir: Atanu Ghosh

May 6

6.30 pm
Road To Sangam (Hindi/2010/120mins)
Dir: Amit Rai

8.30 pm
Janma (Marathi/2009/115mins)
Dir: Shirish Rane

May 7

6.30 pm
Mukha Puta (Kannada/2009/112mins)u00a0u00a0
Dir: Roopa Iyer

8.30 pm
MadhyaVenal (Malayalam/2009/122mins)
Dir: Madhu Kaithapram

May 8

11 am
Vimukti (Kannada/2008/110mins)
Dir: P Sheshadri

2.30 pm
Documentary film AIDS JAAGO Series - Blood Brothers (Hindi with English subtitles/18mins)
Dir: Vishal Bhardwaj

2.50 pm
Haat: The Weekly Bazar (Rajasthani/2009/103mins)
Dir: Seema Kapoor

6.30 pm
Kadaksham (Malayalam/2010/120mins)
Dir: Sashi Paravoor

8.30 pm
Phir Kabhi (Hindi/2009/145mins)
Dir: VK Prakash

May 9

11 am
Documentary film AIDS JAAGO Series - Positive (Hindi with English subtitles/18mins)
Dir: Farhan Akhtar

11.20 am
Patham Nilayile Theevandi (Malayalam/2009/102mins)
Dir: Joshy Mathew

2.30 pm
Documentary film AIDS JAAGO Series - Prarambha (Tamil with English subtitles/13mins)
Dir: Santosh Sivan

2.45 pm
Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya (Tamil/2010/156mins)
Dir: Gautham Vasudev Menon

6.30 pm
Antaheen (Bengali/2009/120mins)
Dir: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury

8.30 pm
Firaaq (Hindi/2009/100mins)
Dir: Nandita Das