English Vinglish in the 37th Toronto Int Film Festival

 37th Toronto International Film Festival runs from Thursday, September 6th to Sunday the 16th 2012, an elevn days  of the biggest public film festival in the world!

The  kick-off press conference was held on 24 July.

 Indian film English Vinglish Gauri Shinde and The Reluctant Fundamentalist; dir. Mira NAIR [US] make to the list.

Here is the complete list of the 63 films announced, by program:TOfilmfest.ca

• Gala Presentations (18)

1. Argo Ben Affleck
2. The Company You Keep Robert Redford
3. Dangerous Liaisons Jin-ho Hur
4. English Vinglish Gauri Shinde
5. Free Angela and All Political Prisoners Shola Lynch
6. Great Expectations Mike Newell
7. Hyde Park on the Hudson Roger Mitchell
8. Inescapable Rubba Nadda
9. Jayne Mansfield's Car Billy Bob Thorton
10. Looper Rian Johnson
11. Love, Marilyn Liz Garbus
12. Midnight’s Children Deepa Mehta
13. The Reluctant Fundamentalist Mira Nair
14. A Royal Affair Nikolaj Arcel
15. Silver Linings Playbook David O. Russell
16. Stand Up Guys Fisher Stevens
17. Thermae Romae Hideki Takeuchi
18. Twice Born Sergio Castellitto

• Special Presentations (45)
1. Anna Karenina Joe Wright
2. At Any Price Ramin Bahrani
3. The Attack Ziad Doueiri
4. Byzantium Neil Jordan
5. Capital Costa-Gavras
6. Caught in the Web Kaige Chen
7. Cloud Atlas Tom Tykwer, Wachowski brothers
8. The Deep Baltasar Kormákur
9. Dormant Beauty Marco Bellocchio
10. Dreams for Sale Nishikawa Miwa
11. End of Watch David Ayer
12. Everybody Has A Plan Ana Piterbarg
13. A Few Hours of Spring Stéphane Brizé
14. Foxfire Laurent Cantet
15. Frances Ha Noah Baumbach
16. Ginger and Rosa Sally Potter
17. Hannah Arendt Margarethe von Trotta
18. The Hunt Thomas Vinterberg
19. The Iceman Ariel Vromen
20. Imogene Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
21. The Impossible Juan Antonio Bayona
22. In the House François Ozon
23. Kon-Tiki Joachim Rønning
24. The Last Supper Chuan Lu
25. A Late Quartet Yaron Zilberman
26. A Liar’s Autobiography Bill Jones
27. Lore Cate Shortland
28. Mister Pip Andrew Adamson
29. Much Ado About Nothing Joss Whedon
30. No Pablo Larraín
31. Outrage Beyond Takeshi Kitano
32. The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky
33. The Place Beyond the Pines Derek Cianfrance
34. Quartet Dustin Hoffman
35. Reality Matteo Garrone
36. Rust & Bone Jacques Audiard
37. The Sapphires Wayne Blair
38. The Sessions Ben Lewin
39. Tai Chi 0 Stephen Fung
40. Thanks for Sharing Stuart Blumberg
41. The Time Being Nenad Cicin-Sain
42. To The Wonder Terrence Malick
43. Venus & Serena Maiken Baird
44. Writers Josh Boone
45. Zaytoun Eran Riklis 

A chemical leak in Bhopal killed 20,000 people

Dear friends,

A chemical leak in Bhopal killed 20,000 people, poisoned 500,000 and caused decades of disease and death. Justice could finally be served on the company responsible but only if our government admits the full scale of the disaster. An international outcry created this opportunity -- now sign the petition to ensure no victim is ignored.

A chemical leak in Bhopal killed 20,000 people, poisoned 500,000 and caused decades of disease and death -- now survivors have a real chance to get justice from the company responsible. But our government is working behind the scenes to help shield Dow Chemical from having to pay compensation to everyone affected. It's up to us to step in and bring victory to the victims.

It took weeks of public outcry to convince the government to target Dow at all for these crimes and now Home Affairs Minister Chidambaram is busy erasing almost 80% of the victims from the claim, drastically reducing the possible damages.

A public outcry forced the Minister to bring the case to court. Now lets pressure him to submit the accurate figures to the Supreme court so that all the victims get justice. Join the call and when we reach 50,000 signers we will take out a hard-hitting newspaper ad that will force his attention:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/justice_for_bhopal_i2/?bTfWiab&v=16564

The Bhopal chemical spill tragedy wrecked the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and scorched the earth for generations. Yet despite this historic destruction, no justice has been served. Union Carbide, the company in charge of the plant, dodged responsibility, then was bought by Dow Chemical who have also refused to pay out fair compensation to the victims still desperate for help dealing with the loss and destruction around them.

Now, after decades of fighting for justice and a big campaign to push the Indian government to act, the petition before the Indian Supreme Court will reopen the case – paving the way to compensation from Dow to the survivors. But accurately assessing the number of victims is key to ensuring every victim gets compensated if they win. Minister Chidambaram is responsible for a brief submitted to the court, that eliminated almost 80% of the victims as assessed by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The Minister is likely working to protect Dow in order to keep India’s investment reputation. We can show him that justice is more important than bending the law to please big corporations! Click below to sign the petition and if we reach 50,000 signers, Avaaz will take this message directly to the morning newspaper that Minister Chidambaram reads:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/justice_for_bhopal_i2/?bTfWiab&v=16564

The Bhopal survivors need allies to win their decades long fight for justice, and we can answer their call. In the past, Avaaz has successfully stood with other communities under threat from multinational companies from Guatemala to the Ivory Coast. Now let’s support the victims of Bhopal in their final push for justice.

With hope,

Meredith, Iain, Alaphia, Pascal, Emma, Ricken and the rest of the Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION

The Tragedy Continues (Tehelka)
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main53.asp?filename=Op140712SATINATH.asp

Bhopal Activists Slam U.S. Ruling (blog)
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/06/28/bhopal-activists-slam-u-s-ruling

Between the flames (The Hindu)
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3635160.ece

Is the Anna Campaign making an awareness

Is the Anna Campaign making an awareness campaign to weed out corruption:No

Print article

2012-07-26 06:06:47 - Nksagar-Sagar Media Inc: New Delhi:
Is the Anna Campaign making an awareness campaign to weed out corruption in the system, No: The eminent people in Anna's camp ought to be aware of the corrupt practices in our society which also needs to be corrected.Team Annas think tank is harping on one point of JLPB, the deate on this must continue but experts are of opinions that we as a society must stand firm to weed out corruption. Jail, punishment and other violent actions are against Gandhian philosophy. Leaders must quit their office, profession on their own if found deflected from their path of welfare and irregularities committed as prevalent in Japan, Europe and other developed countries. Leaders with black records must also be ostracized by the democratic institutions and society. Team Anna sat on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar. Team Anna has launched their indefinite fast in New Delhi on Wednesday, raising the pitch against the UPA government on the issue of corruption. Anna Hazare's three close aides -- Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai -- sat on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar here while the 74-year-old activist is on a dharna. Hazare has served an ultimatum that he will wait for the government to take a decision on their demands in the next four days or else he will join his colleagues on fast from Sunday. Before reaching the protest venue, Hazare and his team members went to Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. As he arrived on the stage erected at Jantar Mantar, Hazare raised slogans like 'Inqulab Zindabad' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' as his supporters waved the tricolour. The protesters demand a strong Lokpal, setting up of a special team to probe corruption allegations against 15 Union Ministers, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, setting up of a fast track court to try criminal cases against MPs and SIT looking into allegations against party chiefs.On Tuesday, Hazare and his team spoke in different voices on the indefinite fast with the activist asserting that it is for Lokpal Bill while his aides said it is limited to their three demands.
Team Anna indefinite anshan at Jantar Mantar

Is the Anna Campaign making an awareness campaign to weed out corruption in the system and the eminent people in Anna's camp ought to be aware of the ccorrupt practices in our society which also needs to be corrected.Team Annas think tank is harping on one point of JLPB, the deate on this must continue but experts are of opinions that we as a society must stand firm to weed out corruption. Jail, punishment and other violent actions are against Gandhian philosophy. Leaders must quit their office, profession on their own if found deflected from their path of welfare and irregularities committed as prevalent in Japan, Europe and other developed countries.Leaders with black records must also be ostracized by the democratic institutions and society.

However the Team Annas press release is as follows: Seen in the sea of people were thousands in Anna cap , singing patriotic songs and thus started the fervid campaign of Team Anna at Jantar Mantar this morning, the movement of people against corruption and inefficiency in government and its cadres. Coincidently today Pranab Mukerjee, one of the key accused as claimed by team Anna, in Submarine AND Rice export scams, also took office as the 13th president of the nation. People from all walks of life, young and old, men and women, children and college going students turnout to see the uproar in the massive gathering , in the sweltering heat of the Sun and managing day’s life with basic minimal amenities such as water and food. Speakers, one by one, mocked at the long and old history of incompetence, lethargy , corrupt practices and lawless governance ruling the country for last 63 years of independence which many call “rule by the black foreigners”.
Amazing was the enthusiasm shown by people sitting on open road, singing patriotic songs and cheering team Anna. Sunil Lal, a team member has converted the Jan Lok Pal bill in 16 languages including Marathi, Gujarati, and Punjabi etc for the common people to understand what it means to them. Another supporter, col Devender Sehrawat raised the issue of farmers and minimum support price and how the governments, one after another, have ignored farmer’s interest to plunder their lands offering minimum prices and colluding with the business groups. This has happened while the lame “land acquisition act” has been pending like a ping pong ball in the governments and judiciary. The unaccountability in government offices was clearly imaginable when people talked about countracts worth Rs 50 lacs being sanctioned but only Rs 3 lacs was spent on actual development , remaining amount being shared between politicians and business goons. This is a naked truth we see when we compare the quality of roads and hospitals and schools and us and what we see in private institutions which have become rampant machines to loot the common man. Rightly someone pointed out as in “Pan Singh Tomar”- only guns are left in Chambal, all dacoits now sit in Delhi. Speakers also talked about how political parties resort to illegal and unethical practices for seeing vote by offering money and other lures to gullible voters.
Suman Lal Jain,(95), an associate of Vinoba Bhave and friend of Anna also joined to show his support for the national cause of eliminating graft and corruption from the country. Fodder cam, 2G scam, CWG, Coalgate and what not- all came as topics of reference for the speakers who mocked at callousness shown by the top leadership of all political parties who have ruled the nation ever after independence and nothing has come to the common man who has attuned to live without water, power , healthcare and other basic things of life.

Thousands of people turned up to support the campaign. The gathering was addressed by Anna, Kiran Bedi, Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal. Kumar Vishwas and Sanjay Singh managed the stage. Also present were Shanti Bhushan, Sunita Godara, Devinder Sharma and Akhil Gogoi.

In many places in India, Anshankaris were not allowed to hold peaceful protests and were detained. In Kolkata, some people were arrested as a huge crowd of protestors gathered around the Central Lock-up, Lal Bazar. In Pune, volunteers of India Against Corruption were arrested while in Mumbai 50 activists protesting were peacefully arrested. Around 8 buses from Bhatinda carrying 1000 supporters was stopped from entering Delhi.

People from various cities across the country are expected to arrive in Jantar Mantar tomorrow. This includes people from all four districts of Sikkim who will come to Delhi all the way from their home state. One of them is Mr YT Lepcha who will also sit on indefinite fast.
Around 400 people started an indefinite anshan at Delhi today.

People from places like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are pouring in to lend their support to the Janlokpal Bill. A street play group from Palwal also performed a play on corruption called – Dhritrashtra ka Darbar. Even in the sweltering heat, people from all age groups, castes and regions of the country are lending enthusiastic support to the fight led by Anna Hazare. A 95-year old freedom fighter who had also taken active part in JP andolan had come all the way from Agra to support India Against Corruption. In a small UP-Bihar border village of Sitab Deara, JP Narayan's 87-year old brother KC Verma and his wife also sat on an indefinite anshan.

Roaring ‘Vande Matram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ those who couldn’t join the fast at Delhi are lending their support from their native places by organizing anshans there.

Towards the evening, Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan explained the charges on 5 out of the 15 ministers against whom an independent SIT is being demanded. These ministers were Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, newly elected President Pranab Mukherjee, Virbhadra Singh, Kapil Sibal and P. Chidambaram. Before starting explanation of charges on each of the 5 ministers, the crowd was asked how many felt that the respective minister was corrupt. Barring a few, all hands went up in the air followed by a loud roar.

The coalgate scam involving Prime Minister was discussed in detail. The allegations on Pranab over the rice export scam where the Ghana govt had raised serious allegations against the then External Affairs Minister currently the President Pranab Mukherjee was also discussed along with the Navy War room leak case.
For details of the charges on each of the Ministers, pls visit our website www.indiaagainstcorruption.org.

Referring to Ambika Soni's statement that a defamation case would be filed against Team Anna members, Arvind Kejriwal dared the govt to file the case.

Annaji in his address said after seeing the number of youth gathered at the venue he felt like a 75-year youth. He said that what the Britishers could not loot in 150 years, our politicians have looted after we gained our Independence. He also said that even though the PM had agreed on 3 demands - Citizen Charter, Lower Bureaucracy and Lokayukta - the govt did not fulfil its promise.


Arvind Kejriwal challenged the NSUI who allegedly tried to create ruckus at the gathering this morning, by inviting them for sharing their thoughts rather than engaging in destructive and anti- social activities. He sought involvement and support from young Indians to further this national cause and improve the state of affairs in the nation. He promised to expose 15 corrupt politicians who are MPs and this list included PM Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukerjee and many others. Speakers from many prominent parties and groups spoke including Imam Council of India.