Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Bhutan Film Industry Is Indebted to AAFT : Cine Star Lakhi Dolma

The heartthrob of Bhutan Lakhi Dolma paid rich tribute to the faculty of Asian Academy of Film & TV for its contribution towards sowing the seed of the now flourishing and govt. supported film industry in her tiny kingdom. She was delivering the valedictory to the outgoing students of the 66th session of the world renowned AAFT. Thirteen year ago the top film director of Bhutan Karma Tsehering had received education and training in the art and craft of filmmaking and this was the motive force behind the new dawn in the entertainment industry of Bhutan, she added. The founder and now the President of Asian Academy of Film & TV, Sandeep Marwah said that Karma Tschering has indeed done his alma mater proud and his name would go down in the history of world cinema. In his address to the audience film director Karma Tschering acknowledged that he owe his success to this guru and mentor Sandeep Marwah. He went on to say that work for the welfare of the society is anytime superior to the mere pursuit of wealth. Filmmaking is a human endeavour which leaves a lasting impression on the mind of the viewers and which may lead to building of a healthy, happy and sane society, he added. Social activist and President of Uttariya Nav Nirman Sena Amit Jani exhorted the students on this occasion to try and eliminate through their work the evils which are eating up the very vitals of the Indian society.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Tashi Norbu

Source: Bhutan Observer, Pioneer in entertainment industry

21 March 2010

A recipient of a gold medal, a composer, singer, performer, and film director, Tashi Norbu, 50, is a pioneer in Bhutanese entertainment industry.

The Managing Director and owner of Tashi Nyencha Entertainment Company, Tashi Norbu started the entertainment group in 1987 with four people.

They composed traditional songs, tunes and redesigned a few traditional musical instruments. They released their first music album, Music from the Dragon Kingdom, in 1988.

In 1990, Tashi Nyencha produced a comedy film, Ap Wangdugay. It was shot using a handy cam with a budget of less than Nu 100,000. It was the first Bhutanese film to be screened in Lugar Theatre in Thimphu, in Phuentsholing and Samdrup Jongkhar.

Tashi Norbu was the director, cameraman, light man and makeup person for the film. He said the making of the film was difficult because the whole of it was set in a rural area.

Later, he produced Daw Butsu, a film on music, love and religion, and Gukor, an other comedy featuring Phur­pa Thinley.

Gradually, the number of members in the group started increasing, and in 1994, Tashi Nyencha started functioning as the first private entertainment firm.

They started performing live stage shows entertaining people with traditional, cultural and modern Bhutanese songs and dances.

In 1997, Tashi Norbu asked people from different regions in the country to teach local dances and songs to his group and started collecting costumes from the regions.

Today, he claims to have nine unique dances of Bhutan which no other entertainment company has and the rarest collection of dance costumes from across the country.

His hard work and dedication paid off in 2005 when he received a gold medal along with a cash prize of Nu 1.5 million at the 16th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes in Japan. The medal, made of platinum and gold, was awarded to him for being the first private citizen in the country to engage in preserving and maintaining traditional culture, primarily music.

Tashi Nyencha has produced around nine music al bums. The group performed in Japan, Hongkong, India and Thailand. Currently the group has 18 people.

Born and brought up in Thimphu, Tashi Norbu is originally from Kheng. He inherited the interest in music from his late father, Colonel Digala Dorji, more popularly known as Aku Tongmi, the composer of the national an­them of Bhutan.

Tashi Norbu was a talented singer and dancer since his school days in Kalimpong, India. While pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Shilliong, India, he got an offer to act in an Indian film but he declined the offer because he wanted to come back home and show his potential at home.

After coming back home, he played for the national football team as the goal keeper for two years before starting Tashi Nyencha.

Besides music, Tashi Norbu is also into collecting antiques. He has a rich collection of antiques in his home. Some of the antiques belonged to his father. He plans to open a small museum near the Zangtopelri in Vegetable Market to showcase the antique collection.

During his free time, Tashi Norbu engages himself in making decorative items like photo frames, flower holders and wall hangers.

By Tandin Pem

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Mig hall, decades after

Source: bhutantimes.bt

Written by Tashi Wangchuk

Image

Even after almost five decades, Mig cinema hall in Phuentsholing is as good as it was some decades ago. Things have not changed much except that now the business had gone down.

Owned by the former foreign minister, Pema Wangchuk, construction work of the hall began in 1964 and two years later, the hall started screening movies. The 670 seated cinema hall screened a Hindi movie Hong Kong for the first time, remembers some old time locals.

When the cinema hall began, it was one of the most happening place in town.

At the hall, people were offered two categories of seat to watch excluding balcony for dignitaries. A few recollect that when the movie was screened for the first time, the first person to enter the Hall was given gift hampers.

Tilak Sharma, who was a student in Phuentsholing junior high school then, was among the first person to enter the second class seats. He recalls that he was given a Chinese flask for being the first person to enter the Hall.

People say that Mig hall is the first cinema hall in the country but some contradict that the cinema hall in Samdrup Jongkhar was established way before.

However, the Mig cinema hall did a brisk business in the many years that followed. That is until the arrival of television that snuffed movie going culture.

The Hall used to screen four shows a day. Morning, matinee, evening and night shows were its usual schedule.

People from distant places like Dalsingpara tea garden also used to come almost every day to watch movies. New Hindi movies were its daily treat and it also screened some Hollywood movies. Movies of Hollywood actors like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chain often did well apart from Hindi movies.

The main factor complementing its good business was because the television sets at that time were too costly for people to buy and also because television were prohibited in the country.  

To screen a movie, officials of the Hall used to purchase or hire reels of new movies released. They had to pay about Nu 75,000 as an advance payment before movies were released in Indian theaters.

Those were the times when the cinema hall used to make good profits. Till 1999, it was a boom period of business for Mig hall. But after the government lifted the ban on television, business started declining.

Officials also blame the evolution of modern electronics which made a radical reduction in the cost of TV sets. Because of cheaper rate, people started buying TVs at their home and stopped going to the Hall.

To make the matter worst, government stopped Indians from passing through the gate after 9 PM on security grounds which ultimately affected its evening and night shows.

As Bhutanese movies started gaining momentum, Mig hall stoped screening Hindi movies since July, 2007. Since then, the Hall has lost its Indian viewers. The rent of the Hall per show is not less than Nu 2,500.

Ever since, it started screening Bhutanese movies, hardly any movies could attract houseful viewers. Mig hall is run by five employees who say that they can hardly manage to get their salary from the Hall. It is even more difficult for them to pay taxes like urban land tax, business income tax and personal income tax.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Oscar 2010 Winners

82nd Oscar winners – full list

Source: Oscar.go.com

Best Picture

    The Hurt Locker

    The Hurt Locker

    Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro

      Actor in a Leading Role

        Jeff Bridges

        Jeff Bridges

        Crazy Heart

          Actor in a Supporting Role

            Christoph Waltz

            Christoph Waltz

            Inglourious Basterds

              Actress in a Leading Role

                Sandra Bullock

                Sandra Bullock

                The Blind Side

                  Actress in a Supporting Role

                    Mo'Nique

                    Mo'Nique

                    Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

                      Animated Feature Film

                        Up

                        Up

                        Pete Docter

                        Art Direction

                        Avatar

                        Avatar

                        Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim Sinclair (Set Decoration)

                          Cinematography

                            Avatar

                            Avatar

                            Mauro Fiore

                            Costume Design

                              The Young Victoria

                              The Young Victoria

                              Sandy Powell

                              Directing

                                The Hurt Locker

                                The Hurt Locker

                                Kathryn Bigelow

                                Documentary Feature

                                  The Cove

                                  The Cove

                                  Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens

                                  Documentary Short

                                    Music by Prudence

                                    Music by Prudence

                                    Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett

                                    Film Editing

                                      The Hurt Locker

                                      The Hurt Locker

                                      Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

                                      Foreign Language Film

                                        The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)

                                        The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)

                                        Argentina

                                        Directed by Juan José Campanella

                                        Makeup

                                          Star Trek

                                          Star Trek

                                          Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

                                          Music (Original Score)

                                            Up

                                            Up

                                            Michael Giacchino

                                            Music (Original Song)

                                              Crazy Heart

                                              Crazy Heart

                                              "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)"

                                              Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

                                              Short Film (Animated)

                                                Logorama

                                                Logorama

                                                Nicolas Schmerkin

                                                Short Film (Live Action)

                                                  The New Tenants

                                                  The New Tenants

                                                  Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

                                                  Sound Editing

                                                    The Hurt Locker

                                                    The Hurt Locker

                                                    Paul N.J. Ottosson

                                                    Sound Mixing

                                                      The Hurt Locker

                                                      The Hurt Locker

                                                      Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett

                                                      Visual Effects

                                                        Avatar

                                                        Avatar

                                                        Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones

                                                        Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

                                                          Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

                                                          Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

                                                          Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher

                                                          Writing (Original Screenplay)

                                                            The Hurt Locker

                                                            The Hurt Locker

                                                            15 Ways to Watch the Oscars 2010 Live Online for Free!

                                                            Just a couple of hours left...May the best win!

                                                            Source: Technically Personal

                                                            The mother of all film awards is here – 82nd Annual Academy awards, popularly known as Oscar awards (or Oscars) are the awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The 82nd Annual Academy / Oscar awards 2010 is scheduled to go live on 7th March 2010 (5PT / 8ET) on ABC and takes place at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

                                                            It is getting bigger than ever. I suggest you to Watch Oscar Awards / Academy Awards 2010 Live Stream Online. If you can’t catch up on live TV, you can watch the Oscar awards night Online for Free. Some links to the exact streams won’t be available until right before the ceremonies begin. I’ll be updating this list right up to the event so be sure to check back.

                                                            Actors Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will host the show. Martin will host for the third time, while Baldwin will be hosting for the first time ever. The Oscars 2010 nominees were announced on Feb 2nd 2010. Top nominated films were Avatar and The Hurt Locker, with 9 nominations each.

                                                            Watch the Oscars 2010 Live online for Free!

                                                            Just like Oscars 2009, we will be providing the links for live streaming coverage of Oscars 2010.

                                                             

                                                            1. Watch Oscars online for Free on AP livestream – Livestream have teamed up with AP to live stream Oscars 2010 online for free.

                                                            2. Watch Oscar awards 2010 live online for free on Livestream – The Official Academy Awards Livestream Page

                                                            3. Watch the Oscars 2010 live streaming for free on Associated Press channel – another livestream link which would cover Oscar red carpet event as well.

                                                            4. Watch the 82nd Academy awards live online for free on Oscar.com – the official website of the official broadcaster- ABC

                                                            5. Watch the Oscar awards 2010 live online for free on atdhe – ABC live streaming link

                                                            6. Watch Oscar Awards 2010 live streaming online for free on UStream TV – a great resource for live streaming links

                                                            7. Academy Awards 2010 Live streaming for free on Justin TV – Similar to UStream, better quality streams, watch Oscars online

                                                            8. Watch Oscars 2010 videos online for free on Hulu – If not the live streaming of the awards, you should be able to find some exclusive video clips of Oscars 2010. US only.

                                                            9. Watch Oscar awards 2010 live streaming online for free on Webcastr

                                                            10. Watch the 82nd Academy awards 2010 online for free on TV.com

                                                            11. Watch Academy awards 2010 live videos online for free on TVGuide – check this only if you are looking for videos of Oscar Awards winners and nominees once the awards ceremony ends

                                                            More resources to Watch Oscar awards 2010 online fore free

                                                            12. Oscars 2010 Nominees and Winners – Full coverage on ABC News

                                                            13. Watch The Oscars 2010 online for free on Sidereel – no live streaming, but clips will be uploaded after the award ceremony

                                                            14. CNN Awards Spotlight: Academy Awards

                                                            15. Yahoo! Movies – 82nd Academy Awards

                                                            16. Youtube – Oscar channel – The official Oscar Channel on Youtube

                                                            Update:

                                                            17. APLive Facebook page – You can watch the Oscars 2010 live on Facebook. Need to be a fan of APLive in order to view the live stream.

                                                            More and more live streaming links will be updated just before the awards show start on March 7th.