Melbourne: With Bollywood film Sanju winning the Highest Grossing Foreign Film Award at Australian International Movie Convention (AIMC) for the fourth time, Mind Blowing Films has sealed its place as one of the top companies dominating the Australian independent film industry.
Mitu Bhowmick Lange, the proud owner of Mind Blowing Films, was congratulated by Qube Cinema for winning the prestigious award at the AIMC this year. Sanju is a 2018 Indian biographical film directed by Rajkumar Hirani and written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi. The previous awards were for the films Dhoom 3, PK and Dangal. The blockbuster titles that are currently running to packed theaters are Housefull 4 and Saand ki Aankh.
Mitu is one of the most renowned names contributing to the global outreach of Indian cinema in the past decade. Her efforts in the region have gone a long way in boosting the distribution and consumption of Indian content. As the Festival Director of the Indian Film Festival - Bollywood and Beyond - ANZ, and the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne presented by the Victorian Government, she has done ground-breaking work in popularising Indian content and in introducing the potential of the region to Indian filmmakers. In 2017, Mitu received the Jill Robb Award from Film Victoria recognizing her achievements, leadership and mentorship of other women from the sector, a Qube Cinema press release stated.
“AIMC is a great platform to celebrate the box office achievements of the films released throughout the year and acknowledge the hard work and tireless efforts of distributors and exhibitors to release a film and realise success. We are proud to have awarded Mitu the highest grossing Foreign Film Award four times and it is a testament to her collaboration between exhibitors and distributors that affords her such success. Congratulations Mitu - very well deserved,” said Michael Hawkins, Executive Director, Australian International Movie Convention.
Mitu started Mind Blowing Films, a film production and distribution company, which has been at the forefront of the promotion and distribution of Indian films and its DVD releases in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. The company’s initiative to explore opportunities with distributing other ethnic- language films like Arabic, Chinese, Lebanese, and Greek among others for Theatrical/DVD distribution into the region has opened a new market for these films. Shooting in beautiful and exotic locations is a big value add for the production company and a revenue earner for the host country. The company facilitates this by providing international production line support for features/TV shot in the region.
But it is also The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, the brainchild of Mitu, which has taken a life of its own. This year the festival entered its 10th year and has earned its pride of place as the iconic festival in Melbourne’s cultural landscape.
Mitu says she has always treated the festival as a bridge – cultural and fun not just for Indians but for everyone and tied to the principles of diversity and inclusion, which is why films being showcased are selected with great care.
Indeed, Mitu has been able to stretch and challenge the notions of film and entertainment by bringing to Australia the best in the arts. “We have always believed that films are the greatest cultural bridge between countries and communities and IFFM continues to be that with the guests that it invites and with its programs,” she told G’day India. The AIMC award is just another feather in her cap!
(G’day Staff & press release)
