The festival is thriving
BookMyShow‘s Red Truck Film Festival Two films have been shortlisted for the Academy Awards to anchor its second edition, scheduled to be screened from March 21 to 23, in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Produced by the producers of Navalny’s shortlisted documentary, Hollywood Gate provides a field study of Taliban-ruled Kabul. “Global Language,” which competes in the International Feature Film category, is an absurdist comedy-drama that weaves together multiple stories between Tehran and Winnipeg.
The festival will showcase over 120 titles across the two cities, marking an expansion with the ‘Red Lorry Film Festival: Parallel Verse’ in Hyderabad being held alongside the ‘Take 2’ edition in Mumbai. Notable selections include “When the Light Breaks,” which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2024, and “999: The Forgotten Girls,” winner of the Audience Award at the Miami Jewish Film Festival.
New for 2025, the festival offers a portion of the competition open to filmmakers, with submissions closing on January 7. Programming spans multiple languages including Spanish, French, German, Korean, Dutch, and Icelandic. Ashish Saxena, Director of Cinema Operations at BookMyShow, cited the success of the inaugural edition as a catalyst for expansion, citing the growing demand for world cinema among Indian audiences.
Prison premiere
“The Black Order” The prison drama series is set to premiere on January 10 Netflix. Set in Tihar, Asia’s largest prison, the series follows rookie warden Sunil Kumar Gupta as he navigates the complex power dynamics of the institution.
The series represents the actor Zahan KapoorHe made his debut in the lead role of Gupta, alongside cast members Rahul Bhatt, Paramveer Singh Cheema, Anurag Thakur, and Siddhant Gupta. The project brings together Netflix with the show’s creator Vikramaditya Motwani (“AK vs AK”), which he co-directs with Satyanshu Singh, Ambika Pandit, Arkesh Ajay, and Rohin Raveendran Nair.
The drama is based on a non-fiction book titled ‘Black Warrant: Confessions Of A Tihar Jailer’ by Sunil Gupta, former Superintendent of Tihar, and journalist Sunetra Choudhury. Entertainment applause The series is produced by Motwane’s Andolan Production in collaboration with Confluence Media.
The show joins Netflix India’s recent lineup that includes ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’, ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’, ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’, ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ and ‘CTRL’.
promotion
Fremantle has risen Fran DennyVice President Legal and Business Affairs for Global Drama, to Vice President Commercial for Global Drama.
Denny, who will report to Global Drama’s Chief Operating Officer Sip shoreHe will work on commercial operations for the global drama team, including closing deals with first look producers, supporting film strategy and sourcing new opportunities.
Denny joined Fremantle in 2022. She previously worked at Sister Pictures and Warner Brothers Television Production UK.
“I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Fran as Vice President, Commercial and Global Drama,” said Schorr. “It has been a pleasure to work with Fran over the past three years, and I greatly value her business acumen and deal-making skills. I look forward to working closely with Fran in her new role, which is key to our global drama growth ambitions.”