This series deals with two of the deepest questions there are - what is everything, and what is nothing? In two epic, surreal and mind-expanding films, Professor Jim Al-Khalili searches for an answer to these questions as he explores the true size and shape of the universe and delves into the amazing science behind apparent nothingness.

Everything (58 min; English) | Click here to watch
The first part, Everything, sees Professor Al-Khalili set out to discover what the universe might actually look like. The journey takes him from the distant past to the boundaries of the known universe. Along the way he charts the remarkable stories of the men and women who discovered the truth about the cosmos and investigates how our understanding of space has been shaped by both mathematics and astronomy.

(100 min; 2015; English)

Director: Don Cheadle

A Miles Davis biopic that avoids easy notes. The cradle-to-the-grave biopic has become an increasingly tried Hollywood staple. So it's somewhat refreshing to see Don Cheadle make his directorial debut with what might be called an anti-bio – one that gives the much-deserved big-screen treatment to jazz legend Miles Davis. It's tempting to think this musical innovator would approve of the offbeat, semi- fictional approach taken in this account of a few days in his 'lost' years – the mid-'70s period when he disappeared from public view.

The Ancient World- Alexandria: The Greatest City |(50 min; 2010; English) | Click here to watch

A series of documentaries presented by the historian Bettany Hughes. Travelling across present locations, Bettany explores the cultural and political pasts of ancient peoples, including the Greeks, Minoans and Egyptian.

Bettany Hughes goes to Alexandria, Egypt, too look at one of the great cities of history. Founded by Alexander the Great, Alexandria was once one of the intellectual and culture hubs of the world. It was home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the immense Library of Alexandria.

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

 at 2.30 pm   Workshop
Conducted by Prof. Balazs Varga, Associate Professor of Film Studies at ELTE, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

At 6.30 pm    Colonel Redl (Hungary)
(144 min; 1985; dvd; Hungarian with English subtitles)
Director: Istaván Szabó

Multiple award winner including Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival 1985; BAFTA Film Award for Best Foreign Language Film, BAFTA Film Awards 1986; Film Award in Gold for Outstanding Feature Film & Best Performance of an Actor in a Leading Role, German Film Awards 1985; among others

The rise and fall of Alfred Redl, an ambitious young officer who proceeds up the ladder to become head of the Austro-Hungarian Secret Police, only to become ensnared in a web of political deception.

Szabó returns to the formula that made Mephisto a success and improves on it, delivering a stunning historical piece with the amazing Brandauer in the lead role.  This one is set in the years preceding The Great War, where the glory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is in decline.  Brandauer plays Alfred Redl, a young officer from a poor upbringing who quickly rises in the ranks to become head of the secret police.  Once again it is Brandauer's charismatic presence and dramatic range that carries the film. The final scene in the film is one of the most emotional powerful displays of acting ever filmed.

A fascinating story of a true historical figure, with another brilliant performance from Klaus Maria Brandauer, one of the most underrated actors of his generation.

    KINDLY PLEASE MAKE A NOTE

-    Physical programmes will be held as per the Covid -19 protocols
-    Wearing of face masks is mandatory and will be strictly enforced. Entry will not be permitted to anyone not wearing a mask
-    Audiences are requested to arrive at the venues, at least 30 minutes prior to the programmes in order to facilitate the screening process at the Door
-    There will be separate doors earmarked for Entry and Exit

We request audiences to kindly abide by the above regulations

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

At 2.30 pm Workshop
Conducted by Prof. Balazs Varga, Associate Professor of Film Studies at ELTE, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

At 6.30 pm    Father (Apa/Hungary)
(88 min; 1966; dvd; Hungarian with English subtitles)
Director: István Szabó

Recipient of the Special Prize of the Jury, Locarno International Film Festival 1967; Grand Prix, Moscow International Film Festival 1967; Golden Moon Award for Best Screenplay, Faro Island Film Festival 1966; and CEC Award, Valladolid International Film Festival 1968

After his father is killed in World War II, a young Hungarian boy named Tako concocts a fantasy image of the parent he never really knew.

Essentially a coming of age story told in two parts, the first half of this film is set in 1949 and deals with young Tako (Daniel Erdely) as a schoolboy whose father (Miklos Gabor), a doctor, died at the end of WW2.  Being too young to really remember his father, the boy invents and imagines stories about him, so he becomes a kind of mythological figure in his mind.  The second half of the film takes place in 1956 just before the Hungarian uprising, Tako (Andras Balint) is now a university student and a man who still struggles with the memories of his father and sets out to discover the man he really was.

A well-made story, quite moving but never over-sentimental that excels particularly in the various imagined heroic flashback scenes of the father, with Miklos Gabor doing a fine job in that role.  Hungarian film legend Andras Balint plays the older Tako brilliantly as a young man searching for the truth about his past.  

KINDLY PLEASE MAKE A NOTE

-    Physical programmes will be held as per the Covid -19 protocols
-    Wearing of face masks is mandatory and will be strictly enforced. Entry will not be permitted to anyone not wearing a mask
-    Audiences are requested to arrive at the venues, at least 30 minutes prior to the programmes in order to facilitate the screening process at the Door
-    There will be separate doors earmarked for Entry and Exit

We request audiences to kindly abide by the above regulations

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

At 2.30 pm    Workshop
Conducted by Prof. Balazs Varga, Associate Professor of Film Studies at ELTE, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

At 6.30 pm    Hanussen (Hungary)
(140 min; 1988; dvd; Hungarian with English subtitles)
Director: Istaván Szabó

Recipient of the Golden Camera Award for Best International Actor, Golden Camera Awards, Germany 1991

Hanussen centres on an Austrian soldier who becomes a clairvoyant after he is shot in the head during World War I.  He is able to read minds and predict the future.  Before long, he has foreseen Hitler and the Nazis' rise to power, and he soon finds himself in danger.

Szabo's third film in a row starring Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer, following Mephisto and Colonel Redl, it once again follows the life of a man who rises to fame and power, only to be thwarted by the regime.  It spans from the end of WWI, where Klaus Schneider who would later become known by his stage name Erik Jan Hanussen is injured in combat and sent to an infirmary where he hones his skills as a hypnotist and mind reader, and follows his career as a clairvoyant all the way to his fateful prediction of the Reichstag fire in February 1933.
 

KINDLY PLEASE MAKE A NOTE

-    Physical programmes will be held as per the Covid -19 protocols
-    Wearing of face masks is mandatory and will be strictly enforced. Entry will not be permitted to anyone not wearing a mask
-    Audiences are requested to arrive at the venues, at least 30 minutes prior to the programmes in order to facilitate the screening process at the Door
-    There will be separate doors earmarked for Entry and Exit

We request audiences to kindly abide by the above regulations
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

István Szabó, one of the most critically acclaimed Hungarian filmmakers, and Martin Scorsese will be honoured with the first Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the 52nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held from 20th to 28th November 2021.

To mark this occasion, the IIC Film Club in collaboration with Liszt Institute-Hungarian Cultural Centre Delhi; and University of Delhi is organising an István Szabó Retrospective: Central European Present and Past in Film. The retrospective includes a workshop to be conducted by Prof. Balazs Varga, Associate Professor of Film Studies at ELTE, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; and a screening of four seminal films.

 István Szabó Retrospective: Central European Present and Past in Film
Workshop and screenings will be held on 8, 9, 12 and 15 November 2021 at the C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, India International Centre

At 2.30 pm    Workshop
Conducted by Prof. Balazs Varga, Associate Professor of Film Studies at ELTE, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

At 6.30 pm    Budapest Tales (Budapesti mesék/Hungarian)
(90 min; 1977; dvd; Hungarian with English subtitles)
Director: István Szabó

A group of people find a broken down tram while trying to go to the city. The people band together and try to get the tram back on the train tracks and head towards the city. Along this journey the passengers encounter many people who join them on the tram.

In this allegorical film, most of the characters speak in capital letters about Life, Love and the Need to Keep Calm while hitching a ride on the tram of Adversity. The tram is a central element in the story along with a few other symbols, including a trapped fish and a caged bird, that are fellow travellers accompanying the human passengers as they Press On.

KINDLY PLEASE MAKE A NOTE

-    Physical programmes will be held as per the Covid -19 protocols
-    Wearing of face masks is mandatory and will be strictly enforced. Entry will not be permitted to anyone not wearing a mask
-    Audiences are requested to arrive at the venues, at least 30 minutes prior to the programmes in order to facilitate the screening process at the Door
-    There will be separate doors earmarked for Entry and Exit

We request audiences to kindly abide by the above regulations
 

The IIC Experience

A Festival of the Arts - 9 to 15 October 2014

Please click here to download the festival programme

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Hindustani Vocal Recital

By Meelu Verma from Delhi, disciple of Guru Savita Devi, Pt. Mohinder Sarin, Pt. Ram Narayan Mani Tripathi and Smt. Nargis Warsi

Accompanists: Ustad Kamal Ahmed (sarangi); Ustad Badloo Khan (harmonium); and Ustad Akhtar Khan (tabla)

At 19:00
 

Sitar Recital

By Dhruv Bedi from Delhi, disciple of Pt. Budhaditya Mukherjee

Accompanied by Saptak Sharma on the tabla

Kindly please make a note
-    Physical programmes will be held as per the Covid -19 guidelines with 50% seating capacity in the C.D.Deshmukh  Auditorium.
-    Wearing of face masks is mandatory and will be strictly enforced. Entry will not be permitted to anyone not wearing a mask
-    Audiences are requested to arrive at the venues, at least 30 minutes prior to the programmes in order to facilitate the screening process at the Door
-    There will be separate doors earmarked for Entry and Exit

We request audiences to kindly abide by the above regulations