DUBAI, 29 May 2006 — Noted Hollywood film producer Ashok Amritraj and celebrated international theater, television and film actor Kabir Bedi will speak at the Professionals Meet Professionals workshop to be hosted by Dubai Studio City, the region’s emerging film production hub, on June 15, 2006.
The workshop is one of the highlights of the 7th Annual International Indian Film Academy Weekend and Awards, the four-day extravaganza in Dubai from June 14-17, organized by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) and presented by Tiara Residence.
An open forum for film students, professionals and industry stalwarts to come together, the IIFA Workshop will discuss international cinema. At a time when cinema is breaking through boundaries of territory and language and coming together across cultures and continents, it will bring together the two Indian cinema personalities who have made a mark on global shores. Ashok Amritaj and Kabir Bedi will share their experience in international cinema and their journey from India to Hollywood.
“As we seek to build a vibrant film industry cluster, Dubai Studio City is keen to support events that facilitate interaction between global film personalities and the regional industry,” said Dr. Amina Al Rustamani, executive director of Dubai Studio City. “Both Amritraj and Bedi, despite not being westerners, have made a name for themselves in Hollywood and their experiences and perspectives will inspire excellence in the industry here. This workshop also serves to enhance dialogue between film-cultures, an objective that is close to Dubai Studio City’s own heart,” she added.
As chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment, Ashok Amritraj is one of the most successful and influential producers in Hollywood. Amritraj has made successful films such as Golden Globe nominee Bandits, Original Sin, Moonlight Mile and Raising Helen. Amritraj’s film, Jeans, earned him the title of “Spirit of India’s Man of the Year” by the Film Federation of India for Best Foreign Film in the 1998 Academy Awards. He also received the “Pride Of India” Lifetime Achievement Award. Over the last twenty years, he has produced over 80 films. Ashok Amritraj will offer an interesting perspective to the Hollywood community at the IIFA Workshop in Dubai.
Kabir Bedi is a well-known name in the world of international cinema and television. With over three decades of experience in films, theater and television, Bedi has been one of India’s most successful actors. From being the villain Gobinda in the James Bond thriller Octupussy, to playing Shahjahan in Akbar Khan’s Taj Mahal, or West End musicals in London, Kabir Bedi has done it all. His most recent assignment was in the Far Pavilions on the British stage.
