The highly successful 2009 Marathi film Harishchandrachi Factory has encountered its first real stumbling block since its release. The award-winning and critically acclaimed film, nominated as India’s entry for Best Foreign Language Oscar, failed to make the short list, announced January 20th, 2010.
The film, from veteran theatre director and first-time film-maker Paresh Mokashi, is a joyful look at the beginnings of cinema in India through its examination of the making of the first Indian film by printer/magician turned film-maker Dadasaheb Phalke. Many critics felt that, with its ability to capture the playful experimentation of early cinematic ventures so familiar to many cinematic traditions worldwide, it was a good choice and stood a good chance at making the final list of nominated films.
Instead, the short list reflects the darker shades of international cinema, from the Argentinian thriller El Secreto de Sus Ojos, to Australia’s Samson and Delilah (a story about addiction from Aboriginal director Warwick Thornton, which won the Camera d’Or at Cannes),to French director Jaques Audiard’s gritty prison drama Un Proph
