Brett lee will launch his scarf line and MasterChef Australia judge Gary Mehigan will try some Indian flavours during the second edition of Oz Fest. Eram Agha gets you the highlights
The second edition of Oz Fest will bring a part of Australia that remains hidden from most of us. The fest will feature popular faces like Brett lee and MasterChef judge Gary Mehigan. Gary will host the The Great Souther BBQ in Delhi and other gastronomical events in Mumbai and Chennai. The bond he forged with India will see a new colour — his travels will be filmed for a new series. What he loved about his last trip to India was a “rockstar like treatment” given to him. And all he had to say was, “Hey, I am just a chef!”
The fest intends to bring Indians closer to the contemporary cultural trends in Australia. It will open with an Australian design showcase at Wills lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013 in Delhi. Sydney-based design duo ‘Romance Was Born’ will present a collection created with textiles in an amazing collaboration with Varanasi silk weavers. This time, the highlight is Brett lee’s bent towards fashion. He will launch his new scarf line produced in collaboration with Panchachuli Women Weavers, which is the largest independent women’s cooperative in the state of Uttaranchal, and Woolmark, a research and development institute of the Australian wool textile industry.
Music buffs can look forward to the return of ‘Sounds Australia’ to India. The four Australian bands will feature at the Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Bengaluru and will also tour to Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. There will be singer-songwriter Kate-Miller Heidke, Indie outfit Hey Geronimo, hip-hop/electro DJ Sampology and electronic producer Spoonbill. In a new collaboration Aussie bands will collaborate with Indian songwriters in Mumbai to produce new tracks.
At RIIF Jodhpur, Jeff lang, Bobby Singh and Joe Tawadros will return and at Jaipur literature Festival Australian author Jack Turner will participate. Australian authors will also participate at Bookaroo (Chris Cheng) in Delhi and Mumbai lit Fest (John Zubrzycki).
As we know the Australian faces in Hollywood but don’t know much about Australian cinema, so to acquaint the film connoisseurs with the stories of their land Australian feature film The Rocket will be screened at the Mumbai Film Festival. Screen Australia will bring a delegation of Australian producers to the Goa Film Bazaar and some interactive film workshops in acting, directing, screenwriting and editing will take place.
Aussie comedy is dry and self deprecating, which is very well appreciated by Indian audience. Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s RAW Comedy Competition will return to Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The festival will continue till February next year.