The American Center, The Embassy of the United States of America in association with Cinedarbaar is celebrating the World Tourism Day (27th September) by organizing a seminar 
and a three day film festival, which will celebrate Western genre as a theme. ‘City Symphonies’ & ‘Road Genre’ were successful events in the past 2 years celebrating world tourism day. This year’s ‘Western Film Festival’ at The American Center on 25th, 26th & 27th September, 2014 will kick start with a seminar on the first day giving an insight of the visa process and answering the general queries of the public. The opening film of the festival is ‘High Noon’ by Fred Zinnemann, starring: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly and Thomas Mitchell. Four times Oscar winning movie will be followed by a special talk by Kumar Unnayan (a postgraduate in English Literature & a keen theatre and cinema enthusiast) on the importance of ‘High Noon’ as a part of Western film cannon and its profound impact on American cinema and culture.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization celebrated the first World Tourism Day on September 27, 1980 to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide. The celebration, highlighting the U.S. as the top tourist destination for 2014-2015, kicks off at 4:00 p.m. on September 25 when an American Embassy Consular Officer will speak about the U.S. visa processing system. Travel agents will be on hand to provide information on attractions, exciting events and vacation opportunities in the U.S.
‘High Noon’, ‘The Searchers’, ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’, ‘The Wild Bunch’ and lastly ‘Unforgiven’ as part of the film festival will explore the American landscape and its culture. Western genre often depict conflicts with Native Americans and generally take place in the post-Civil War era, raising a number of important issues about the nature of American society. Cowboys play a prominent role in Western movies. The breathtaking settings, open landscapes and distinctive western clothing (denim, jeans, boots, etc.) are the persistent theme of Western movies showcasing American culture set between 1850’s and 1990.
Witness a rare festival in the city and know more about the genre with Cinephiles taking interactive discussions after each movie on various topics like ‘introduction to Western genre and its history’, ‘cinematography & technical details’, ‘key auteurs and actors contributing to the evolution of the genre’ and ‘western genre’s contribution to the world cinema’ particularly in Italy – ‘The Spaghetti Western’ such as biggest bollywood hit ‘Sholay’. Exciting prizes will be given away by answering interesting quizzes based on the movie. Lucky persons will get a chance to win a full size poster of the movies.
The visitors can also enjoy music inspired by the Western genre which will be played throughout the duration of the festival creating the atmosphere. Handouts which will include film reviews will also be available at the venue after each screening for the audience. The whole centre will be in its true American mood in order to bring Indian audiences closer to America.
The entry to the festival is free and open for general public. Please carry an original valid photo ID to enter the American Center.