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Director of Oscar-winning movie discusses film ‘magic’ at Festival of Ideas

Director of Oscar-winning movie discusses film ‘magic’ at Festival of Ideas

Posted on 28 May 2024

Shekhar Kapur, Director of Oscar–winning movie, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and celebrated author Vikas Swarup, author of Q&A, adapted for film as Slumdog Millionaire, will join the York Festival of Ideas to talk about how movies and books can capture a global audience’s imagination.

As well as Elizabeth, Shekhar has received numerous accolades for movies including, Bandit Queen, Four Feathers, Mr India, What’s Love Got to Do With It? and Masoom. He was the executive producer of the Bollywood-themed Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Bombay Dreams and of films such as The Guru for Universal Studios.

Shekhar is a recipient of the Padma Shri and has been the President of the Film and Television Institute of India since 2020.

Universal appeal

The in-conversation event, From Page to Hollywood Screen: The power of creativity, is presented in partnership with the Jaipur Literature Festival, and will be chaired by Katie Razzall, BBC News Culture and Media Editor, responsible for major investigation reports like the care home scandal during Covid.

Joan Concannon, Director of York Festival of Ideas, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome such amazing artists as Shekhar and Vikas to this year’s festival.

“The Festival’s overarching theme this year is The Power Of… and we can’t wait to hear how they create works with universal appeal which showcase the power of creativity and imagination to transcend borders and cultures.”.

Vikas Swarup is a former diplomat, television host and best-selling author who gained global recognition with his debut novel Q&A, adapted into the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire. His novel, Six Suspect was made into an eight-part series, The Great Indian Murder, on Disney/Hulu. Vikas’ books have been translated into 47 international languages, with a new novel, The Girl with the Seven Lives, due for release this year.

York Festival of Ideas will run from 1 to 14 June 2024 with more than 200 mostly free in-person and online events. The University of York leads the Festival, with key support from the Holbeck Charitable Trust, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Higher Education Investment Fund, as well as a range of additional generous sponsors, donors and individuals committed to enabling the festival to deliver so many events for free to diverse audiences.

Eclectic programme

The Festival works with more than 100 programme partners who help to co-curate and deliver an eclectic programme of events with something for all ages and interests.

From Page to Hollywood Screen: The power of creativity with Shekhar Kapur and Vikas Swarup will take place at 7:45pm, Monday, 10 June at the University of York’s Central Hall. Tickets can be booked via the website now.