Noir film festival comes to capital

As many as eight Hollywood movies dealing with the subject of suspense, gangsters, and crime will be showcased in the capital during the "Film Noir" festival, the organisers said Monday.

The three-day festival, starting May 8, is aimed at helping film buffs to understand this genre through interactive sessions after the film screening. It is organised by the American center in collaboration with Cinedarbaar, a film appreciation club.

It will open with "Double Indemnity", a 1944-crime-drama directed by Billy Wilder, which was nominated for seven Oscars and was adapted from a novella written by crime fiction writer James M. Cain.

The term film noir or "black cinema" was coined by French critic Nino Frank to describe the genres of detective, gangster, crime and melodramatic films.

Other movies include "The Killers" (1946), loosely based on author Ernest Hemmingway's short story - "Orson Welles".

Three movies - "The Lady from Shanghai", Jules Dassin's "Thieves Highway" (1949), and Robert Aldrich's "Kiss Me Deadlya (1955) - are based on novels by A.I. Bezzerides.

Popular sci-fi thrillers like "LA Confidential" and "Blade Runner" too will be screened at the festival.