Opening this Friday is Midnight’s Children, an epic film from Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta, based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Salman Rushdie.  At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, as India declares independence from Great Britain, two newborn babies are switched by a nurse in a Bombay hospital.  Saleem Sinai (Satya Bhabha), the illegitimate son of a poor woman, and Shiva (Siddharth), the offspring of a wealthy couple, are fated to live the destiny meant for each other and their lives become inextricably linked to India’s identity.

At the recent press day, Mehta talked about creating a film that’s sweeping in scope yet intimate in tone, which films and filmmakers influenced her approach, how she assembled the diverse ensemble cast of American, Bollywood and Indian theater actors,  the unique color palette she chose to convey the story’s passion and magic and conjure up rich and unforgettable images, the challenges she encountered bringing the book to life on screen, the production delay in Sri Lanka caused by Iran, how she convinced Rushdie to narrate the film, and why she found their collaboration one of the greatest experiences of her life. Hit the jump to read on.

Celebrated author Salman Rushdie’s epic novel, Midnight’s Children, comes alive on film in Deepa Mehta’s vibrant and sprawling adaptation of the magical tale of two boys switched at birth whose lives mirror India’s post-colonial identity crises.  Written and narrated by Rushdie and shot on location in Sri Lanka, the film opens this Friday and features a large ensemble cast that includes Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami, Seema Biswas, Shabana Azmi, Shriya Saran, Siddharth and Rahul Bose.

At the recent press day, Rushdie talked about the experience of seeing his novel brought to life on the big screen, his rewarding collaboration with Mehta, why the filmmakers decided to retain creative control over the project and the financial challenges that posed, how Mehta convinced him to do the voiceover narration, finding the right actors to complete the large ensemble cast, the significance of the Booker Award, other successful adaptations of books to film, and how Midnight’s Children was born out of his love for India.  He also discussed plans to adapt his latest work, Joseph Anton: A Memoir, to film and explained why he’s always been a movie fan.

The line-up for the 2012 Telluride Film Festival has been announced.  The program will include Michael Haneke’s Palm d’Or-winning Amour, the Bill Murray-fronted Hyde Park on Hudson, Michael Winterbottom’s Everyday, the Michael Shannon crime thriller The Iceman, Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, and many more.  The festival will also include some special surprise screenings, with Ben Affleck’s highly anticipated drama Argo rumored to appear.  Additionally, the 2012 Silver Medallion Awards will be given to Roger Corman, Marion Cotillard, and Mads Mikkelsen.

Hit the jump to read the full press release which includes the entire line-up.  The 2012 Telluride Film Festival runs from August 31 – September 3rd.

The line-up for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival has been announced and it is a doozy.  The festival will play host to some of the year’s biggest world premieres including Rian Johnson‘s Looper (which will be the festival’s opening night film), The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer‘s Cloud Atlas, Ben Affleck‘s Argo, David O. Russell‘s The Silver Linings Playbook, Derek Cianfrance‘s The Place Beyond the Pines, Joss Whedon‘s Much Ado About Nothing, Noah Baumbach‘s Frances Ha, and Neil Jordan‘s Byzantium.  Films making their International/North American debuts (which means that they’ll like show up at the Venice Film Festival first) include Terrence Malick‘s To the Wonder, Joe Wright‘s Anna Karenina, Robert Redford‘s The Company You Keep, and Billy Bob Thornton‘s Jayne Mansfield’s Car.

Hit the jump for the first wave of announced films.  The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 – 16th.