The Mumbai edition of the 6th Jagran Film Festival takes off with ‘Standing Tall’, which opened at the Cannes Film Festival starring legendary Catherine Deneuve and the new comer Rod Paradot, on 28th September, 2015 at Fun Republic, Andheri.

Directed by actress Emmanuelle Bercot who won the Best actress award this year at Cannes Film Festival, ‘Standing Tall’ narrates the story of a six year old Malony, abandoned by his mother who is constantly in and out of juvenile court. An adoptive family grows around this young delinquent: Florence, a children’s magistrate nearing retirement, and Yann, a caseworker and himself the survivor of a very difficult childhood. Together they follow the boy’s journey and try unfailingly to save him. Then Malony is sent to a stricter educational center, where he meets Tess, a very special young girl who will show him that there are reasons for hope.

The film also stars Benoît Magimel, Sara Forestier and is produced by François Kraus & Denis Pineu-Valencienne. With some brilliant cinematography by Guillaume Schiffman, ‘Standing Tall’ is an exemplary cinematic exploration by Emmanuelle Bercot who has also written the screenplay of the film along with Marcia Romano. The film is due for release in Italy on 15 October 2015 after its screening in India.

 The Festival is reaching Mumbai after its three month run in 15 other cities of India.. ‘Standing Tall’ will have two screenings at the Festival amidst a sea of prominent Indian, international feature and short films.

 “Beginning with a film like ‘Standing Tall’ is a beginning on the right note. It lends just the right impetus to the festival programming and with this one can expect the kind of programme waiting to be unveiled soon.” opines Manoj Srivastava, the Strategic Consultant of the Festival.