66th Cannes festival to have India as the ‘guest country’
“If you want to make a great movie, produce the film youwant to make and stop worrying about what selectors will think about it. If youworry too much, you will defeat the whole purpose of making the film. At theend of the day, the more you are local, the more you are universal.” Thesecould possibly be some of the most comforting words that aspiring filmmakerscould hear. This is also the advice routinely doled out by Christian Jeune, theDirector of the Film Department of the world’s biggest film festival: Cannes.
Having gone around Film Bazaar and having met the variouspeople working behind the scenes, he points out that he is keen to grasp agreater understanding of the Indian film industry, as he prepares for whatpromises to be an interesting year ahead. “France is very keen on collaboratingwith Indian cinema. This extends to the 66th Cannes Film Festival that willproudly have India as its ‘guest country’ to commemorate the 100th year ofIndian cinema. This status will provide greater visibility to India. At Cannes,we are in the process of preparations to welcome what will be a fantasticIndian delegation in 2013,” he says.
While Cannes has not withheld this honour from othercountries in the past, it is one that has been seldom bestowed. Prior to India,the prestigious film festival has accorded this privilege to Egypt in 2011 andBrazil in 2012. When asked how India would benefit from their special status,Jeune responds, “The exact details of the celebration are something that I amnot in a position to disclose right now. They will be announced at a laterdate. This guest country status will not affect the Cannes selection processfor film in any way. However, we will ensure India’s prominent presence at thefestival.”
This year’s observations have left Jeune quite impressed, ashe says that the ‘Film Bazaar’, his main area of interest has come in leaps andbounds. “The previous years have left me thinking that something was perhapsmissing. This year however, has provided a healthy mix of things. I was pleasantlysurprised by the ‘Works in Progress’ section. Some of the filmmakers work ondisplay has immense potential,” he adds.
Jeune is quick to admit that it is true that he sometimesdoles out advice to filmmakers about their work, but he laughs when he says thatthis is not the case with India as, “The country has wonderful people to workwith. Young filmmakers here are so bold. Unlike Europe, they are not shy. Theythink about their goals, and before you know it, they thrust their ideas atyou. It is a refreshing change. I believe it will get them very far. We maywitness a wave of Indian cinema happening in the near future.”
With this admission, he believes that he has a future thatwill be bittersweet. “My job will get even tougher. At the moment, if I have topick five good films out a dozen, I can narrow it down to about six that standout. How am I supposed to pick between 10 that are all equally good? I pity theChristian Jeune of the future,” he laughs as he signs off.
