In 2002, the then Information and Broadcasting Minister, late Sushma Swaraj, announced that from 2004 Goa will be the permanent home for the International Film Festival of India.
“All international film festivals of the world have a permanent venue which helps in improving how it is organised every year. Goa has been selected for its beauty and international appeal,” Swaraj had said then and indicated it would give India the best launchpad to take IFFI to a level that matches other international festivals.
Film-makers, critics, movie buffs and officials are more or less unanimous that the goal has somewhat been achieved in terms of the quality of films screened. They match in quality the films screened at the other ‘Big Boys’ of the international film festival circuit such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice or Toronto.
What has not met expectations, however, is the glamour quotient of the festival, precisely the USP that earned Goa the honour of being its permanent venue.
Most film-makers whose films are being screened at the 50th edition of IFFI are over the moon for obvious reasons. Hailing from different States in India and abroad, film personalities were very optimistic about IFFI in Goa but the community of film critics however, did not share the same enthusiasm. Here’s what they had to say:
INDIAN FILM-MAKERS SPEAK
Foreign film-makers were all smiles when it came to IFFI in Goa.
Said Romanian film-maker Marius Olteanu whose film “Monsters” was screened: “IFFI is very big and very well organised. The most important thing for me was the audience which reacted very well to my film, and were open to what the film had to say. I got asked some of the smartest questions I’ve got in any film festival.”
Director Anant Mahadevan, whose Marathi film “Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/2005” was screened at IFFI 50 said he thought the purpose of making Goa the permanent venue for IFFI has been accomplished. This is the fourth year Mahadevan is coming to Goa for the festival. “The atmosphere here is great,” said Mahadevan talking to “The Goan.”
When asked how IFFI compared with other international film festivals, Mahadevan opined that IFFI should not be compared to the likes of Cannes. But taking it on its own, the makeover Goa gets during IFFI and the kind of venues here with their classical architecture is great, he said, adding, “The festival shouldn’t move out of Goa.”
Tamil film-maker Radhakrishnan Parthiban whose film Oththa Seruppu Size 7 was screened under the “Indian Panorama” category was also optimistic about IFFI for the quality of films that are selected. For Parthiban, Goa or any other city being the venue of IFFI was of little relevance.
“For me, a film festival is a film festival wherever it happens. I see only the widescreen and not the decorations and what happens on the outside,” said the Chennai-based film-maker who has been attending film festivals for over 30 years, and is coming to IFFI in Goa for the third time.
“The important thing is what kind of films are screened, and from which countries they come. I used to see a lot of Iranian films as our culture and Iranian culture is similar,” he said. The film-maker also appreciated the improvement at IFFI over the years as far as film quality is concerned.
“This time is definitely better than my first two times. The films chosen by the IFFI juries are good. This kind of recognition needs to be given to film-makers,” said Parthiban.
But another South Indian film-maker, Manoj Kana from Kerala, whose film “Kenjira” was screened in the Indian Panorama section did not have a good experience with the organisation at IFFI.
“This is my first experience at IFFI. It’s a good system, but the organisation, and co-ordination is lacking and needs to improve,” Kana said.
Speaking about the screening of his film, Kana lamented, “The online booking closed at 11 am for the 2:30 pm show because all the tickets were booked. But in the theater, there were a lot of vacant seats. A lot of delegates outside the theater wanted to see the film but were not allowed in because they didn’t have the online ticket.”
WHAT FOREIGN FILM
PERSONALITIES HAD TO SAY
Olteanu has attended over 30 film festivals across the world with “Monsters.” “We’ve been to the Berlin Film Festival where we had our film’s premier and since then have been to over 30 film festivals - at Istanbul, Sophia (Bulgaria), Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic), Mexico, a couple of festivals in the USA. Still, we’re very happy to be here,” he said.
The director also had good things to say about the people here : “It’s my first time in India so I’m very impressed with the culture, and how the people are. We’re very touched with how kind the people are towards us here.”
Maria Lemesheva, the head of the Russian delegation at IFFI, and editor-in-chief of the Russian film magazine KinoReporter also had nice things to say about the hospitality at IFFI. Russia is the country of focus at this year’s IFFI.
“The organisation of the event is impressive, and the hospitality here is really outstanding. There were over 4000 people at the opening ceremony of the festival, and the national media is giving us wide coverage. The Indian movies we watched turned out to be really fascinating,” Lemesheva told The Goan.
When asked how IFFI compared to other international film festivals, Lemesheva said that India and its people are “absolutely unique”, and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming.
She added, “Here, the main emphasis of the festival is on the films and communication, not on the glamour and glory. This is not only important but essential for professionals in the film industry - to see new cinematography and discover new people. I’d say that’s the main difference between IFFI and the other international film festivals.” But Canadian film-maker Alison Richards did not think very highly of the organisation of the festival, citing a “terrible lack of co-ordination between the organising departments.”
Richards also said that the help-desk staff hung up twice on her and that she felt like leaving the festival altogether.
INDIAN FILM CRITICS OPINE
Sachin Chatte, who has attended every single IFFI in Goa and is a renowned film critic in the State said he did not feel IFFI had progressed since being brought to Goa in 2004.
“I don’t think it has progressed a lot. What used to happen in 2004 is still happening in 2019, with only a few changes. I don’t think the purpose of bringing IFFI to Goa has been fully accomplished either,” Chatte told The Goan.
“The festival has not really gone to the next level though it’s been 15 years. There have been improvements there’s no doubt, but it has not gone to the next level on so many counts. Of course this is the 50th year, so there are a few special things. But otherwise the scheduling of films has not changed,” he said.
Elaborating, Chatte said that one year, there was a really good Italian film called “The Great Beauty” which was to be screened at IFFI. “It was screened a couple of hours before the closing ceremony and there was only one show. So what’s the point of getting a great film and showing it like that? It’s just lip service,” he said.
But speaking about the general selection of films at IFFI, Chatte said there was nothing to complain about. “The selection of films is good, and has always been the best when compared to any other film festival in India. However, the objective of making it reach the audience has not necessarily been achieved every time over the years,” he said explaining that the films needed to be better scheduled based on their importance.
Rekha Deshpande, a film critic from Mumbai also did not see any advantage to having IFFI in Goa. Deshpande, who has been attending the festival here since 2004 rued the lack of “film culture” in Goa. “The standard of IFFI has deteriorated,” she
said.
To begin with, Deshpande said that Goa did not compare with other States as far as the film culture was concerned. As such, there was no film fraternity who came forward to volunteer for IFFI and patronise the films. “IFFI was only shifted here because Parrikar wanted it here,” she said. “But now there’s no need to come specifically to Goa for the festival because films can be viewed from anywhere with platforms like Netflix.”
She explained that when the festival lasted for 15 days before it was brought to Goa, there was more time to interact with film-makers, but with only an eight day festival, this was difficult. So this combined with the lack of film culture defeated the purpose of a film festival in Goa, she felt.
GOAN FILMMAKERS NOT
TOO GUNG-HO
Renowned Goan film maker Laxmikant Shetgaonkar said Goa missed the bus to develop its own film industry ecosystem in the last five years, despite a good start. Goan films got only 7-8 national awards in the last 15 years and it should have been much higher.
“This year, in fact, not a single Konkani film found a place in the Indian Panorama section of IFFI,” Shetgaonkar who won accolades for his Konkani film ‘Poltodcho Munis’ at the Toronto Film Festival a few years ago, said.
He was also not too generous with his comments on the ‘organisational’ aspect of IFFI in Goa. “Although MAMI, PUNA and the Calcutta film festivals have a much lower budget, their quality is much better than IFFI,” he said.
The festival should have discussions, debates on production, marketing aspect of films and not the other entertainment activities or lighting which can be done anytime.
“There is a huge difference in opening and closing ceremonies of other big film festivals. The festivals should be restricted to short and sweet events and the prize distribution. We are organising a ‘carnival’ instead of a film festival,” he added.
Another Goan film director Mahesh Rane said Goa needs a perennial policy and concerted effort for its own film industry to flourish and produce films which will make it to international film festivals. Rane’s own Konkani film Mopa Diary was selected in the non-premier section of Goan Films.
“The International Film festival is in its 50th edition and this is the sixteenth time Goa is hosting it which is a matter of pride for Goans and Goan filmmakers. Yet it is also of concern that in the fifteen years it has been here, IFFI has not grown enough,”
Rane said. Fifteen years would suffice for Goa to grow into an internationally acclaimed cinema hub but somewhere we have missed the opportunity, Rane said, adding that the State gets activated only during
IFFI.
“There should be uniform film policy throughout the year for the regional Goan film industry to grow. Goans film producers have talent but need the backing of a government agency. This part has to be played by the Entertainment Society of Goa”, said Rane. Goan film industry should grow just like Malyayam, Tamil, Bengali, Kerala film industry, he said, adding that although ESG began on a promising note, things have stagnated in recent years.
