the goan I network
PANAJI
Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA) general secretary Sanskar Desai on Sunday said, documentary filmmakers constantly face the specter of ‘big brother’ watching when the film touches on political issues against any government.
“’Big Brother’ is always watching. When a filmmaker decides to make a film, then that filmmaker is not bothered about such things,” Desai told reporters during an interaction with the media on the sidelines of the ongoing 50th edition of the International Film Festival of India.
He added that the intimidating watch of the powers, can be bypassed using different documentary film making techniques and methods.
“There are different ways to also portray your problems. You can bypass ‘Big Brother’ using different techniques and methods…”, he said.
President of the Association, Usha Deshpande added that documentary filmmakers face the same problems as journalists in the practice of their profession.
“The documentary filmmaker faces the same kind of problems as a journalist. He has to decide what kind of a risk he wants to take. What kind of stand he wants to take and how much courage does he have to stand by it,” Deshpande said.
“There is no censorship. Today, there are so many digital platforms that now, filmmakers do not bother about such things, even if Big Brother is watching,” she said, adding however that you have to have the courage. Desai meanwhile said, documentaries are like a mirror of life, closest to reality and reflect the truth.
He said, the IDPA is in talks with four universities to introduce documentary films and their making to young minds of students.
Bombay University, SNDT, Gujarat University and Symbiosis in Pune are the universities where IDPA will hold festivals and workshops, Desai said.
IPDA will also focus on scrutinising whether there is any monitoring of the quality of education being imparted in various film schools mushrooming around the country.
“There are some very good institutes but we are not very sure of all. There is a lot of money that is involved and the only thing is quality sometimes or most of the times gets compromised,” Desai said.
