"Art is not Olympics, one needs to have a judgement to select the best" - ShekharKapur
"Art is not Olympics, one needs to have a judgement to select the
best" - ShekharKapur
“Heartening to see houseful theatres at IFFI:” SuhaArraf Jury Member International Jury Members interact with Media at IFFI 2015
“Heartening to see houseful theatres at IFFI:” SuhaArraf Jury Member International Jury Members interact with Media at IFFI 2015
"Art is not Olympics; one needs to make
judgements to select the best," said ShekharKapur, Chairman of the International
Jury of 46th International Film Festival of India. While addressing a Press
Conference, Mr.Kapur underscored the creative conflicts involved in the
adjudication of creative works. He said that there is a thin line between
judgement and prejudice; taking an objective decision is a difficult task.
While talking about the process of selection and adjudication of films in IFFI,
Mr.Kapur also said that the quality of some of the films in the competition
category was amazing. It has been a tough task for the jury members to choose
one film from a set of high quality films, he added.
The Director of ‘I am a Soldier’, Laurent Larivere speaking, during the film presentation, at the 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2015), in Panaji, Goa on November 29, 2015.
While responding to a query on Children’s films,
Mr.Kapur also said that it was time to think beyond ‘education through films;’
films that teach would not be appealing to children anymore. At the same time
it is important for children to learn cinema and the processes associated with
it.
SuhaArraf, one of the jury members, said that she
is very happy to see houseful theatres at IFFI and that it is heartening to
note that good cinema is being appreciated well at the festival. She also
shared her views on the process of evaluation of films; she said that it is
important to understand the filmmaker’s point of view while judging a
film. It is not easy to compare one film with another, as there are
different genres and themes involved in the same category of competition.
The Directors, Uri Barbash (Israel) being felicitated at the 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2015), in Panaji, Goa on November 29, 2015.
Michael Radford, another Jury member added that it
is important to involve celebrities to enhance the popularity of the festival.
JeonKyu-Hwan, Jury member from South Korea, also expressed satisfaction over
the quality of films in the Competition segment this year at IFFI.
About the Jury Members
ShekharKapur (Jury
Chairman) is a veteran filmmaker of international repute. He is known for films
made both in India and in the West. In India, he has had box office hits
like Masoom, Mr India and The Bandit Queen.
His Elizabeth and its sequel Golden Age garnered
several Oscar nominations. Kapur’s films tend to move across genres.
Michael Radford was
born in India, brought up in Middle East, and educated at Oxford University and
the National Film and Television School. His film White Mischief won
5 Academy Award nominations, 2 BAFTA awards for Best Director and Best Foreign
film and more than 20 other awards worldwide.
SuhArraf is
a renowned filmmaker from Palestine. She began her films career as a
documentary film-maker. Her docu-film Women of Hamas (2010)
received 13 awards at international film festivals. Her first feature
film Villa Touma (2014) was screened at top festivals like
Venice, Toronto, and London.
Julia Jentsch is
an acclaimed German actress who has been nominated for Oscar Awards for her
role inSophie’s Scholl – The Final days in 2005. She has also won
awards like Beast European Actress, Best Actress at DeutscherFilmpreis and
the Silver Bear at Berlin International Film Festival.
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The MD & Chief Executive, Nigerian Film Corporation, Dr. D.W. Dadu addressing a press conference, during the 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2015), in Panaji, Goa on November 29, 2015.
Exhibition on National Film Heritage Mission at IFFI, 2015
The multi-media exhibition put up by National Film
Archive of India on the theme of National Film Heritage Mission was a major
attraction for film lovers during this year’s IFFI. Many stalwarts
including Shyam Benegal Ilayaraja, Subhash Ghai, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra,
Shekhar Kapoor, Shankar Mahadevan, Jackie Shrofffrom film industry
visited the exhibition and applauded the efforts of the Ministry of I & B
in implementing this project that aims to preserve country’s cinematic
heritage. The festival delegates and general public visited the exhibition in
large numbers and relived the nostalgic moments through re-designed posters of
classic movies restored by NFAI. The exhibition was inaugurated by
Minister of State for I & B, Col Rajyavardhan Rathore.
The Multi-Media Exhibition was curated with a theme of
National Film Heritage Mission, a prestigious project of Government of India,
for Preservation of Filmic Heritage of the Country. The Mission aims at
Preservation, Conservation, Digitisation and Restoration of film and filmic
material. The exhibition organized by National Film Archive of India (NFAI)
encompasses posters and audio-visual content from the ‘Restored Classics’ of
NFAI along with technical presentations explaining the processes of film
restoration.
“The Exhibition is an attempt to create anawareness about the importance of Film Preservation and
Restoration. It has been appreciated by all the stakeholders and received huge
response at IFFI this year”, said Shri Prakash Magdum, Director NFAI.
Earlier, during inauguration, NFAI has also launched the
Signature film on NFHM directed by Pune based film-maker Shri Ajit Wadikar. The
3-minute film was created with a concept of ‘Cinema is Immortal, only if, it is
preserved’. Mr Milt Shefter, a leading film preservationist and Oscar Academy
representative at IFFI, had appreciated NFHM signature film and used it during
his Film Preservation workshop at IFFI.
On the sidelines of exhibition, NFAI has also utilized
Customer Engagement platform based on the concept of gamification, which was
developed by two IIM pass-outs and entrepreneurs Shri Rushikesh Humbe and Shri
Vjiay Kawale. The platform named zenkast.com, was used to engage the visitors
at Exhibition and helped in identifying peoples’ choice for the posters.
India is one of few Countries, implementing, the Film
Preservation and Restoration, at such a massive level, in a Mission Mode, time
bound manner. NFAI has already restored nearly 300 films and digitized nearly
500 films. The exhibition displayed 80 posters and 25 audio-visual clips from
the Restored films of NFAI.
Wall of Fame:
NFAI has come up with an
innovative idea of Wall of Fame. It had curated a collage of iconic film stars
across the film industry with a hollow space in between for individual’s face
to fit in. The wall of fame gave an unique photo opportunity, creating a memorabilia
for an individual.
Selfie Corners:
The NFAI has
curated selfie corners, giving an opportunity for individuals or groups to
click a perfect photo/ selfie at IFFI. There were two selfie corners, one with
collage of iconic actors and actresses with a title of #SelfieWithNFHM and
other with NFAI posters with a title of #SelfiewithNFAI.
IFFI Mile:
‘A
walk with Filmy Dunia’, IFFI Mile as a concept, was being introduced for
the first time at 46th IFFI. NFAI had curated a pathway outside
IFFI premises with unique film posters, from its collection. The IFFI Mile was
open for all, and gave visitors a rich experience of Indian film Industry,
while walking along the Mandovi river.
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“Fiction more effective than documentary sometimes in portraying reality”
A Panel of Directors in International category of IFFI 2015 interact with the media
A Panel of Directors in International category of IFFI 2015 interact with the media
Films speak about life and sometime become political statements. Raising
the social issues through films is participatingin people’s life and flagging
their concerns. This was observed by panel directors during media interaction
at IFFI-46 today.
Thepanel included directors LekalSumi from Taiwan, Laurent Lariviere from
France, Julia Vargas from Spain, David Constantin from Mauritius,Michael Klette
from Germany and art director Ramses Benjumea Torres from Columbia.
The filmsby these directors, being screened at IFFI 2015, raise issues such
as diversion of farmers’ land for commercial purpose, trafficking of dogs in
Eastern Europe, dumping of toxic waste,survival issue of aboriginals and plight
of sugarcane farmers in Mauritius. Responding to a query, they said that the
very act of making films on such social issues was a form of activism. They
also said that fiction is sometimes closer to reality, making it a superior
form of story than documentary.
Backgrounders
Wawa
No Cidal( Director,Sumi
Cilangasan), a heartfelt drama illuminates many of the complex issues faced by
Taiwan’s Aboriginal communities. The directorial duo of Cheng Yu-chieh and Lekal Sumi breaks new ground by
moving forward and casting an eye on the indigenous tribes’ current
predicaments. The story revolves around the struggle of an indigenous family
resisting property developers encroaching on their ancestral land.
I
am a Soldier(Director,Laurent Lariviere), is a
social drama about a woman who is obligated to return to her parents’ home and
agrees to work for her uncle in a doghouse as she is unemployed
Sealed Cargo (Director,
Julia Vargas),high light issue of toxic waste and its trade and dumping
Solness (Director,Ramses Benjumea), is the story of a subtle campaign of vengeance that
is waged by 22 years old Hide, who has believed in the promises made by
Solness.
Embrace
of the Serpent(Art Director,Ramses Benjumea),The story of the
relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his
people, and two scientists who work together over the course of 40 years to
search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.
Sugarcane
Shadow(Director,David Constantin),The close down
of an old sugar mill in Mauritius, calls into question the lives of Marco and
his friends, a group of former workmates in their mid-fifties.
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IFFI Closing Film ‘El Clan’ experiments with the idea ‘Good is bad and bad
is good’
Argentine film industry has
grown many fold in the recent past, producing 115 films last year, said
Alejandro Carrillo Penovi, Editor of the Closing film ‘El Clan’. Interacting
with media persons at IFFI-2015, today, he said that they were happy at the selection
of ‘El Clan’ as the closing film of the Festival. Mr. Penovi further said that
compared to Indian cinema, the Argentine film industry was much smaller, but
they too do produce very good movies.
Talking of film “El Clan’, he
said that a novel idea ‘Good is bad and bad is good’ was experimented in the
film to keep the audience interest alive throughout the film.
Vicente D´elia, the Sound
DesignerandMicaela Buyi of the Production CompanyK&S Films were among the
crew who interacted with the media.
Acclaimed Pablo Trapero has
directed this film.
Synopsis: Argentina in the 1980s. Within a typical family home in the neighborhood
of San Isidro, a sinister clan makes its living off kidnapping and murder.
ArquÃmedes, the patriarch, heads and plans the operations. Alejandro, his
eldest son, is a star rugby player. He identifies possible candidates for
kidnapping; his popularity shields him from suspicion. All the family members
are accomplices in this dreadful venture as they live off the large ransoms paid
by the families of their victims. Based on the true story of the Puccio family,
this film takes place in the final years of the Argentine military dictatorship
and incipient return to democracy.
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