Films high on quality

The recent IFFI, despite the pervasive presence of Bollywood, was an opportunity to see some exceptional cinema, reports Ervell E Menezes

The curtain came down on the 37th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) or the third one to be held in Goa and that its management was the worst of all three there is little doubt. Delegates by the thousand, a surfeit of Bollywood stars, little room for parallel cinema and the neglect of international filmmakers are the straws in the wind and they seem to increase with each passing year. So do the excuses. But the quality of the films was excellent.

Concentrating on Cinema of the World, Volver (Spain), The Bothersome Man (Norway-Ireland), The North Wind (Switzerland), Four Minutes (Germany) and Little Lieutenant (France) have been excellent, with A Thousand Kisses (Netherlands), A Good Destiny (Argentina) and Little Jerusalem (France) in the next category. Birds of`A0 Heaven and Not Here to be Loved (both France) were disappointing, but Marie Antoinette (US-France-Japan) and Shanghai Rumba (China) were`A0 terrible.

Whether it is the layers of incest and hypocrisy in Volver, the family cross-currents in The North Wind, the counterpoint between teacher and student in Four Minutes or the antiseptic numbness of a futuristic society in The Bothersome Man, they are all treated sensitively. The strong narratives are supported by telling performances to provide dramatic yet thought-provoking fare.

Nottam did not come up to the high traditions of Malayalam cinema, which accounts for 25 of the 55 Indian films entered at Cannes. It is no secret that regional cinema has a better chance of making it to the world festivals. The publishing of Kannada filmmaker Girish Kaseravalli’s photograph instead of Dr Raj Kumar in the tributes section was a bloomer. To add fuel to fire, his press conference was not covered in the Festival bulletin, which is bound to upset the South which not without reason felt discriminated against.`A0 But the major glitch is the over-issuing of delegate passes.

Playwright-politician Tomazinho Cardozo raises a relevant question. What is the criteria for getting a delegate pass? He also attempts to answer it by saying that those connected with the arts, that is dance, drama after cinema of course, should be considered. But one must have evidence of their involvement, like journalists who have to submit copies of their writings. "Goa is the right place for the festival but it must be professionally managed," he said and lamented the choice of Brilliant Entertainment Network as event managers.

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) broke new ground with workshops on digital editing, cutting edge technology and pixilation, which brought renowned filmmakers to showcase their skill. But what they never reveal is the percentage they make on business deals conducted at the Film Bazaar. "They are not transparent on this issue," says Los Angeles-based Krishna Shah, who was among the first Indians to make it big in Hollywood in the 1970s.
Even UTV boss Ronnie Screwvala thought the Bazaar was a failure last year. "All my buyers were from Mumbai, not one international buyer," he said and so this year there was no UTV stall at IFFI.

CII came into the news because they were the only Indian marketing firm at Cannes and when Information and Broadcasting Minister wanted "IFFI in a jiffy" they were given the task. To create the infrastructure, the Goa Government is believed to have spent Rs 100 cr and this includes setting up of a multiplex which now belongs to Inox. But have they paid the government for the land it is built on?

Having the ear of the government at the Centre, CII is made up of the big-wigs in Bollywood. They have inducted some Goan industrialists, and because of their clout, performance is no criterion for bagging the contract for three years running. After the infrastructure, the next step was getting good films and this year the DFF surely did a good job. The next stage is the product and Bollywood doesn’t go well with the world market, which is indeed paradoxical because CII is heavy with the top Indian producers.

About 60 per cent of the celebrities too are from Bollywood, which means they are working at cross-purposes. It is more like a national film festival and we’ve said this before. Argentinian filmmaker Leonov Benedetto came and went without meeting the Press and this too after Argentina was the Country in Focus.

May be they should have begun with trying to improve the product first and then gone to infrastructure and quality of foreign films. But then Ms Swaraj was in a hurry, it seems. Thankfully, Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane has asked the Centre to provide its share for the Convention Centre after ensuring that Goa would be the permanent venue of IFFI.

Now the question uppermost on everyone’s mind is will the ESG be able to run it competently? Not if they work the way they did this year, which was a mad mix with everyone pointing an accusing finger at another. Former IFFI director Urmilla Gupta called it "a headless festival" and she is right. You can’t have the DFF, ESG and may be even the PIB running into each other’s territory.

There must be a pyramidal structure with a filmmaker or someone associated with the arts at the apex and he should enlist the services of a bureaucrat. All decisions must be taken by him and implemented by his officer. Make a start right now, at the end of IFFI 06.

In the first place, do away with the needless sideshows. It is a film festival, not a circus. Next, be able to say "no" to all the political bigwigs whose only aim in life during IFFI is to get free passes. May be raise the tariff for delegate passes, it could curb the crowd. Screen the applications carefully. Be thoroughly professional. Only then will there be any hope.

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