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When cinema steps forward

As the International Film Festival of India at Goa turns a grand 50 next year, its precursor this year promises to be as grand, a befitting run up to the golden jubilee next year.

When cinema steps forward

Many flavours from across the world: The Indian Panorama section opens with Malayalam film Olu by Shaji N Karun.



Nonika Singh

As the International Film Festival of India at Goa turns a grand 50 next year, its precursor this year promises to be as grand, a befitting run up to the golden jubilee next year. Meanwhile, the 49th edition of the IFFI is chock-a-block with world premieres, international premieres, Asian premieres, festival entries and Oscar representations. Expectedly glitterati from around the world is likely to descend on the red carpet. A senior official from the Directorate of Film Festivals shares how IFFI will be high on glam quotient this year.

The festival opens with period drama Aspern Papers, which is set in beatific Venice. Stars like Golden Globe winner Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Joely Richardson and Morgane Polanski daughter of Roman Polanski will be at the screening.

Israel is the country focus and Israeli actor, Alon Aboutboul who has acted in films like Rambo III, Steven Spielberg’s Munich, Body of Lies by Ridley Scott and The Dark Knight Rises will be a special guest. Interestingly, he had won the best actor award at the 44th IFFI. This year IFFI will be conferring the lifetime achievement award on his compatriot director Dan Wolman. Israel has the distinction of having been nominated for several Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Among the films from Israel one that is likely to generate interest is Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema by Danny Ben-Moshe. The film that talks about how Jew actresses dominated Indian film industry in the first few decades, however, was screened at MAMI last year.

As always, diversity and variety is the essence of IFFI that will showcase 212 films from more than 68 countries. Tributes, retrospectives, remembrances, apart from familiar sections, the surprise packages include an extension of Khelo Branding initiative and features sports biopics.

Nepotism be damned, the highpoint of IFFI this year will be conversations between star parents and their star children. If Boney Kapoor will get talking with his son Arjun Kapoor and daughter Jhanvi, Anil Kapoor will keep the ball rolling with daughter Rhea. The fulcrum of the festival might revolve around many interactive sessions such as master classes but trust IFFI not to wade into contentious waters. So the world and India might be going breathless over MeToo conversations, festival organisers have no intention of getting into any controversy which by the way tailed and marred its proceedings last year. Women directors (Reema Kagti, Meghna Gulzar and Konkona Sen Sharma) and their films shall be an integral rallying point. In the Israeli section, Michal Aviad an award-winning feminist filmmaker’s Working Woman deals with sexual harassment at workplace.

Among the 15 films that will be vying for the coveted Golden Peacock, there are three Indian entries — two Malayalam, including Ee.Ma.Yau, already hailed as one of the finest of Mollywood and one National Award-winning Tamil movie To Let, shall be competing for the top honour. Regional cinema is the highpoint of the Indian Panorama section as well which opens with Malayalam film Olu by Shaji N Karun. Spokesperson of the directorate shares how IFFI celebrates Indian cinema in all its nuances and champions films that do not find a platform easily. From Mollywood to Tollywood and, of course, how can Bollywood be far behind? Often accused of paying too much attention to mainstream cinema, organisers proclaim cinema is cinema, and at the end of the day, IFFI is about the bringing the best of the world cinema at one stage.

In this context Festival Kaleidoscope and World Panorama are sections to look out for. If Kaleidoscope carries 20 critically acclaimed international films that have been to major film festivals and majority of them have picked up multiple awards, Panorama presents 67 films out of which 15 films are the stuff Oscar submissions are made of. The much-acclaimed Chinese film An Elephant Sitting Still has as riveting a back story. It happens to be the first and the last film of young Chinese director Hu Bo. Birds of Passage, a crime drama selected to open the 50th edition of the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and the Colombian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, is here too. Amin, yet another film at IFFI is a 2018 French drama film directed by Philippe Faucon. It too featured in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. If looking back is your cup of tea, to mark the centennial anniversary of Ingmar Bergman’s birth, IFFI will showcase seven best films of his career, including a documentary on Swedish director titled Bergman Island directed by Marie Nyrerod. A world of imagination or the most beautiful fraud in the world as Jean-Luc Godard said, at IFFI, never mind the organisational hiccups, the magic of cinema comes alive in myriad ways.

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