“The Biggest Mafia Which Is Ruining The Film Industry Is The Multiplex Mafia” – Rahul Film Rawail, Chairman Of The Indian Panorama, Feature Section
The 49th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI Gao 2018) kicked off on a celebratory note amongst an august gathering of celebrities, film fraternity & cine buffs. Expressing his pleasure about his country, Israel being the focus country this year, His Excellency Consul General of Israel to India Ya’akov Finkelstein said, “Through cinema we want to fortify the relations between India & Israel. I want to encourage the people of India to visit Israel and also make it a filming destination as I encourage the thought of seeing is believing. It is part of the growing partnership between Israel & India that embraces all levels of cooperation from the Government to the business sector to people to people relations to the cultural relations between the 2 countries.”
The 10 Israeli films offer a glimpse into the issues plaguing his country, history, landscapes, he said. The section opened with director Avi Nesher’s The Other Story. In Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema, one of the other movies selected, viewers are introduced to the 2000 year-old Indian Jewish community & its place in shaping the Hindi film industry. The movie is directed by Danny Ben Moshe.He also highlighted the co-production signed between the 2 countries that will enable cross cultural ties. He elucidated that Dharma Productions had already shot their movie Drive there & more films are in the pipeline.
His Excellency Consul General of Israel to India Ya’akov Finkelstein also spoke of the direct flight from Goa to Tel-Aviv to be introduced.
Speaking to the media, lifetime award recipient at IFFI, Dan Wolman shared his journey with the gathering. Wolman earlier received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” at Jerusalem International Film Festival & won The “Ophir Life Time Achievement Award”. His noted films include Lemon Popsical, The Distance & Foreign Sister. There is a special presentation of 3 of his films at the festival namely Ben’s Biography, Floch & above Hide And Seek.Dan Wolman described his work as an “advocate of the fringes”. His films have dealt with topics like old age homes, prostitutes, homosexuality & above all other offbeat topics. In his films he’s not trying to follow the trend, but find a way to do things that are courageous & different and still continue to work.
He’s already scripted a children’s film My Father’s Secret India that will be spread across Israel & India. He’s using the opportunity to look for investors looking to collaborate on the project, he said.
Also present was producer of the opening film The Other Story, David Silber. The story that began 4 years ago & reflects on Israeli children turning to religious life & the parent’s dilemma how to deal with it. “The film talks about secular parents who feel that they are losing their daughter to religious world & are trying to fight it and eventually learning how to accept the daughter,” he said.
In another press conference with the Jury members of the Indian Panorama feature & non-feature films, Rahul Rawail, Chairman of the Indian Panorama, Feature section praised the great strides taken by regional cinema. He said that in the future Indian cinema will be referred to as a collated whole & not regional or Hindi cinema.Other jury members present were (Indian Panorama – Feature Section) Major Ravi & K. G. Suresh, Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.
Highlighting the shift in the non-feature category, veteran director Vinod Ganatra said that the short films will ‘definitely take over.’ He noted that 60% of the entries were short films.
The jury shared that the task of selection was a tough one. But through endless discussions, debates & analysis they arrived at the best set that would represent the country on an international platform.
The movies experimented with varied topics & Major Ravi noted that they had 18 transgender films. This meant that audiences are maturing & accepting new ideas. He elucidated with examples of Bengali film Nagarkirtan. Directed by Kaushik Ganguly, it explores the love story between a flute player Madhu & Parimal, a rural boy who realizes he’s a man trapped in a woman’s body.
Apart from content, Rawail Rawail also highlighted that there are no outlets for audiences to watch regional cinema. “The biggest mafia which is ruining this industry is the multiplex mafia. They decide what film will run, what will not run, for how many weeks & it’s all based around how much popcorn & samosas they can sell. They are not interested in the film,” Rahul Rawail said.Infrastructure needs to be developed to screen for regional films, he added. “Costs are exorbitant for movies today. People pay for it and then they do not enjoy these kinds of films. The more people watch these films they will want to see them more & more.”
The 3rd press conference introduced the cast & the crew of the opening Indian Panorama films in the feature & non-feature categories. Olu, directed by veteran filmmaker Shaji N Karun takes you deep down under the Kerala backwaters where Olu (she), a gypsy girl mysteriously survives beneath the waters where she has been sunk by her rapists. She comes to the surface only on full moon nights and it is on one such night she meets a painter Vasu.
The director Shaji N Karun credited all those involved in the success of the film. He said that the fantasy film has strong influences of Buddhism in terms of use of motifs like the lotus & the moon.
In the non-feature category Kharvas, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale moves the viewer with it is stirring tale of Aasawari, an artist who loses her child as a still born. He mentioned that the goal was to focus on ‘problems that we many times skip.’ “If it is about a woman we pretend that we don’t know about it or there is problem at all. It is a story of a mother who is trying to find peace in a turmoil situation where she has to fight within herself as a mother & the perceptions of the society.”
The film was shot in Goa for 5 days and the incredible aspect as a new filmmaker was trying to configure the climax. Shooting in a cow shed over long hours was a challenge. His theatre background came to his rescue in capturing his final shot.
The festival is all set to continue spreading the joy of cinema over the coming days.
