Committed to continue spreading the Joy of Cinema, the 52nd edition of International Film Festival of India invites delegates participating in Toronto Film Festival from all over the world
The 52nd edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI), slated to be held in a hybrid format from 20 to 28 November 2021 in Goa, looks all set to offer enthralling experience to delegates who are expected to join its physical as well as virtual segments showcasing 300+ screenings during the festival days.
Extending a warm welcome to delegates participating in Toronto Film Festival, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur took to his Twitter handle recently and invited filmmakers and film enthusiasts from around the globe to be a part of IFFI in Goa.”Calling out to Filmbuffs! Delegate registration for 52nd edition of IFFI is now open! Inviting filmmakers and film enthusiasts from around the world to be a part of IFFI in Goa,” tweeted.
Among the many highlights and innovations planned during 52nd IFFI include a parallel fest dedicated to the cinema from BRICS member countries and screening of some of the best works of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray as part of his centenary celebrations.
“BRICS film festival to be organised along with the 52nd International Film Festival of India in Goa in November this year will be an opportunity to interact and share the best of cinema,” said Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra.
This year, the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award has been added to the list of awards conferred upon filmmakers from across the globe to recognise their contributions to world cinema. Lifetime Achievement Award was already there and it has now been renamed after the legendary filmmaker to mark his centenary. Indian Film Personality of the Year Award, Centenary Award for best debut film of a Director, and ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award are the names of some of the other awards, besides the Awards for International Competition that will be given away to deserving filmmakers.
A special webpage has been set up where works of Ray and different aspects of filmmaking by the maestro have been put together. As far as restoration of Ray’s films is concerned, the Directorate of Film Festivals has collaborated with people who have restored the master filmmaker’s works that would be showcased at the festival. So far, the Directorate has received 622 films from 95 countries and selections will be unveiled shortly. This year, IFFI will feature at least 16 sections including International Competition, Festival Kaleidoscope, World Panorama, Retrospective of Masters, Country Focus, Retrospective of Lifetime Achievement Awardee, Indian Panorama among others.
To allay fears regarding spread of COVID-19 during the festival, Chaitanya Prasad, Additional Director General, Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Festival Director of IFFI had earlier said that IFFI team would ensure that “every guest who comes to India becomes IFFI’s responsibility the moment he steps on the Indian soil”.
“We had created systems last year, and there is no cause of worry if International participants are landing at airports in cities like Kolkata, Mumbai or Delhi. There we have appointed teams to look after them because it is our responsibility that guests come to India hassle free, enjoy the flavor of IFFI and go back contented and satisfied,” he added.
IFFI’s theme has been “Joy of Cinema”, which is something that overrides any firewall, as the creative construct of IFFI is wired to get the best of cinema from across the world.
The preparations for the 52nd edition of the IFFI have begun in full swing and some big names in the world cinema are expected to be part of it. Being planned as a hybrid event due to Covid-19, the festival would screen films on its official digital platform along with the theatrical screenings in Goa, which is subject to the prevailing conditions.
Asia’s oldest event of its kind, IFFI still holds on to its pre-eminent position as a showcase of cinematic excellence. It has over the years witnessed numerous alterations in character, nomenclature, location, dates and duration. Through it all, it has remained steadfast in its emphasis on showcasing the diversity of Indian cinema as well as in its commitment to the celebration of excellence across moviemaking genres.
Over the past two and a half decades, several other international film festivals have sprung up across India, notably in Kolkata, Kerala and Mumbai, and they all contribute meaningfully to the collective task of taking quality cinema to people weaned principally on a staple diet of star-driven, song and dance extravaganzas. But IFFI continues to retain its preeminent position owing to its size, scope and vintage.
Not just in the Indian context but also in relation to the other major Asian film festivals, IFFI matters. And this is despite all the inevitable ups and downs that it has seen over the years.
All the other major Asian festivals – Tokyo, Busan and Shanghai – are of far more recent origin and therefore lack the history that is associated with IFFI. IFFI hands out prize money to the tune of US$ 200,000. The winner of the Golden Peacock for the best film takes home $80,000. That apart, the best director and the Special Jury Prize winner bag $30,000 each, while the two acting prizes come with a cash component of $20,000 each.
The moves to push IFFI up a few notches have unfolded since the coastal state of Goa became its permanent venue in 2004. IFFI now has a far more settled feel than ever before, with each improvement in terms of infrastructure and programming initiatives adding value to both the event and the location.
On the programming side, IFFI not only unveils the best films from around the multilingual country with the aim of providing a glimpse of the sheer range and dynamism of Indian cinema, it also puts together a remarkable slate of brand new world cinema titles.
IFFI also hosts many retrospectives, tributes, master classes and special sections, which enhance the variety and depth of the event. The master classes have emerged as a highlight of the festival, especially for film school students who converge in Goa during the ten-day event.
52nd IFFI Highlights
• IFFI will showcase around 300+ screenings during festival days • IFFI will have various sections ranging from World Panorama, where films from across the world will be showcased, to Festival Kaleidoscope, International, Debut and ICFT Competition sections, retrospectives, homage, special screenings. • This edition will also have Master Frames (focusing on renowned cinematographers across the world), Masters of Cinema (focusing on master filmmakers across the world), sports section, Bharat ka Amrit Mahotsav, focus on cinema from BRICS countries, Soul of Asia (focusing on the films of Asia) as major highlights of the festival. • IFFI will have its own virtual platform for delegates to sit back and enjoy the festival from their living rooms. The virtual platform will provide access to registered delegates to watch all the films on the platform at any given time as per their convenience, they can also access live streaming of Masterclasses and In-Conversation sessions, workshops and special events during the festival days. • The live streaming of opening and closing ceremony can also be watched from home on virtual platform as also on social media platforms.
The 51st edition of International Film Festival of India, which is taking place from 16-24 January 2021 in Goa, will capture the new narratives that have emerged in cinema today, said Chaitanya Prasad, Additional Director General, Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Amidst COVID-19, the IFFI Team has been working hard collaborating and curating films for the festival.
“We are trying to get or capture the new narratives that have emerged in cinema today, whether it is storytelling, storytellers, new business models or the use of technology. Today it is content versus technology, technology versus creativity, and creativity versus audience taste. And what we are looking at is a kind of a convergence model which is emerging. I think it is a very bold step as far as the International Film circuit is concerned because we are trying to bring forth a balance between the virtual and the real,” said Prasad in his special address at the Curtain Raiser of IFFI 2021, held during CII Big Picture Summit.
The Festival will take place in a hybrid mode, informed the Additional Director General, Directorate of Film Festivals. “It’s a very bold move on part of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting which has given us a go ahead to organize this festival in a hybrid form. Now, the hybrid form means that we would have certain segments which would be in the virtual category, and there would be certain segments which would be in the physical mode,” he added.
Prasad said that he was elated at the overwhelming response the organizers received for the 51st edition of IFFI. “We are absolutely overwhelmed by the kind of response that we have received in terms of delegate registration that has come to us from different parts of the world and the kind of participation that we have seen because we thought it would be difficult to get things moving.”
The 9-day IFFI, which is also oldest in Asia, will showcase the works of a wide variety of filmmakers across the world with masterclasses and knowledge series in accordance with the norms set under the COVID-19 safety protocol.
“Indian Panorama has its own quality and platform of Indian cinema. But as far as World Cinema is concerned, this year we’ve been overwhelmed by the number of films that have come for the India Premiere, the world premiere, and the International premiere, etc.
He announced that the upcoming edition of IFFI roughly about 224 movies will be screened. “Of this, about 47 movies would be in Indian Panorama section, 26 in the feature section, 21 in the non-feature section, while the remaining are for the world cinema section,” Prasad said.
“It’s been a great experience putting the jigsaw puzzle together and we are absolutely inspired by the kind of response that we have received from all stakeholders across the world,” he added.
The 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has unveiled the lineup of international films that will compete in the competition section during nine-day festival beginning January 16. IFFI competition picks comprises the best of feature film from all over the world.
The selected 15 films (three Indian films and 12 international films) will compete for the Golden Peacock (Best Film) as well as Silver Peacock Awards for Best Director and Best Actor (male and female).
Three Indian films, Assamese film Bridge by Kripal Kalita, Chhattisgarhi language film A Dog And His Man by Siddharth Tripathy and Ganesh Vinayakan”s Tamil film Thaen have made to the international competition section from India. All these three films are part of Indian Panorama selection.
A total of 224 films will be screened under different sections at the 51st edition, which will be organised in a hybrid format in the wake of the pandemic.
Golden Peacock carries a cash prize of Rs 40 lakh while the best director award has a prize of Rs 15 lakh. The best actor award (male and female) entails a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh each.
COMPLETE LIST OF 51st IFFI EDITION COMPETITION FILMS
The Domain by Tiago Guedes (Portugal)
The chronicle of a family that owns one of the largest estates in Europe, on the south bank of the River Tagus. The Domain delves deeply into the secrets of their homestead, portraying the historical, political, economic and social life of Portugal, since the 1940s, through the Carnation revolution to these days.
Through a family and the relation between father and son, the film describes the dilemmas of the Danish population during World War 2. Like the government, the farmers and the industry, the father, a successful owner of a big electronics factory, tries to make the best of the situation in order to “keep the wheels rolling”. However, this leads him into a problematic collaboration with the Germans. His son, on the contrary, reacts against the increasing oppression and persecution of Jews and communists by joining the rising resistance movement.
February by KamenKalev (Bulgaria, France)
We follow the life of a man at eight, eighteen and eighty-two years old: in his village, outside the village, in the heat of the sun and the icy snow. The course of his monotonous life seems to be written in advance and meaningless. And yet an invisible force exists in him and in a mysterious way pushes him forward, towards death.
Upcoming actor Jérémie is going through an existential crisis. Pathologically jealous and plagued by romantic, professional and familial misadventures, he flees Paris to reset in the country with his mother – who turns out to be more than a little invasive…
I Never Cry by Piotr Domalewski (Poland, Ireland)
After learning about the death of her father, a builder working abroad, the seventeen-year old Ola has to travel to Ireland to bring his body back to Poland.
Anchored by rising star Mariana di Girolamo, La Veronica is a provocative un-fairy tale, revealing what could be the ugly reality behind the fantasies of social media celebrities. The camera is always focused on the face of the protagonist, as if studying her expression, striving to find the truth, and trying to understand her twisted inner mind.
Light For The Youth by Shin Su-won (South Korea)
A young man works at the bond collection call center. He is polite, pure and sincere at a glance. On the other hand, the director of the center is not. The director’s daughter is having a hard time preparing for a job. Light for the Youth revolves around these people. At the beginning of the movie, the young man and the director of the center seem to meet each other accidentally on the rooftop, a resting place, and easily succeed in communicating regardless of the difference in rank. However, a big incident soon happens to the young man who visited a house to collect bonds, and the situation quickly falls into a state of thrill and tragedy.
Red Moon Tide by Lois Patiño (Spain)
As he proved in his previous works, including Coast of Death and Night Without Distance, films that take place on borders between countries, or between life and death, Spanish filmmaker Lois Patiño is singularly brilliant at creating transfixing, ghostly images of enormous power. With Red Moon Tide, he has made his most haunting film yet, a journey into a phantom world, set on Spain’s Galician coast, where Rubio, a diver who retrieved bodies from shipwrecks, has gone missing. The small seaside community, made up of both the living and the long deceased, mourn his absence, in a series of exquisitely composed tableaux that turn images of everyday lives into the mythical.
Dream About Sohrab by Ali Ghavitan (Iran)
Ali Qavitan, the independent director of the Iranian cinema, has decided to make a film about Sohrab Sepehri, a contemporary Iranian painter and poet, due to his apparent resemblance to him.
The Dogs Didn’t Sleep Last Night by RaminRasouli (Afghanistan, Iran)
In a remote area in Afghanistan, stories of the lives of a young shepherdess, a birdcatcher boy and a mourning teacher are intertwined after their school is burnt down. The young shepherdess takes the risk of saving a woman US soldier after a helicopter crash; the birdcatcher boy takes shelter in a tank with the birds, the pin-ups and the illegal music that he loves; and the mourning teacher seeks vengeance on the one who has widowed her…
Hearing-impaired teenager Chang Cheng transfers to a school for children with special needs. However, the world of the hearing-impaired doesn’t seem quiet at all. When he witnesses the “game” taking place in the last row on the school bus, his excitement about blending into school turns into fear.
The Forgotten by Daria Onyshchenko (Ukraine, Switzerland)
Nina, 30, a Ukrainian language teacher who can’t leave the city of Luhansk, occupied by separatists in Eastern Ukraine, is forced to undergo retraining courses for teaching Russian. Andrii, 17, is a student who was orphaned in the aftermath of the war. They cross paths when Nina witnesses Andrii being arrested by the police after hanging the Ukrainian flag from the roof of his school. Nina knows that because they live in a world of injustice and lies Andrii can stay in jail for a long time, and she risks her life to free him. As they gravitate towards each other, they try to remind people in the occupied territories that they deserve a future, too.
Bridge by KripalKalita (India)
The film is set in Assam and portrays the story of Jonaki, a strong and independent woman who endures a lot in her life at a young age.
The 51st International Film Festival of India will open with the Indian premiere of the Denmark film Druk internationally known as Another Round directed by Thomas Vinterberg.
The Danish nominee for the Best International Film at the Oscars will be screened on January 16 after the formal inaugural of IFFI in Goa. Another Round, Vinterberg’s 110 minute film is a sobering comedy about aging, alcoholism, and friendship between men.
IFFI will also have the World Premier of Sandeep Kumar directed Mehrunisa as a mid-fest film.
The closing film at IFFI will be the India Premier of the historical drama ‘Wife of a Spy’ by Kiyoshi Kurosawa on 24th January. The Japanese film bagged Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice International Film Festival.
IFFI will take place in hybrid format from January 16-24 with social distanced physical screening, digital screenings, press conferences and industry talks. A total of 224 films from across the globe will be screened during IFFI. This includes 21 non-feature films and 26 feature films under the Indian Panorama films section.
Another Round, Top Oscar 2021 Foreign Film Contender
Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Lars Ranthe, Magnus Millang and Thomas Bo Larsen, Another Round won Best Film – the first time a Danish film has won that category in the European Film Awards .
Mikkelsen won the Best European Actor award for his portrayal of lead character Martin, a school teacher who sets out to test a theory that he will improve his life by maintaining a constant level of alcohol in his blood.
Vinterberg, won the Best European Director award and the Best European Script along with Tobias Lindholm.
Another Round was produced with support from Film i Väst (SE), Danish Film Institute (DK), TV2 Denmark (DK), Eurimages, Netherlands Film Fund (NL), Swedish Film Institute (SE), Netherlands Film Production Incentive (NL) and Creative Europe MEDIA programme. TrustNordisk is the sales agent of Another Round.
Vinterberg has previously made himself known for films such as Festen (1998) which won the Cannes Film Festival’s jury award and was nominated for Palme d’Or and Golden Globe, Submarino (2010), Jakten (2012) which was nominated for an Oscar and Kollektivet (2016) which was in the main competition in Berlinale.
Mehrunisa, lead role played by 87-year old Farrukh Jaffar
Starring Farrukh Jaffar (Umarao Jaan, Swades, Peepli Live, Sultan, Secret Superstar, Photograph, Gulabo Sitabo), Tulika Baneejee and Ankita Dubey, Mehrunisa directed by India-born Austrian filmmaker Sandeep Kumar narrates the story of a woman’s lifelong dream.
“To achieve her lifelong dream, an 80 year old actress takes on the male-dominated Indian film industry, and unwillingly becomes a leading advocate for women’s rights,” reads the brief synopsis of the film.
The entire film was shot in and around Lucknow for 25 days with a three-member Austrian crew and all-Lucknow based actors and support crew members.
Wife of a Spy, Venice Film Festival Winner
Cult Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, best known for his forays into horror and the supernatural, tackles wartime Japan.
Starring Yu Aoi and Issei Takahashi, Wife of a Spy (Spy no Tsuma) follows the story of a couple in 1940 in the city of Kobe before the outbreak of World War II. A man accidentally stumbles upon a state secret and tries to bring it to light, while his wife takes action to ensure his safety.
Kurosawa got recognition and fame internationally with his 1997 horror-thriller Cure. In 2015, Kurosawa received the best director Award in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. Tokyo Sonata won the jury prize in Un Certain Regard in 2008.
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said the 51st International Film Festival of India in Goa would be organized in a ‘hybrid manner’. People would be able to witness the festival online while the opening and closing ceremonies would be organized at the location with a smaller audience.
Javadekar said that the inaugural ceremony of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held on January 16th in Goa. He said, the ceremony will be held in a hybrid mode wherein the inaugural and closing ceremony will be held in physical mode while the remaining part of the festival will be conducted in virtual mode.
Javadekar also announced the selection of 23 Feature and 20 non-feature films in Indian Panorama for the 51st IFFI to be held in Goa in January 16-24. In the Feature films section, 23 films are selected that include Kripal Kalita directed Assamese movie Bridge, Hindi Films Saand Ki Aankh and Chichhore, Govid Nihlani’s English movie Up Up & Up, Nila Madhab Panda’s Odia movie Kalira Atita, Marathi Movie Prawaas, Sanskrit Movie Namo and Malayalam Movie safe directed by Nila Madhab Panda.
Saand Ki Aankh, directed by Tushar Hiranandani and featuring Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar, will be the opening movie for the Panorama section at the festival, which will also see the screenings of Vetri Maaran’s Asuran, Nitesh Tiwari’s Chhichhore among others. The list of films, selected by a jury headed by filmmaker-writer John Mathew Matthan, also includes Bengali film Avijatrik Kannada film Pinki Elli? Malayalam film Trance (Malayalam) among others.
In non-feature films, 20 films were selected that include Ankit Kothari’s Gujarati movie Panchika, Bimal Poddar’s Bengali movie Radha, English movie Ahimsa-Gandhi : The power of powerless directed by Ramesh Sharma and Manipuri movie Highways of Life directed by Maibam Amarjeet Singh.
IFFI is thrilled that Bong Joon-ho’s South Korean film Parasite, which had its India Premiere at IFFI Goa 2019, won multiple Oscars for Best Picture, screenplay and director. Now, IFFI is scouting for films from masters of the craft at Berlinale
The preparations for 51st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) have begun in full swing. IFFI’s Golden Jubilee edition will be remembered for a long time for a string of things- from honouring film industry legends Rajinikanth to Amitabh Bachchan and high profile International Jury for Competition Films.
The India delegation at the ongoing 70th Berlin International Film festival is led by Ms. TCA Kalyani, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and other senior members. Chaitanya Prasad, IFFI festival director is also at Berlinale 2020 to find films, collaborate with festival heads and extend invitation to filmmakers and industry professionals to attend IFFI
IFFI 2020 is being planned as exciting as that of the Golden Jubilee Edition. It will be as wide-ranging and bigger as its last year edition. IFFI 2020 will celebrate 100 years of India’s legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The 9-day cinematic feast will embrace the works of a wide variety of filmmakers across the world with masterclasses, knowledge series and Film Bazaar.
IFFI is thrilled that Bong Joon-ho’s South Korean film Parasite which had its India Premiere at IFFI Goa 2019 won multiple Oscars for Best Picture, screenplay, director.
At Berlinale, IFFI is meeting up with film executives, sales agents, festival heads to collaborate and looking at curating another edition of fabulous films from across the globe. IFFI will also have knowledge sessions, master classes and open forum besides festival films. Asia’s oldest event of its kind, IFFI still holds on to its preeminent position as a showcase of cinematic excellence. It has over the years witnessed numerous alterations in character, nomenclature, location, dates and duration. Through it all, it has remained steadfast in its emphasis on showcasing the diversity of Indian cinema as well as in its commitment to the celebration of excellence across moviemaking genres.
Over the past two and a half decades, several other international film festivals have sprung up across India, notably in Kolkata, Kerala and Mumbai, and they all contribute meaningfully to the collective task of taking quality cinema to people weaned principally on a staple diet of star-driven, song and dance extravaganzas. But IFFI continues to retain its preeminent position owing to its size, scope and vintage.
Not just in the Indian context but also in relation to the other major Asian film festivals, IFFI matters. And this is despite all the inevitable ups and downs that it has seen over the years.
All the other major Asian festivals – Tokyo, Busan and Shanghai – are of far more recent origin and therefore lack the history that is associated with IFFI. IFFI hands out prize money to the tune of US$ 200,000. The winner of the Golden Peacock for the best film takes home $80,000. That apart, the best director and the Special Jury Prize winner bag $30,000 each, while the two acting prizes come with a cash component of $20,000 each.
IFFI also confers two Lifetime Achievement Awards – one to an international film personality, the other to an Indian great. The moves to push IFFI up a few notches have unfolded since the coastal state of Goa became its permanent venue in 2004. IFFI now has a far more settled feel than ever before, with each improvement in terms of infrastructure and programming initiatives adding value to both the event and the location.
On the programming side, IFFI not only unveils the best films from around the multilingual country with the aim of providing a glimpse of the sheer range and dynamism of Indian cinema, it also puts together a remarkable slate of brand new world cinema titles.
IFFI also hosts many retrospectives, tributes, master classes and special sections, which enhance the variety and depth of the event. The master classes have emerged as a highlight of the festival, especially for film school students who converge in Goa during the ten-day event.
India’s first international film festival was organized within five years of the nation attaining Independence. It was a non-competitive event held in 1952 in Bombay (Now Mumbai). A special feature of the inaugural function was the screening of the first film screened in India in 1896 by the Lumiere brothers. Frank Capra was part of the American delegation that attended the festival.
Six decades on, IFFI continues to provide a useful platform to young Indian filmmakers who work outside the mainstream distribution and exhibition system and in languages that do not have access to the pan-Indian market that Hindi cinema has.
The Indian Panorama, a section that is made up of both features and nonfeatures, opens global avenues for films made by veterans and newcomers alike.
IFFI now has a permanent home in Goa. The coastal state has benefitted appreciably from the shift. Its cinema has received a huge fillip in the decade and a half that Panaji has hosted IFFI. Filmmakers in the coastal state have been increasingly making their mark on the national and international stage.
COMPETITION Feature films from all continents TOTAL PRIZE MONEY – 2,00,000 USD approx
AWARDS Best Film Golden Peacock and a prize money of 40,00,000/-
Best Director Silver Peacock and a prize money of 15,00,000/-
Best Actor (Male) Silver Peacock and a prize money of 10,00,000/-
Best Actor (Female) Silver Peacock and a prize money of 10,00,000/-
Special Jury Award Silver Peacock and a prize money of 15,00,000/-
Award for the Best Debut Feature Film of a Director – Silver Peacock, Certificate and Prize Money of 10,00,000/-
Lifetime Achievement Award Certificate, shawl, scroll and a prize money of 10,00,000/-
Indian Film Personality of the Year Award- Silver Peacock, Certificate and a prize money of 10,00,000/-
OTHER SECTIONS
World Panorama
Foreign Retrospective, Tributes, Special Focus, etc.
Indian Panorama, Indian Retrospectives, Tributes.
Technical Workshops
Masterclasses
Film Bazaar
WORLD PANORAMA
A choice of the year’s best international cinema.
FOCUS
A representative selection of films from another country or region.
INDIAN AND FOREIGN RETROSPECTIVES
Works of famous film personalities are screened as part of this section, during the festival.
INDIAN PANORAMA
A selection of the year’s best of Indian cinema. Indian Panorama provides a platform to the national film makers from all regions and languages. Films are chosen in this section for their thematic and aesthetic excellence and are also sent to festivals within the country and abroad.
IFFI is truly international. IFFI has Indian Panorama and Indian section, but international competition is truly international. Some festivals tend to highlight and have a narrow focus. IFFI’s Competition films are from everywhere,” says John Bailey head of International Jury for Competition Films at IFFI 2019. Interview with John Bailey
Everybody talks about the colors of India. Colors are magnificent. But the texture is fascinating, says JOHN BAILEY, acclaimed American cinematographer and film director known for his work on In the Line of Fire (1993), The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1991) and Silverado (1985). Bailey along with wife Carol Littleton was recently in Goa to attend the International Film Festival of India as head of International Jury for Competition Films.
In an interview with Pickle, he expresses his keenness to explore India to shoot a film. For him, “India is many countries in one.” The country, he says has many cultures, many ethnicities of which “I know only a very small part.”
How have been your experiences in India?
In some other countries where I go; where the country is small or the culture is contained, you feel like you know the country after you visit one or two places. But India is many countries in one. It has many cultures, many ethnicities of which I know only a very small part. We have been to Delhi in North, we were in Mumbai and Goa, but we have not even touched the South of India or East of India. There is a huge country left for us to explore. I will definitely come back, if someone asks me to. Being in India is such an intense experience. We see so many people. There are so many things to see and hear. It is like having a very rich meal. The sense of culture and happenings is so intense for us because we are quite people back home.
Share your thoughts on IFFI 2019?
It is truly international. IFFI has Indian Panorama and Indian section, but international competition is truly international. Some festivals (in Europe and Asia) tend to highlight and have a narrow focus. IFFI’s competition films are from everywhere.
You are a cinematographer. What does your eye tell you when you see India? Will you do a film in India?
I would love to do a film in India. It is incredible. Everybody talks about the colors of India. Colors are magnificent. But the texture is fascinating.
How do you see streaming services taking over?
The only thing that will change is change itself. Change is constant. Change and uncertainty has been the history of motion pictures from the very beginning. Because unlike some of the other arts, which are made by smaller groups of people or painters, motion pictures involves lot of people and lot of money. Therefore, money and finance play a large role. That’s a given. As long as there is a change in shifting between art and commerce, we are going to have these challenges. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I can tell you this. A lot of people—I am not saying older conservative people, but some young people—feel that the essence of a motion picture is being seen in a dark room on a large screen with an audience; where you go some place and you surrender yourself to a collective experience.
What are your plans for 2020?
I want to continue to work as a director of photography. If I find a good screenplay and good director, I will do that. Otherwise, I would continue to write. There was tribute book at Camaro Image with a retrospective on my writings. I enjoy writing very much. I wanted to write a book on my life and reflections on how my life was defined by movies in five decades. I joined the Union in May 1969. I was a camera assistant for eight years and a camera operator for almost four years. And then, became a Director of Photography in 1978.
As a cinematographer, is doing a web series same compared to doing a motion picture?
If you look at my credits, I have done only a few TV movies. Even as a camera assistant and operator, I have done only feature films. And, I cannot help or work to think as a feature cinematographer. I am very committed to anamorphic aspect ratio of 240, which in the 1990 was starting to die-off. It was not popular. But with the digital camera, almost every film that we have seen in this international competition has been shot in the 240 aspect ratio. Somehow, shooting in 240 says shooting feature films because TV and streaming is almost 185. So, if you want to really make a statement and say it is a motion picture, not a TV movie or a streaming movie you shoot in 240.
Sisters Shenuga, Shegna and Sherga have bankrolled Uyare, helmed by debut director Manu Ashokan. scripted by award winning duo Bobby- Sanjay. Part of the Indian Panorama section of IFFI, the film tells the story of an acid attack survivor, played by Parvathy
There were many spotlights at the recently concluded International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. One among them that got our attention are budding producer sisters Shenuga, Shegna and Sherga. They bankrolled Uyare, helmed by debut director Manu Ashokan. scripted by award winning duo Bobby-Sanjay. Uyare, which was part of the Indian Panorama section, tells the story of an acid attack survivor, played by Parvathy.
“We are excited that Uyare was part of the Indian Panorama at IFFI,” say three sisters in one voice giving full credit to their mother Sherien Gangadharan and father P V Gangadharan, well-known film producer in Kerala under the banner of Griharlakshmi Productions. “We decided to green lit the film after go ahead from our mother. We got the full confidence and inspiration after we got the narrative cleared by our mother. She is our script doctor.”
Shenuga, Shegna and Sherga have aptly named their new production outfit S Cube Films, a subsidiary of Grihalakshmi Productions which has successfully produced 24 films in Malayalam in the last four decades. The trio bankrolled a video song ‘Take a Break’ before getting into the production of Uyare.
Normally, those who are subjected to acid attack are often portrayed as victims by society. But there are many who fight the trauma associated with acid attack and grab back their freedom like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Survivors will be the apt term for describing them.
Uyare is an uplifting film about an acid attack survivor who triumphs despite the odds stacked up against her. Elaborating the genesis of the movie, Manu Ashokan says the film is inspired by real life stories. “We have seen many women going through toxic relationships. We wanted to share those stories with the society through Pallavi, the protagonist and her relationship”, he says.
Uyare laced with a social message recently celebrated 100 day run in theatres in Kerala — a rare in today’s one week-end life of a feature film. The commercially successful movie was released in 150 screens in Kerala and 150 outside Kerala.
Uyare was also released globally in USA, Middle East and is also the first Malaylam film to be released in South Korea. “We are now working to get the film released in China,” say the sisters. Uyare is also streamed on Amazon Prime.
All these years, the sisters have been observing their father Gangadharan who has won many awards, including two National Awards for Kanakkinavu and Shantham.
“We had a great learning experience on the sets of Uyare. We learnt nuances of filmmaking and ground reality,” say the trio. All three sisters concur to every view expressed by them individually.
S Cube Films is currently listening to scripts and looking to create content both for streaming and feature films. “We look for stories that would be liked by audiences and will do both art and commercial films. We don’t go by commercials in the film. We go by the story and script,” they say.
Exciting days are ahead for Shenuga, Shegna and Sherga. And their objective and vision are to continue the tradition and glory of Malayalam cinema.
The Golden Jubilee edition of IFFI witnessed over 200 acclaimed films from 76 countries , with Russia as the country of focus. It also included 26 feature films and 15 non-feature films in Indian panorama section. More than 10,000 film lovers participated over its nine days of star-studded gala ceremonies and knowledge sessions
Delivering on its promise to keep thousands of film fans, critics, theatre artists, aspiring actors and industry professionals captivated during the nine days of cinematic revelry in Goa, the Golden Jubilee celebrations of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) managed to bring the best of world cinema and talent under one roof.
One of Asia’s oldest festivals, IFFI saw a grand opening on 20th November at Dr Shyama Prasad Stadium, Bambolim. It was graced by stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth, besides various senior dignitaries from the Government of India including Minister of Information & Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Shri Amit Khare and Chief Minister of Goa Dr. Pramod Sawant. With more than 7,000 delegates, 200 landmark films from 76 countries, knowledge sessions, masterclasses, awards ceremony, cultural programmes, World Panorama and Kaleidoscope, and IFFI Film Bazaar, the cinematic extravaganza got bigger and better this time. Besides the festivities associated with the Festival, IFFI @50 also served as a prominent platform to network, learn and enhance knowledge about the nuances of film making.
Opening Ceremony
Hosted by master of entertainment Shri Karan Johar, the opening ceremony was flagged off by the great doyen of Indian cinema Shri Amitabh Bachchan and the ‘Thalaiva’ of Indian film industry Shri Rajinikanth, in the presence of Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar and other official dignitaries. Shri Rajinikanth was conferred the ‘Icon Of Golden Jubilee Award’ for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, a first time award beginning with the 50th edition. One of French cinema’s defining faces actress Ms. Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The inaugural ceremony also witnessed some enthralling audio visual performances which kept the audience spellbound through the evening. Noted music singer and composer Shankar Mahadevan and his band won the hearts with a spectacular performance.
Opening Film
The 50th edition of IFFI began with the screening of the Italian film Despite the Fog. The film journeys into the plight of refugees who are abandoned on the streets. In the film, Paolo, a manager at a restaurant finds an eight-year-old child on the cold streets and decides to take him home. The director delves into how society reacts to the presence of the child.
Speaking about the film, Director Goran Paskaljevic said, “It’s an intimate story. There are many films already done on the subject. But this is a story about whether people accept or don’t accept refugees in Europe and most cases they don’t. It serves a metaphor to explore the xenophobic fog prevalent in the region.”
Mariella Li Sacchi, one of the producers, stated that “the film isn’t a mainstream film, but a political statement”.
Legends of Indian cinema Ilaiyaraja, Prem Chopra, Manju Borah, Aravind Swamy and Haubam Paban Kumar were felicitated on the closing ceremony
Multimedia Exhibition
Adding yet another dimension to the IFFI experience this year was a one of its kind hi-tech digital, interactive and multimedia exhibition put up by the Bureau of Outreach and Communication and National Film Archives of India (NFAI) at Darya Sangam, near Kala academy. Named IFFI@50 the exhibition traced the journey of IFFI over the last five decades as it showcases Indian cinema to the world while also providing a platform in India for showcasing world cinema.
The exhibition leveraged novelhi- tech features like Zoetrope (moving picture creative installation), 360 bullet shot, 360 degree immersive experience area, augmented reality experience, vertical digital display panels, virtual reality tools, hologram technology, etc to create a self-learning historical experience for the viewers.
Panoramic view of the venue at the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2019)
Amitabh Bachchan Retrospective
Shri Amitabh Bachchan inaugurated the Dadasaheb Phalke Award retrospective organised at Kala Academy during IFFI. Speaking at the launch, the veteran actor said, “I feel deeply humbled and would thank the Government of India for this prestigious award. I’ve always felt that I’m not deserving of such recognition but I humbly accept this with a lot of grace and affection”.
Calling cinema a universal medium Shri Bachchan added that films are beyond the borders of language. The actor expressed hope that we continue to make films that will bring people together.
Indian Panorama
The Indian Panorama section of the 50th edition of IFFI opened with the screening of National Award winning Gujarati film ‘Hellaro’ directed by Shri Abhishek Shah in the feature film category at INOX in Panjim, Goa. A Kashmiri film ‘Nooreh’, directed by Shri Ashish Pandey, opened the non-feature film category at Indian Panorama. The other selections in the feature film category included five Marathi films — ‘Tujhya Aaila’, ‘Anandi Gopal’, ‘Bhonga’, ‘Mai Ghat’ and ‘Photo-Prem’. This category also included three films each in Malayalam and Bengali, two in Tamil and one Kannada film.
The feature film category also had a sub-section on mainstream cinema, under which popular films like ‘Gully Boy’, ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’, ‘Super 30’ and ‘Badhaai Ho’ were screened. Telugu film ‘F2’ was also screened under this category.
IFFI Steering Committee Member and Director, Rahul Rawail felicitating Director and Producer, Farah Khan at the 50th International Film Festival of India
NFAI Calendar
The NFAI Calendar 2020 was launched by I&B Secretary Shri Amit Khare. The calendar focuses on the musical instruments in Indian Cinema featuring 24 rare images from the collection of the archive. A rich compilation of the treasure of Indian musical instruments in Indian Cinema, the calendar features rare images of Raj Kapoor playing Tamboora (Valmiki, 1946); Jayashree Gadkar playing Veena (Seeta Maiya, 1964); Vishnupant Pagnis playing Ektara (Narsi Bhagat, 1940); P L Deshpande playing Tenor Banjo (Gulacha Ganapati, 1953); Sivaji Ganesan playing Nadaswaram (Thillana Mohanambal, 1968); Neralattu Rama Poduval playing Idakka (Thampu, 1978); Raj Kumar playing Shehnai (Sanadhi Appanna, 1977), Kalpana playing Violin (GejjePooje, 1970), Kishore Kumar playing Harmonium (Shabash Daddy, 1978), etc.
Oscar Retrospective
A session on Oscar Retrospective was held on Day 1 at IFFI Goa. Moderated by Journalist and film critic Naman Ramachandran, the session had the Festival Director, ADG, Diretorate of Film Festivals (DFF), Chaitanya Prasad along with the editor of American Film Editor who also worked on the restored version of Casablanca, Ms. Carol Littleton. “We have grown up watching these films and admiring them. To be able to see these films on big screen is an experience in itself,” said Mr Prasad.
Ms Littleton spoke about how huge amount of efforts involved behind Oscars. “We work throughout the year. There are outreach programmes, workshops, seminars to make technicians technically sound. We also look at science of making films. Artistic and scientific sides both are important for making a film,” she said.
The specially curated “Homage Section” paid tribute to 13 eminent individuals who have contributed to Indian cinema during their lifetime
Country Focus-Russia
This year, Russia was the focus country at IFFI. Speaking on the joint production of films and cultural exchange through films, Russian Ambassador to India Mr. Nikolay Kudashev said that such efforts will bring the spirit of India and Russia together. Head of Russian delegation at IFFI and Editor in Chief of Kinoreporter Ms. Maria Lameshev said that there was a great interest for Russian films among Indian people. She added that according to the co-production agreement, 40 percent of budget of the film would be given back by the Ministry of Culture. She extended her support in facilitating meetings for possible co-productions in future.
Eight Russian films–Abigail, Acid, Andrei Tarkovsky: A Cinema Prayer, Beanpole, Great poetry , Once in trubchevsk , Why don’t you just die!, and The Hero- -were screened in the Country Focus section of IFFI this year.
Accessible India – Accessible Films
A joint collaboration between IFFI, Saksham Bharat and UNESCO, the 50th IFFI edition screened three films for those with special needs with an aim to promote the creation of inclusive spaces for the differently-abled through audio description. The section opened with ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ directed by Rajkumar Hirani. Attending the festival for the first time, actress Taapsee Pannu said that she was surprised to know such films were made. “I’ve not seen films that use audio to explain the scenes; so I wanted to surely see how it’s done,” she said. The other films screened were ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’ and the Konkani film ‘Questao De Confusao’ with additional narration for the visually impaired.
Singer and Music Composer, Hariharan, Lesle Lewis and Tanushree Shankar being felicitated, at the closing ceremony of the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2019)
Open Forum
The 2019 edition of the Open Forum organised by the Federation of the Film Societies of India opened with the pertinent topic: Focus on IFFI @50: Flash Back and Moving Forward. The session was inaugurated by Chaitanya Prasad, Festival Director, ADG, Directorate of Film Festival (DFF), Kiran Shantaram, President, Federation of Film Societies of India, AK Bir, Filmmaker and Chairman of Technical Committee, IFFI 2019, Alexey Govorukhin, Executive Producer, Kinoreporter Magazine, Russia and Marianne Borgo, actress from France.
I congratulate the entire IFFI team for a grand Golden celebrations of IFFI 2019 with impeccable choice of films. It was a great learning experience for filmmaker’s like us to network and understand the wide range of language of cinema Chandrakant Singh,Film Maker
Celebrating Constitution Day
Films Division, Government of India, Mumbai celebrated ‘Constitution Day’ on 26th November. Three documentaries: ‘Our Constitution’, ‘India’s Struggle for Freedom: We the People of India’ and ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’, were screened to mark the occasion. The widely publicized screening of these films was open to all and free.
Film Education
An open forum held at IFFI brought to fore the urgent need for monitoring the quality of education being imparted by various film institutes in the country. Present at the session were panelists – Filmmaker, Cinematographer and Script writer A K Bir, Filmmaker M K Shankar, Filmmaker Ajay Bedi and Head of department, SRM School of Film Technology, R D Balaji. The panellists also raised concern about the mushrooming of film institutes and the affect that it has in reality on students. The session was moderated by Shashwat Gupta Ray, Resident Editor of Gomantak Times who opined that there are more than 100 film institutes, almost 1400 mass communication institutes that claim to teach the art of filmmaking.
Memorable IFFI
The golden jubilee edition brought to the shores of Goa the best of recent International cinema, along with special sections such as Golden Peacock Retrospective, Debut Film Competition, Soul of Asia retrospective, Master Film makers collection, Festival Kaleidoscope section, Accessible Films for Differently Abled, World Panorama 2019, Filmmaker in Focus, Restored Indian Classics, ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal competition, Retrospective of Indian New Wave Cinema , Konkani Film Package and Dadasaheb Phalke Award. The 50th edition of IFFI also showcased fifty films of fifty women directors which reflect the contribution of women in cinema.
