Some of the more interesting film makers make it a point to attend IFFI in Goa. Noted Iranian director Asghar Farhadi was here and so was Majid Majidi in 2017. The list would be endless if one took to naming the icons of Indian cinema who have attended the festival over the years. Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant, Subhash Ghai, Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar have all graced the occasion. Many of them visit intermittently when they are invited or have a film to promote. Then there are those who make it a point to be present at this celebration of cinema. These are actors, film technicians and generally lovers of cinema who make it a point to come every year and watch movies they would not be able to watch easily in the country.

Srikant Borker, a writer has been attending the film festival since it moved to Goa in 2004. He said he had attended the film festival when it was held in Mumbai and when it shifted to Goa; he would attend with a large group.   He said “It was great in the early years when it shifted to Goa. Yes it was easy to watch movies and change movies earlier, not now. I don’t watch Indian movies at the festival because it is easy to get them in a theatre or on a digital platform.  I love watching the Iranian and Korean movies and yes even French. I check the brochures and we discuss the movies and then select the movies. We spend days in the various theatres just watching movies that would not be easy to access in India”.       

Astik Dalai has gained prominence with Noble Peace a movie he directed. He has been attending IFFI for fifteen years. He used to attend the film festival when it was held in Delhi and all over the country. He said the decision to have a permanent venue in Goa was the best decision ever. Astik said he never judged a film by what was written in the brochure and always preferred to watch it with an open mind. He said “Of all the movies I have watched I loved Babel and Gloomy Sunday from Hungary. I like literary cinema and the films from Iran, France Poland and Hungary generally come from that tradition”.  

He liked the fact that seminars and the film markets were now better organized and people from European countries were coming.  Goa, he emphasized, was the best place to have the festival. He said it was always a pleasant surprise to watch a film from a country not noted for good film making and think about it later. He intended to be present this year and hoped to make it as memorable as possible.

Emma loves cinema and is now a retired banker. She and her husband have been attending the festival from 2004. Emma Kamat loves watching her Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurusawa and other masters at the festivals she attends. She said “I am part of the Vichitra Film Society in Margao and watched all these great masters”. Speaking about her experiences over the years, she said in the early years they were well organised and a great deal of attention was paid to the quality of the cinema being showcased. That she said had changed in the last couple of years. The festival she said was about watching the cinema of the world followed by Bengali and Malayalm movies. Her undoubted favourite however were the masterpieces by Iranian filmmakers. She ended by saying she and her husband would watch 5 to 6 films a day and enjoy the magic of cinema.  

Kamal Waghdhare a theatre actor from Nagpur will not be able to come this year because of an accident last year.  He said “I got the list of the foreign films yesterday and discussed it with my friends who will be attending and would have liked to watch a couple of the movies in the International competition. The French, Japanese and the Iranians for a while now have been making great films. Over the past fifteen years, I have watched cinema, discussed the craft with directors both famous and not so famous and it has always been an interesting experience.”   

Nitin Bansod a Director has been attending the festival for sixteen years. He said “I have watched movies from all over but I stay away from Hollywood and Bollywood movies because they are easily accessible. I watch around 4 to five movies and focus on Spanish, Japanese and ofcourse Iranian. A Pakistani film called In the name of God was a very interesting movie. The film festival is a great meeting place where ideas are exchanged”.   

Suresh a film maker from Nagpur who has been visiting the festival for the past five years, said the opportunity to meet with other filmmakers and to watch great cinema was an opportunity he could not miss. He said “I met Majeed Majedi and had a long conversation with him. It brings back great memories and it allows me to indulge my great love for cinema without any hesitation.”

The festival may be reduced in scale this year due to the virus but those who love their cinema will find a way to be present to indulge their itch.