With the announcement by the government of Goa on the
revival of the Goa State Film Festival Awards Ceremony from last
year onwards, many smiles were brought to the faces of Goan
filmmakers. Prior to the last edition held in 2015 (which was for
films made from 2008 till 2013), there had been no state festival
“Earlier, this festival used to be held every two years. From last
year onwards, the government of Goa has revived the festival,
which will be held with the same spacing. 2016 is the 'due year' so
films made in 2014-15 are eligible to register for it,” says Rajendra
Talak, filmmaker, who took home the most awards at last year’s
film festival. The state festival is
organised by the department of
Information and Publicity and
Entertainment Society of Goa.
He also continued, saying “There weren't many
Goan produced movies in last couple of years. Perhaps that was the
main reason for discontinuing of the festival. But now that the festival
has been revived, it has brought joy to Goan filmmakers.”
The Goa State Film Festival 2015 saw 'O Maria' taking away the
most awards for 2010-11. Marathi feature film, 'A Rainy Day' secured
14 awards. 'O Maria' went on to win 16 awards for Best Direction, Best
Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress and Best Story.
The Goan film industry is flourishing. There are various film
festivals being organised in Goa such as European Film Festival,
Asian Film Festival, Children’s Film Festival, Goa Marathi Film
Festival, Goa Short Film Festival and International Film festival
of India. The makers are putting in efforts and money and the
industry is growing. “The state film festival has categories of
awards such as Best Feature Film Konkani/Marathi, Best Actor, Best
Actress, Best Director, Best Music, Best Lyricist, Best Art Director,
Best Choreographer, Best Child Artists and Best Supporting Actor,”
In the Best Marathi film category for 2008-09, Dinesh Bhonsle's
‘Marmabandh’ had won top honours. Bhonsle also won the Best
Marathi Director Award, that year. For 2012-13, Suring and Raktyug
won the award for the Best Konkani Feature Film. ‘A Rainy Day’
bagged the best Marathi Feature Film Award. This time Talak's tryst
with Marathi also paid off, with the film's 14 awards including Best
Direction, Best Actor and Best Actress awards.
In the non-feature film category, Bipin Khedekar's Shalya won the
Best Fiction Non-Feature Film, Best-Direction and Best Cinematography
awards among others in the year 2012-13. The Best Non-Fiction Feature
Film Award went to Journey Beyond Cut and Match. Animated film
Pensou won the award for best technical excellence.
There are several filmmakers eagerly waiting the
announcement of this festival to register their films. Nilesh
Newalkar, producer of film ‘Nirmon’ is awaiting for the same,
saying “It's sort of a competition for Goan cinephiles and those
associated in this film line. They can showcase their work to a
wider audience, provided there is local talent in the films."