Around the world, and across the country, you have film festivals, curated for niche audiences
that provide a platform for filmmakers to showcase their work and an outlet for
locals to enjoy various forms and genres of cinema.
Even as Goa is now synonymous with The
International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the state has come to offer a
cinematic experience to Goans via its film clubs where movies are screened
every week and its film festivals that are held almost every month.
“Building on its mandate to create public
consciousness about films and film festivals, the Entertainment Society of Goa
(ESG) endeavours to inculcate a cinematic sense of appreciation,” said ESG Vice
chairman Rajendra Talak.
Close on the heels of the recently
concluded science film festival, which saw a great response, especially from
the student community, ESG has just completed its Women’s Day Film Festival.
The festival was a four days entertainment
bonanza from March 8 to March 11 that catered to connoisseurs of renowned
filmmaker Sumitra Bhave’s Award winning movies. Her films such as Vastupurush,
Devrai, Astu and Kaasav were screened at Maquinez Palace, Panaji
as well as 1930 K Sera Sera Vasco. Celebrated actors like Mohan Agashe and Atul
Kulkarni were present for the inaugural session and along with Bhave,
interacted with the audience. The event was organised by The Cinephile Film
Club of ESG who have played an interesting role in filling the gaps between the
major film festivals. In addition to quiz contests, film appreciation and film
journalism workshops, there has been a steady interest in the type of films
that are selected for the weekly screenings. Riding the Stallion of a Dream
(Kannada), Departures (Japanese), Full Metal Jacket (Directed by Stanley
Kubrick), Rififi (French), Stroszek (German), In The Mood For Love
(Chinese), Blind Chance (Polish), Kes (1969), Notorious (Directed by Alfred
Hitchcock), and the award winning Hindi film Masaan; are just some of the
examples.
The next big event on the agenda is the 9th Goa State Film
Festival, a premier event conducted by the Department of Information and
Publicity and ESG, which is organised every alternate year. The last day for
the applications is on March 25.
“A four day Goa State Film Festival will be organized from April
21 and all the films participating in this state competition will be screened
for public. It gives artistes, producers and directors an opportunity to
showcase and orchestrate their professional excellence in the field of cinema,
said Rajendra Talak.
The film festival is also known for the Goa State Film awards.
“The award ceremony will be held on April 24, to celebrate Konkani Cinema Day.
On this day, the first Goan Konkani Cinema Mogacho Aunddo, was released in
Mapusa in 1950, produced by ‘Father of Konkani Cinema’ Al Jerry Braganza,”
added Talak. IThe films which are completed from 1st January 2016 to 31st
December 2017 will be eligible for this State Awards. There will be 2
categories- ‘Feature Films’ which will have two sections, Konkani and Marathi
separately, whereas, ‘Non-Feature films’ will have a combined section for
Konkani and Marathi languages.
In
the Feature Films section, the first prize for Best Film and Best Direction
gets an award of Rs. 500000 each. There are other categories such as Best
Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Child Artiste, Story,
Screenplay, Dialogues, Lyrics, Music Director, Playback Singer (male/ female),
Cinematography, Editor, Audiography, Art Director and Costume. In the
Non-Feature Films section, the awards for best fiction and non- fiction, that
get a cash prize of Rs. 100000 each. The other categories include Best
Cinematography, Audiography, editing, music direction and theme.
