As the 5th, 6th and 7th Goa State Film Festival (GSFF) came
to a glittering end on Sunday, it reinforced the need for the Goa State
Festival to go on. “The festival creates an atmosphere for movie makers to make
more films. It is a stepping stone for them and more Goan artistes should take
advantage of this festival,” avers GSFF Convenor Sandeep Kundaikar. Clubbing
three festivals after a hiatus of seven years was one step in this direction.
“We had to finish this year by March itself otherwise later we would be stalled
by the summer vacations, then monsoons and then IFFI. This also gives us time
to prepare for the 8th edition,” he surmises while explaining that a dearth of
films also lent to the slag. “Not many films were produced in Goa. In 2008-09,
just seven films were produced and in 2010-11 there were only five films made,
all by leading filmmakers – two in Marathi and three in Konkani. Of the 22
films screened this year, 14 were Konkani and eight Marathi. For films to
flourish in the state, GSFF must go on,” he reiterates.
Although the festival evinced a sizeable response among
moviemakers and cine lovers alike, the screening of all films on one day and
half from the anticipated three days proved to be a damper. To remedy this, the
ESG will have a re-run of all the films from April 15 to 23 at Maquinez Palace
I and II in the evenings.
With his films ‘O Maria’, ‘A Rainy Day’ and ‘Saavariyaa.com’
sweeping the awards, director and writer Rajendra Talak is obviously elated,
but his happiness is also dampened by the lack of participants. “There should
be many good filmmakers, because then there is competition and the chance to
better oneself,” he surmises. Terming the GSFF as an important platform for
filmmakers to showcase their work and get the encouragement, he urges more
filmmakers to come forward and avail of the opportunities and schemes announced
by ESG. “The Konkani film industry has to develop and there are more films
coming up now. Filmmaking should be taken seriously and filmmakers should be
dedicated to their task if they want to make a success of it. Today Goa has
many avenues and opportunities available in filmmaking. I myself would like to
help in terms of making films or screenplays,” offers Talak.
Director Dinesh Bhonsle who clinched nine awards, including
that for best director for his Marathi film ‘Marmabandh’, is elated at the win.
“This film received six nominations in 2009 in Mumbai from among 96 films and
again for the Maharashtra Film Festival it received six nominations from among
108 films. Receiving this award at GSFF is a culmination,” says Bhonsle whose
next film (Konkani) ‘Enemy’ is in its post-production stage.
