Ever since Goa claimed the privilege to host the International Film Festival of India
(IFFI) permanently about a decade and half ago, the seeds for the development
of the ‘film culture’ were sown. However, the visible fruits of this labour
started appearing only until about a few years ago. These results could also be
attributed to the fact that apart from IFFI, the state has been hosting a number
of other international and regional film festivals, thereby exposing the Goan
audiences to a plethora of world and multilingual cinema – a luxury that was
largely absent until a few years ago.
In addition to the creation of a ‘filmy’ atmosphere by these multiple
film festivals spread across Goa’s annual events calendar, which could be
conducive for budding filmmakers from within the state, Goa also has in place a
few schemes for financial help for home-grown filmmakers. However, very few
Goan films have managed to impress the audiences and industry experts with
their craft. That was until now, as ‘Juze’, perhaps Goa’s best representation
at film festivals across the globe, has managed to instil a sense of enthusiasm
and pride in the locals towards Goan cinema. As a result, in a phenomenon
rarely seen before, citizens are promoting fellow Goans to watch the film and
the movement is snowballing.
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Prior to being released in Goa recently on May 4, 2018, the film
has been to film festivals in India like Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image
(MAMI) Film Festival, Chennai International Film Festival, Pune International
Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival and Kazhcha Indie Film Fest,
Thiruvananthapuram. It has also been to the 41st Hong Kong International Film
Festival (HKIFF), Minsk International Film Festival in Belarus, Cork Film
Festival, Ireland and Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Prague.
‘Juze’ was the only Goan film to be selected for the Indian Panorama section of
the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2017 and Miransha Naik, the
director of the film, was waiting for the opportunity to screen his feature
film, ‘Juze’, in Goa. The story of the film is based around exploited migrant
workers and their abusive slumlord, Juze. His realistic portrayal of a village
and its issues has touched the hearts of people from across the world and it
has already generated the right kind of buzz in Goa.
Sapna
Sardessai, an ardent fan of cinema, recently took to social media after
watching ‘Juze’, to urge fellow Goans to watch the film. Sapna says, “Public
support (for Goan cinema) is pouring in only lately, maybe after seeing the
success of a film like ‘Nachom-ia Kumpasar’ and the like. It is very
heartening, especially after Goa’s only Konkani language paper, Sunapranta died
owing to a dearth of readers! Konkani needs to be promoted in every way
possible; and what better medium than cinema?” Anwesha Singbal, another movie
lover, who feels very strongly connected to Konkani, did her bit of promoting
the film by broadcasting messages on WhatsApp, asking her friends to go watch
the film. Speaking on what about the film prompted her to do so, Anwesha said,
“I have always believed that Good cinema should be supported; this is not
limited to just Konkani cinema. No doubt the Konkani film industry is new and
slowly evolving but something like ‘Juze’ is a perfect example of dedication
and phenomenal hard work. For Miransha, the director, it is not about a Konkani
movie; it is about a good movie and hence I really tried my level best to push
it through all mediums. From the story to acting to every bit of technicalities
involved, ‘Juze’ amazed me. It is nothing less than good world class cinema.
This is what is required to develop the film scene in Goa and hence we need to
support the movie wholeheartedly.”
