It has been
the same story for the past few years. Although the International Film Festival
of India, organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, announces big names
for the opening ceremony of its annual festival, the remainder of the festival
is reduced to being a gathering of out-of-work actors and ‘wannabe’ film / TV
celebrities. Apart from Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth who opened the
festival this year, none of those who attended the festival can be counted
amongst the A-list of Bollywood or international cinema. Whereas on the other
hand, Film Bazaar, organised by the National Film Development Corporation of
India, managed to attract the likes of Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Vishal
Bhardwaj, Anurag Basu, etc and has been doing so ever since its inception in
2007. Moreover, to make matters worse this year, the media was left to fend for
itself in the absence of an agency that otherwise facilitates interactions with
the few celebrities that do visit.
Popular
Goan film director Laxmikant Shetgaonkar highlights a few key points.
Shetgaonkar says, “NFDC is well connected to the film fraternity in India
whereas DFF is not. In 2009, an expert committee was formed to suggest ideas
and strategies to build the IFFI. It was decided that the film festival should
become independent. More importantly, it was also decided that the festival needed
to have a prominent film personality to be the face of the festival, leading
the festival and helping in getting celebrities to the festival in a large way.
This is what happens in most film festivals worldwide but here it never happened.”
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Kannada
film director P Sheshadri whose film ‘December 1’ was a part of the Indian
Panorama section of IFFI, says, “The business side of the films is an
inseparable part of any international film festival. Apart from exchanging
cultures, we come to the festival for the market that it offers. Till date, I
have made eight films, out of which seven have been screened at IFFI but it has
not helped me financially. Apart from the hospitality and the airfare, there is
nothing that a filmmaker can expect out of this annual film festival. NFDC’s
Film Bazaar is held less than a kilometre away at Goa Marriott Resort and Spa.
Despite NFDC and DFF both being government organisations, instead of working
together they are seen competing with each other. Most of the film financers or
potential producers visit Film Bazaar and not IFFI. Although the distance
between the two venues is minimal, filmmakers whose films are being screened at
IFFI do not have access to the Film Bazaar.”
Kulbhushan
More, a cinephile from Panjim who used to be excited about IFFI every year,
confesses that the excitement is slowly dying away. More says, “IFFI is like a
Yashraj film. Earlier the production house used to churn out some meaningful
films but lately they have been producing just brilliant promos of pathetic and
meaningless films. The same can be said about this festival.”
More adds,
“The reasons for this stark difference between the two events could also be
attributed to the purpose that both these events serve. IFFI is an
international film festival which, like other film festivals, is supposed to
feature a collection of the best of Indian and World cinema. It is ideally
supposed to be a gathering of cinephiles, budding filmmakers and film
celebrities where everything related to films can be consumed. It is important
for celebrities to be a part of this festival so that their fans can experience
them up and close. With the attendance of such celebrities dwindling in number,
the collection of films is the only saving grace of the festival but
unfortunately, even that has been a topic of debate for the past few years.”
