When the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) first moved to Goa, the level of
excitement was super high among the Goan public.
A decade and a dozen
IFFI editions later, that level of excitement among the local community has
dipped for various reasons. From expecting to see more film celebrities to
greater engagement with the public, locals have various reasons as to what IFFI
should have and should be doing.
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There have been
comparisons made to other international film festivals across the world and
suggestions as to how local cinema can get promoted at this festival.
“I feel that there
should be a Konkani slot everyday at 7 pm which is the prime time. At this hour
they should show the world our Konkani films. Besides this, Goan artists need
to have more participation at IFFI”, said actor Kevin D’mello
Others like Sanjeev V
Sardesai who is active in the cultural space, felt that one aspect where the
film festival could improve was in helping out the delegates visiting Goa. He
felt there should direction boards/signages set up at appropriate locations to
help these visitors get to the various screening venues. He recalled how there
were rickshaws kept to ferry delegates from Inox Multiplex to Kala Academy and
yet there were no boards to inform of their existence. “There should be
suggestion boxes and counters available where delegates can get general
information about Goa. This event should ideally help promote tourism in Goa”
added Sanjeev.
Others felt that
steps should be taken to increase local participation.
“Most of the Goans
feel IFFI is about film stars, which according to me is not the right criteria.
For the public perception to improve, I feel there should be a way where the
people can experience IFFI the way the delegates do inside the festival. It’s
always a great experience to watch good cinema and this will help people
appreciate cinema better” said film maker Brijesh Kakokder.
Explaining further,
he said that this should be accessible to any audience, without being a
delegate. “Maybe there can be a small outdoor theatre set up which plays cinema
of the world and not just commercial Bollywood movies,” added Brijesh.
In addition, the
facilities, number of seats and infrastructure has been a bone of contention in
the past.
This year, in its
48th edition, the Entertainment Society of Goa( ESG) has curated a number of
workshops, courses, competitions and weekly film screenings as a build up to
the main event. For the first time, there will be a village introducing a new
concept called Bioscope, a village with a theme of New age Cinema.
There will be four
pop up inflatable cinema theatres, a skill studio and Katta- a space where one
can interact with celebrities.
“We will invite
stalwarts of the film industry and film institute’s to bring to our young
audiences the excitement about various technical aspects that go into film
making. This will be a great platform for the film enthusiasts and aspiring
film makers to understand the different career opportunities within the film
industry” said Rajendra Talak, ESG vice chairman.
The festival ground
will have a separate space for performing arts and stalls for food, beverages,
and handicrafts. Besides the Goa section at IFFI that will screen four films,
there will also be a short film contest for upcoming film makers.
“IFFI, has been a
significant film festival that not only focus on national and international
entries, but also Goan too. This year they have special section for Goan
film-makers. We are lucky to have an international film festival hosted in Goa.
As you see even Goan Films are enchancing now,” said film maker Milroy Goes.
The list of Indian
films to be screened at the “Indian Panorama” section has also been
announced.
Indian Panorama is
the section under which several Indian language films (feature/non-feature) are
shown every year at the festival.
India’s official
entry for the Oscars, “Newton”, and the highest grosser till date in the
country, “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion”, are among the 26 films selected
The
2016 National Award winning Kaasav, directed by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil
Sukthankar will also be screened while under the non feature length films, the
National Award winning Fireflies in the Abyss directed by Chandrasekhar Reddy
will be screened. The opening film of the feature film section of Indian
Panaroma is Pihu which has been directed by Vinod Kapri.
