The 42nd year of the International Film Festival in India is going to be a first of many things, from newer workshops and more genres of films to more participation and a Steering Committee that includes Mike Pandey as the chairman.
The 10-day festival that starts on November 23 in Goa promises to be one that brings together the film fraternity of all genres under one roof. “People from mainstream cinema, technicians, documentary filmmakers, short filmmakers from India as well as from around the world would be attending the festival,” says Pandey.
He says that it’s the first time that the festival is being done with collaboration of people from different fields. “Besides the film fraternity, the festival also involves ministries. Especially, the Ministry of Tourism has been really considerate in promoting the festival well,” he says.
According to Pandey, films are not just a source of entertainment. “Films reflect transition of time. They are multi-pronged tools that demonstrate the social formation of certain region, person or group,” he says and adds that the festival brings together many films from the Indian panorama that reflect different facets of the country. Besides screening regional films from different parts of India, the festival would also have 3D screenings for the first time,” says Pandey.
With the evolution of the Indian film industry, foreign delegates interested in filmmaking are seeing India as a potential market. “The number of foreign delegates this year has increased by a huge number,” he adds.
In the Indian panorama, some very interesting films have been selected for screening this time. “Even the mainstream Bollywood films reflect a lot of changes. While there’s a classic by Satyajit Ray, there are the contemporary cinema from different genres like Sahi Dhande Galat Bande and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara that mirror the growth of the Indian film industry,” says Pandey.
Besides the screenings, the festival has a lot more to offer to the visitors, especially youngsters interested in the art. The festival gives young filmmakers a chance to be a part of the various workshops being conducted by both filmmakers and technicians on different days. There would also be a lot of planning and thinking to take the film industry to a greater height.
“At some places, cinema is still not accessible to the common man. Many can’t afford a ticket to a multiplex. At the festival, we will also look into such matters. We are in talks to set up film clubs at regional levels in different parts of the country,” says Pandey.