A Carnival of Cinemas

(L to R) Sharmila Tagore, Arjun Chakraborty, Manu Chakravarthy and Ratnottama Sengupta at the IFFI 2024. On the screen behind them is a shot of Tapan Sinha

Ayam nijam paroveti gananā laghuchetasām,
Udāracharitānām tu vasudhaiva kutumbakam

“This is for me and that is for others – this thinking can come only from a narrow-minded person. For the broad-minded, liberal, or noble people, the whole world is one big family” – says this Upanishadic verse. This is, then, the motto for IFFI, the International Film Festival of India, which turned 55 in Goa last November (20 to 27, 2024).

For decades now I have been involved with IFFI, founded in 1952, in various capacities – as a viewer, as journalist, in discussions, as a member of the Indian Panorama jury, as curator, as editor of the brochure, in moderating master classes with Phalke winners like Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan…  And IFFI is not the only international film festival I have been part of organising. Even as IFFI 2024 was in progress, I was curating Unseen Frames, a tribute to Kumar Shahani at the 30^th KIFF – Kolkata International Film Festival – as well as Moving Images, a package of Films by Contemporary Artists.

Shyam Benegal with Ratnottama Sengupta at Masterclass at the 43rd IFFI-2012, in Panaji, Goa

Before KIFF 2024 could commence on December 4, I was in the jury for Footprints Film Festival, held in Delhi and Kolkata. This platform for teenagers and young adults showcased short films in two age groups – 13 to 18, and 19 to 24 – “to promote cultural understanding and bridge gaps worldwide, through storytelling.” And in January 2025, I selected the worthiest in SIFFCY, the Smile Foundation Film Festival for Children and Youth hosted in Delhi’s Siri Fort in partnership with the European Union – “to celebrate the transformative power of good cinema.”

You might say, “We haven’t heard of half the festivals that are being held now.” Yes, it is a fact that now, with the boom in digital technology, like the number of films being made annually, global festivals have grown exponentially. Other than IFFI, there are at least a dozen festivals that make India a dream destination for film buffs, come October, when MAMI opens in Mumbai. Not only Kolkata, Kerala, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai – the major filmmaking centres – but Pune and Jagaran, Delhi and Dharamshala, ALIIFF (All Lights India International FF) and BYOFF (Bring Your Own Films Festival), Wench and Vibgyor are all competing to platform the newest in moving images.

Raakhee Gulzar on location shooting of Amar Boss – the film is slated for release May 2025

Cinema, as the Academy Awards reiterate year after year, is born of the union of the Arts and Science. Since it is dependent on technology, its language continually changes and evolves. To keep pace with developments, one must constantly watch the latest from countries as far flung in lifestyle, not just geography, as Argentina and Azerbaijan, Turkey and Tokyo, Iran and Indonesia, the USA, and Kazakhstan.

What provides a common platform for cinemas from these divergent places to project excellence in their practice of the motion picture art? An international film festival. It contributes to the appreciation of film as well as the understanding of different cultures in their given social and national ethos. Believing that only this understanding promotes cooperation, I stand with every IFF in the world.

Besides, we only have to look back at the reverberations of the very first IFF held in India to be sold on a carnival of cinema. Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee came out of watching Bicycle Thieves dead set to make Do Bigha Zamin. Mrinal Sen, then a 29-year-old medical representative, watched four shows a day and decided not to sell medicines for long. Satyajit Ray chaired the third IFFI (1965) and it became competitive, was graded ‘A category’ and put on par with Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Karlovy Vary and Moscow.

Snapshots from the 1st edition of IFFI, organized by the Films Division, in Mumbai from 24 January to 1 February 1952 (Pic: PIB)

Actually, because of their proliferation since Y2K, most IFFs are not taken seriously if they are non-competitive. And once they turn competitive, most try to be exclusive. The big ones, to ensure the entries premiere on their screens, do not allow even private screenings before their dates. In this scenario, IFFI, now co-hosted by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the state Government of Goa, had to steer fast and furious to maintain its ranking among the top 10. It has remained the converging point for South Asian and international filmmakers, producers, festival programmers, financial collaborators and sales agents, through a pro-active film bazaar – and by adding new awards to the existing ones.

Thus, to the initial Golden Peacock for the Best Film, it had added Silver Peacocks for Best Director, Actor, Actress, and Best (International) Debut; then the ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi medal for films that promote peace and intercultural dialogue. In 2023, it initiated the Best of OTT Award for “outstanding Web Series of high aesthetic and technical standard and of educational and cultural value.” And 2024 saw it recognise the Best Indian Debut. I’m happy to note that Navjyot Bandiwadekar bagged this for Gharat Ganpati (Marathi) which I had watched as a member of the Indian Panorama jury.

Art work, decor and posters at Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF)

Since I spent 40 days screening what should – and what shouldn’t – be presented to the global family, I have been often asked at various forums about the present harvest, in particular from the debutants. Are they promising? Yes, many of them are extremely talented, though it is not easy to spot them at daybreak. And once spotted, we need to keep an eye on their growth. When Satyajit Ray appeared on the scene, filmmakers and critics were overwhelmed but how many bought tickets? Agreed that 70 years since then a hall run is not a priority because the OTT is an important factor in defining success today. But there too, how many are watching critically?

Besides, in a world where the very concept of celluloid has been snuffed out by the digital camera, where editing is no longer about cutting and joining raw stock, and AI is threatening to rob screen writers of their livelihood, a filmmaker can mark his debut even before he hits teen – or long after the official age for retirement. Steven Spielberg had made a home video when he was 14; Shyam Benegal was in school when he made a 16 mm movie on Holidays. On the other hand, my father Nabendu Ghosh was 72 when he was awarded the Golden Lotus for Trishagni. So IFFI’s focus on Debut Directors is an important move – especially if we recall that the National Awards introduced a Golden Lotus for them in 1980.

Nabendu Ghosh receiving the National Award for Best First Film of a Director from President R. Venkataraman in 1989

And the award for the Best of Web Series? It assumes great significance in the light of the fact that so many cinema halls have closed down in cities and towns and villages too. The movie channels and then the OTT platforms like Netflix stepped into the vacuum created by the closing down of the theatres.

Shekhar Kapoor, Chairperson of IFFI 2024, with Sharmila Tagore at Goa

Even though  OTT isolates the viewing experience of individuals, it also offers many films a chance to reap back their returns once the theatrical release is behind them. To cite one example: National Award winner Srijit Mukherji’s Padatik, celebrating celluloid maestro Mrinal Sen in his birth centenary, featured Chanchal Chowdhury of Bangladesh in the pivotal role. However, when it released across the border, it got hardly any viewer because of the political turmoil that culminated in a change of regime there. In Kolkata as well it garnered skeletal attendance probably because of a hospital rape incident that took central attention of the media and public alike. OTT offered the best solution. Another positive addition: Last year’s Golden Lotus winner Attam is now on an OTT platform. And many streaming films are being nominated in multiple categories.

A few criticisms have been intermittently levelled at IFFI, which ranks amongst the top 10 IFFs recognised by FIAPF — Federation International of Film Producers Associations. One is, “Why should 20 per cent of the feature films in the Indian Panorama section be reserved for Mainstream cinema?” In 2024, for instance, out of the total of 396 submissions, 25 films were entered by trade bodies from the five zones of India. Five of these were selected by the 13-member jury presided by filmmaker Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi. Added to this were 20 final selections for the Indian Panorama that automatically included the Best Film at the National Film Awards 2024 – Anand Ekarshi’s Aattam (Malayalam) – incidentally a debut vehicle.

The reservation against mainstream ‘reservation’ stems from the belief that festival films should be all about art films, especially from remote corners, perhaps in unheard languages representing dwindling populace. Mainstream, after all, enjoys immense popularity and rakes in many times more than its investment. Voices from the other side say, mainstream films also represent India, so why shouldn’t it be a part of the ‘Indian Panorama’? Can you imagine Indian cinema without Sholay? – they counter.

Another section of IFFI that faces gunshots is the Film Bazaar. Held for five days alongside the carnival of cinema, this glamour-high jamboree that attracts producers, distributors, and festival programmers has evolved since 2007 into South Asia’s global film market. Following the introduction of OTT (Streaming) Award in 2023 it has selected several Series projects in its co-production. In another significant move, the previous head of the Cannes Film Market was involved as advisor.  His experience helped in getting the right people to visit which in turn helped in directing the projects towards the right culmination.

Raam Reddy’s Thithi was adjudged the Best Work in Progress feature in the IFFI Film Bazaar (Pic: Filmbazaarindia.com)

Raam Reddy’s Thithi (2015), in its rough-cut stage, was adjudged the Best Work in Progress feature in the IFFI Film Bazaar and was awarded a free digital intermediate at Prasad Lab. It was still a work-in-progress when it won the Golden Leopard for Filmmakers of the Present at Locarno. Subsequently it bagged the National Award for the Best in Kannada language films.

Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox (2013), Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus (2012), Konkona Sen Sharma’s Death In The Gunj, Alankrita Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burkha, Sharat Katariya’s Dum Laga Ke Haisha – the list of success stories from the NFDC Screenwriters’ Lab, or from another of its verticals, that went on to gain critical acclaim continues to bring to the screen new talents across genres.

It is safe to conclude hence that any international film festival serves as the meeting ground of art and commerce.

(L to R) Ratnottama Sengupta, Tapati Guha-Thakurta, Anindya Sinha with his wife and Sudeshna Roy at IFFI

(All pictures are courtesy Ratnottama Sengupta unless credited otherwise)

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