Nandita Das censors IFFI Says fest veering towards vulgarism SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT PANJIM, DEC 7
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) seems to be gearing more towards a vulgar kind of show, and it pays little attention to content or jury, said noted actress and film maker Nandita Das at the ongoing Marrakech International Film Festival in Morocco, where she is a member of the jury. According to a report in Hindustan Times, each juror had to declare the Festival open in his or her language, and Das spoke in Hindi. She thought that it was a great way of inaugurating a festival. I think this is a really well organised event she said. Das came to Marrakech after having recently attended the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa where, much to her chagrin, her debut feature film, Firaaq, was shown without English subtitles, and no Q&A was held after its screening. Comparing Marrakech with Goa, Das was all praise for the Moroccan festival. It is such a young Festival, and see how well it is being conducted, she said, adding, I think IFFI needs to get far more professional. There is no comparison between IFFI and Marrakech. Das said: Every festival is now getting to be a bit of show biz, a bit of spectacle. At the same time, no good festival would ever compromise on core issues like the quality of movies, the standard of the jury and the participation of audiences. Sadly, IFFI seems to be gearing more towards a vulgar kind of show, and it pays little attention to content or jury. A festival is not about having hundreds of films. It is not quantity, it is quality. Only if a festival concentrates on these things can it hope to attract the right kind of attention. http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=30870&cid=2