Sensible interview. Jose Salvador Fernandes
On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 11:15 PM, augusto pinto <pinto...@gmail.com> wrote: > [image: Boxbe] <https://www.boxbe.com/overview> This message is eligible > for Automatic Cleanup! (pinto...@gmail.com) Add cleanup > rule<https://www.boxbe.com/popup?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.boxbe.com%2Fcleanup%3Ftoken%3DWAm1Tq%252Bp5jZdG7HGx%252FIGdp13Ku7wPs6kTvsDDNfCLfDFi1xvZB%252Bf8hRAiSReev76u9icy5%252BkhVOXRc%252B5BNIGFwAOrRPsz2E8munk9I0fqzC4H11ZSHXMZv3SKRcFL2VixvCAzxR8eBo%253D%26key%3DIicDb%252Fq5aCN1ZQqnlpBL1BIsVc%252FK2t8%252BIxAirJxOLz8%253D&tc=13006605642_1430872814>| > More > info<http://blog.boxbe.com/general/boxbe-automatic-cleanup?tc=13006605642_1430872814> > > http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/epapermain.aspx > > Bollywood is An Enormous Elephant in the Room… > > Is the honest observation by Venita Coelho, the only Goan on the > Indian Jury. HERALD gets her views > > CHRISTINA VIEGAS goasheartbeat@ herald- goa. com Tell us a little > about your selection on the Indian Jury. How did it happen? I was > surprised by a call from the Deputy Director of the festival, Tanu > Rai. I am so used to living my activist avatar in Goa, that few people > know that I am also a film writer and maker. > > … And on the pride and honour of being the only Goan on the jury? > Being the only Goan on the jury meant that I got to be a bridge for > the other jury members to a better understanding of our state. I am > always happy to be able to explain that Goa is about much more than > just sunshine, sand and the carnival. > > Are you happy with the selection of the films in this section? We had > over 140 films to watch and choose from. What was frightening was the > number of films that were technically awful. Since the explosion of > the digital age, everyone is buying a digital camera and attempting a > movie. But the final selection we made was very satisfying because it > was such a wide range of films. From ‘ Bandhon’, which is a classic by > Jahnu Barua, to ‘ I. D’. which is a cutting edge experiment with > digital shooting, we have a really interesting spread. > > Isn’t it true that despite celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema, > majority of the spotlight is on Bollywood films? Unfortunately > Bollywood dominates our national imagination, our myth making and our > entertainment. It’s like an enormous elephant in the room. You can’t > ignore it - and it takes up an enormous amount of space. Yes, the > spotlight is on Bollywood films - but look at the size of that > particular elephant! For instance, with due respect to Akshay Kumar, > isn’t it strange that he was our chief guest at the inaugural? I am in > full agreement with that. If IFFI is meant to encourage great cinema, > then surely we should be choosing a personality that better represents > that. I see no need to keep choosing ‘ eyeball grabbers’ or ‘ stars’. > The stars for IFFI should be great films and great film makers. > > Do you agree that a commercial film such as ‘ Tohfa’ ( made during a > period when Indian cinema saw some of the worst films) fits into an > international film festival? I have no say on that. I can only stand > up for the films that I personally chose. And we agonized over our > choices. It was 22 days of non- stop film viewing before we chose to > the best of our abilities. > > As jury member, kindly expound on your role? Imagine getting to see > films from across India, from all states, in various languages - the > best of the output of an entire year of filmmaking. > > It was a fantastic opportunity. It was also an experience that left me > worried. We had to wade through just such enormous volumes of bad > films to get to the good ones. A lot of really bad cinema is being > produced by India. Money is being spent and spent terribly. > > We urgently need somebody to step forward and start arming would- be > film makers with technical skills. As digital technology gets cheaper > we will see an explosion of do- it- yourself directors. The need of > the hour is more film institutes, cheaper and more accessible courses > and higher standards of teaching. > > Finally, what would you like to tell our Goan audiences and film > delegates from India and abroad about Indian cinema? I was really > impressed by the Goan film ‘ Digant’. It is a very simply told story > but a very profound one. It tells the story of how Goans are living > right now - of loss of identity, loss of land, loss of values. > Congratulations to the makers. I was very happy to have a Goan film > make it to the shortlist - and one that told the story of real Goa, > not the Goa constructed by the tourism department. > > > > -- > > > Augusto Pinto > 40, Novo Portugal > Moira, Bardez > Goa, India > E pinto...@gmail.com > P 0832-2470336 > M 9881126350 > >