A casual conversation with a senior bureaucrat during the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) gave some food for thought, as a question posed was why is Goa not attracting film shootings in a big way.
Indeed why? Should Goa introspect on this and perhaps a few other questions related to the festival, films and tourism in the State?
Twenty years after the first IFFI was hosted in Goa, the festival has become a lot more sophisticated, there’s no denying that.
The backdrops, the red carpet, the décor, the seating in the ESG and Inox courtyard, the food – it’s all been raised some notches higher, but what’s lost is the festive atmosphere that once pervaded the area.
It feels a little dull, bereft of the excitement of a film festival.
The crowds are still there, coming from across the country, the glamour can be seen in patches, the queues for entry to view films are as long as ever, there’s loud music being played that at times is even blaring, but the vibe of the early years is somehow missing.
It feels a little dull, bereft of the excitement of a film festival.
There was a time when IFFI meant crowds in the courtyard sitting around, discussing films, poring over schedules, rushing to book tickets, keeping an eye on the red carpet and just having a good time.
Now, digital ticketing has led to the absence of queues, online schedules have everyone glued to their mobile phone screens and the red carpet is another digital moment to click a picture, rather than savour the walk of the stars to the theatre.
The initial excitement of Goa hosting an international film festival has quite definitely ebbed away.
But it’s not just the technological introductions to the festival that are making changes to the atmosphere. The initial excitement of Goa hosting an international film festival has quite definitely ebbed away.
It would with time, but then shouldn’t there have been something done to rekindle that excitement? Then there’s also the question of film shootings. Goa has just a few films being shot here, despite having some great locations.
Is it that the State has not succeeded in marketing itself in this area? A few South Indian films do have shooting schedules in Goa, but Bollywood movie shoots are quite rare in the State.
A quick walk through the film bazaar reveals how States across India are promoting their scenic locations for film shootings. Shouldn’t Goa be aggressive in this area, given that it is host of India’s biggest film festival?
One of the main benefits that Goa expected to reap from hosting the film festival was turning around tourism in the State.
The debate of whether Goa needs the festival or the festival needs Goa is still on in some quarters. Perhaps both – Goa and IFFI – have gained in some measure from each other, but definitely the gains could have been much more.
One of the main benefits that Goa expected to reap from hosting the film festival was turning around tourism in the State.
It is, two decades of the festival later, a valid question to ask whether Goa tourism has indeed benefitted from IFFI.
Goa’s tourism charm preceded the IFFI, and Goa became the permanent venue of the film festival precisely because it had this charm and also had an unrivalled setting in a heritage building along the riverside. So, what did IFFI give back to Goa and to tourism?
Goa tourism has missed out on promoting itself as a film festival destination, though it has already had two decades of the festival.
Not much perhaps. Even today, it is only during those 10 days of the festival that there come an added number of tourists, mostly in the form of delegates and students of film institutes.
But during the rest of the year, there is little cinematic appeal to Goa and its tourism. Goa tourism has missed out on promoting itself as a film festival destination, though it has already had two decades of the festival.
It is for this reason that Goa can and should promote itself as a film shooting destination. It amuses me when I travel someplace outside Goa and the tour operator or taxi driver will attempt to entice me into seeing the locale of a particular film shoot.
I’m even more surprised to see hundreds of people actually going to these locales. They are a big tourism draw. Goa definitely should latch on to this.
Goa has to leverage IFFI to bolster its tourism.
As another IFFI ends today, November 28, 2024, it is time to prepare for next year’s edition. There is 12 months’ time, and it can give us a festival with a difference if the planning is right, begun early enough and done earnestly. Goa has to leverage IFFI to bolster its tourism.