On Tuesday, Nov 28, 2023, the curtains came down on the 54th edition of IFFI (International Film Festival of India), Goa, organised by NFDC (National Film Development Corporation) along with ESG (Entertainment Society of Goa).
IFFI is country’s oldest and biggest film festival, and over 270 films were screened this year.
FILMS SCREENED AT IFFI
Every year, IFFI showcases some of the best international films which are new and have made waves at other film festivals of the year. However, this year, the general opinion among the cinephiles and film critics about the selection of movies was not very impressive.
There were a handful of very good movies, mainly in the Festival Kaleidoscope and International Competition section. Movies like Anatomy of a Fall, (directed by Justine Triet, which is a French courtroom drama and has won the Palme d'Or at Cannes) stood out.
Other notable movies were the mid-fest film, About Dry Grasses, by Nuri Bilge Ceylan; and The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer that focused on the horrors of concentration camps in a most intriguing way.
There were also some movies revolving around the the socio-political climate, especially about the political crisis in Afghanistan, through movies like Endless Borders by Abbas Amini, which was about people moving from one country to another in order to find a safe haven.
But, is there a safe space anywhere? The movie, which won the Golden Peacock Award at the 54th IFFI, explores this question.
Bulgarian movie, Blaga’s Lessons by Stephan Komandarev, that won the Silver Peacock for Best Director at the 54th IFFI, dealt with phone scammers and how they target vulnerable senior citizens in Bulgaria. However, the movie also reflected the socio-political situation in the country.
Some other movies worth mentioning are Snow Leopard, by the late filmmaker Pema Tseden, which explored the subject of man-animal conflict.
Speaking of Indian films from the Indian Panorama section, there was nothing exciting except for the opening feature film in Malayalam, Aattam. Surprisingly, there were no Marathi films in this section.
Marathi movie, Sthal, directed by Jayant Somalkar – which had its World Premiere the 48th Toronto International Film Festival, where it also won the NETPAC award for the best film from the Asia-Pacific region – was not part of IFFI this year.
Good documentaries, like Sarvnik Kaur’s Sundance winner, Against The Tide, were not screened. Instead, there were movies like Kantara, The Vaccine War, Ponniyin Selvan Part-2, to name a few, which have already been released in theatres or on OTT.
The purpose of this film festival is to showcase new movies, and not those which have already been seen by the masses.
Speaking of movies in the Goa section, just as in the previous editions of IFFI, these movies are announced at the last minute, and thus, are not found in the official catalogue of movies.
As a result, not many delegates were aware about them, and eventually, Goan movies end up getting lost during IFFI. So, the ESG should screen these movies once again after IFFI so that Goans can watch them.
MICHAEL DOUGLAS & IFFI
One of the highlights of this year’s IFFI was the presence of Hollywood producer and actor, Michael Douglas, who was bestowed with the prestigious Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the closing ceremony of the 54th IFFI.
Interestingly, not a single movie of this Hollywood star was screened at this year’s IFFI to celebrate the acting prowess of this talented star.
Adding to this sad state of affairs was the ‘In Conversation’ session of Douglas with producer Shailendra Singh on the concluding day of IFFI. The topic of this interaction was ‘Is It Time for One World Cinema?’, but, Singh hardly touched this topic.
Instead, Singh asked him vague questions about his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, such as her shoe size.
The worst part was Singh asking Douglas the latter’s favourite cuss word, to which Douglas politely declined.
To make matters worse, Singh didn’t take any audience questions, and it seemed like Douglas was looking forward to them. It was definitely one of the worst interactions of IFFI, and upset many delegates as they had come to listen to their legend.
THE ORGANISATION
When it comes to IFFI, since it is a nine-day event, it is quite natural that there will be some issues and problems. This year, IFFI started on a bad note, especially for media persons, as the media passes were not ready even on the first day of IFFI 2023.
The reasons were best known to the PIB (Press Information Bureau), the body that looks after the media accreditation. The passes were then made ready at the last minute and the issue was resolved.
Another issue that IFFI officials should look into is to re-start the rush line (a queue for delegates who do not have a booking for a movie). As the rush line has been scrapped now, many seats are vacant for many screenings during the festival.
Many delegates are of the opinion that it should re-start as many a time, last minute ticket booking doesn’t work. Many popular festivals like MAMI Mumbai Film Festival also has this concept of rush lines.
This year, the repeat shows were not scheduled well. The repeats of certain movies were held the very next day, and even worse, sometimes the same movie was screened twice in a day.
This doesn’t serve the purpose as there should be gaps when it comes to repeat shows.
Speaking of positives, this year, the transportation was quite good with rickshaws to commute from Kala Academy and buses to go to Inox in Porvorim.
Having two extra screens — Cine Samrat and Ashok — was a good step as it widened the seating capacity.
And at last, Kala Academy re-opened and was part of the 54th IFFI to host Masterclasses and interactive sessions. Hopefully, there will also be screening of movies for the next edition of IFFI.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
One aspect common to these past 20 years of IFFI in Goa is that it gives a lot of prominence to commercial Bollywood movies, which are actually not festival films.
For example, the décor around Panjim city had cutouts of Bollywood actors like Govinda, Mithun, etc, whose movies were neither screened nor were they part of the festival.
Speaking of décor, according to a news report, the government spent around ₹ 8 crores on lights and décor last year.
Instead, the authorities could have brought in more quality films at IFFI and improved basic amenities such as fixing the broken pavements and uneven footpaths around the city, especially around the IFFI venues.
The government could have spent that money on improving basic infrastructure which would have benefitted everyone and not just delegates. Decorating roads and buildings with lights is, in many ways, a waste of energy and money.
In all, the success of any film festival depends on the quality of films and the number of delegates who attend, appreciate and critique cinema. The extravaganza, in terms of lighting, hosting mega events like opening and closing ceremony, doesn’t help much when we speak about cinema.
Let us learn to celebrate cinema in its true sense!
