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A report about the 33rd International Film Festival of India,New Delhi.(Oct 1-10,2002) by film critic Lalit Rao

A MEDIOCRE CELEBRATION OF CINEMA.
© Lalit Rao

The 33rd International Film Festival of India (Oct 1-10,2002) returned to Indian capital New Delhi after two years.New Delhi is considered to be an ideal location for the festival as the main venue houses three auditoriums enabling the audience to effortlessly choose their films without the discomfort of engaging themselves in an Eleventh-hour chaotic run towards their preferred cinema halls.The entire Indian subcontinent was fervently anticipating this event as the last edition was cancelled due to certain insubstantial political motives.The festival disheartened many a film buff as most of the films screened were mediocre.This was a common sentiment experienced by a vast majority of delegates, critics,journalists and cinephiles alike.

The festival started on a promising note with the screening of Brazilian cineaste Lais Bodanzky’s moving debut “Bicho de Sete Cabecas” (Brainstorm) as its opening film.The film is based on the true story of a Sao Paolo middle class adolescent who is forced to endure a Kafkaesque nightmare when he is unjustly institutionalized in a hellish mental institution. Rodrigo Santoro is brilliant as the protagonist,Neto who falls into the absurd system of cruelty when his parents trick him into being admitted to a mental hospital.
Bicho de Sete Cabecas is based on the true story of Austregesilo Carrano Bueno who has spent much of his life campaigning against mental institutions.Bicho De Sete Cabecas made a lasting impression on viewers worldwide as the audience was surprised to see a slice of their contemporary lives on screen instead of the usual Hollywood mix of action and thrills.

The Cinema of the world section remains a charismatic focal point for discerning Indian viewers for many of whom it provides a unique opportunity to see some of the excellent cinema from all parts of the globe.The dismal selection of certain second-rate films forced the astute film buffs to proceed warily in their selection of nice films.The most exciting film in the Cinema of the world section was Colombian Jorge Ali Triana’s “Bolivar,Soy Yo.”It is a comic tale of actor Santiago Miranda,who quits the shooting of a TV serial based on the life of Simon Bolivar as he feels that the script is filled with lies.Santiago Miranda,faced with bewildered eyes of all the nations kidnaps the President of Colombia in order to force a meeting of all Bolivarian nations towards the creation of his unfinished dream:The Great Colombia.Jorge Ali Triana expressed his opinion that humour is a serious business as creating laughter is very difficult.He feels that the absurdity of serious situations can only be shown through humour.

The 33rd edition of International Film Festival of India paid an endearing tribute to the great Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni six years after his death through a retrospective of ten of his most acclaimed films.Anna Maria Tato participated keenly in a panel discussion about her companion of two decades.Mastroianni left his mark on the festival audience in the form of a jaded journalist in Fellini’s classic La Dolce Vita.His unparalleled talent was evident in other films like Divorce Italian style,Ghosts in Rome,Ginger and Fred,Too Bad She’s Bad,White Nights,Scipio the African,The Organizer,La Notte and I Remember,Yes I Remember.

The Croatian film package highlighted the horrors of war and its devastating effects on a common man’s everyday life."Christmas in Vienna" nicely delineates the atrocities of an irrational Balkan conflict which continues to trigger interminable suffering to everyone involved in appalling hostilities.Branko Schmidt’s film is about a violinist Ivan who watches his best friend die during a shell attack.He decides to move from the incongruous reality of war to the splendour of a Christmas time Vienna where it will be tough for him to choose a serene Viennese existence or to cope with bitter realities of a senseless war.

One can easily accredit Walter Salles as the cineaste who single handedly revived the new Brazilian cinema.His chef d’oeuvre Central do Brasil inspired innumerable energetic film-makers to project a new facet of realism in Brazilian cinema.The segment on contemporary Brazilian cinema was a dazzling success among the festival audience.The discovery of this section was a feature length documentary "Window of the Soul" by Joao Jardim.Jardim devoted eight priceless years of his career to create a masterpiece about human vision. Window of the Soul made optimum use of the presence of legendary filmmakers like Agnes Varda and Wim Wenders. Window of the Soul is a superbly crafted film about important personalities suffering from myopia or blindness who talk about the composition of human eye,wearing of glasses and its implications on their behaviour.

The Indian Panorama enables foreign critics,delegates and festival programmers to watch,review and choose the best works produced in different Indian languages in the previous year.It is one of the festival’s major accomplishment that Indian film lovers have come to appreciate these films which never get a chance to be shown alongside the usual song and dance type commercial fare.The Indian Panorama featured among others the latest films by established directors like Mrinal Sen,Buddhadev Dasgupta,Girish Kasarvalli and Shaji Karun,Most of the foreign delegates and critics were impressed by "Aamaar Bhuvan" (This is my World ) by Mrinal Sen.His latest work symbolizes a shift in style and treatment of themes as far as his temperament is concerned.Aamaar Bhuvan set in a serene village narrates the emotional turmoil faced by a married couple.

The 33rd International Film Festival of India gave critics, journalists,delegates and filmmakers an option to share their opinions on a wide range of cinema related issues.The focus of all significant debates was an open forum about “Regulated Censorship”. Most of the speakers felt that censorship of films should not be encouraged by the government as cineastes should be given freedom to exercise self imposed censorship.A wide variety of topics ranging from “Cinema and Literature”,“Problems of unification of East and West Germany”,“Introduction of cinema as a field of study in educational institutions”etc were discussed during press conferences and seminars organized by the directorate of film festival.

The 33rd International Film Festival of India had a positive albeit sad ending as festival authorities decided to screen Finnish master Aki Kaurismaki’s latest work “The Man without a past” as its closing film.The Man without a past is a tender tale of homeless people who rekindle our faith in humanity despite surviving numerous hardships and prejudices. The 33rd International Film Festival of India triumphed in upholding global peace as foreign delegates not only enjoyed their stay in New Delhi but also travelled to nearby cities like Agra,Ajmer,Jaipur etc invalidating prevalent belief that it is not safe to travel in India.It is true that the 33rd edition of International Film Festival of India was unable to find a palpable artistic sharpness among its audience yet it enabled Indian cinema enthusiasts to get acquainted with renowned international cinema personalities like Anna Maria Tato, Branko Schmidt ,Carla Camurati, Dalibor Matanic, Hisashi Saito,Heike Schober, Igor Maslennikov,Italo Spinelli,Izhak Tzahi Grad, Joao Jardim,Jorge Ali Triana, Kianush Ayyari,Kim Dong Ho,Martial Knaebel, Milutin Petrovic,Reza Mir Karimi, Sabine Derflinger,Tadao Sato, Thorsten Lohn,Wang Ping,Yutaka Suzuki etc.

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