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World Cinema in microcosm
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Bina Paul-Venugopal, deputy director, IFFK, speaks to BHAWANI CHEERATH about the festival menu
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The weeklong IFFK 2002 promises to be a small but impressive collection of world cinema - as many as 147 films from 35 countries, would be unspooled at the fest.
Says Bina Venugopal, deputy director, IFFK 2002, "Ours is a young festival, just seven years old. Established film fetes such as the ones in London and Montreal have taken decades to achieve their present stature. Country representation and quality films have gone hand-in-hand to make this year's IFFK. We've been extremely lucky to get retrospectives of the works of Aki Kaurismaki, Kohei Oguri, Orson Welles and K. G. George.
On to the festival menu.
"There is a Kaurismaki film each day, and that can make a real difference. The festival scene is changing. Distributors are reluctant to give films for free. Therefore the priority has been to get good films even if they are not the latest. The choice had to be made between a recent film and a good film. "The House of Guavas", from Vietnam, is last year's film, but we settled for it because there is quality. In keeping with the focus on cultivating a discerning generation of film viewers, the Orson Welles package finds a prominent place, even though many may feel his films are dated. Every Festival sees a new generation of film lovers, and it is here that the package assumes special importance," Bina says.
A classic like `Citizen Kane' remains popular and has universal appeal transcending generations and must not be missed.
The World Cinema section reads like a `Who's Who' of Cinema - there are Emir Kustrica, Krzysztof Zanussi, Chantal Akerman, Jafar Panahi, Majid Majidi and Makhmalbaf. `Prince and Princess' and `Moloch', the latter by Alexander Sokurov, will be an exclusive viewing experience.
A festival extravaganza would, however, be totally out of sync with the austerity measures in the State.
"The fete menu, therefore, is not over-crowded. This would, in a way, make it easier for the delegates to see more films. In spite of the shadow of global recession and the apprehensions regarding the tensions in the subcontinent, the Festival promises to be an exciting one," explains this film editor who has been an integral part of some of the earlier Kerala festivals.
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