Date:10/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/10/stories/2007021025120400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

A treat for film buffs

Staff Reporter

Three-day film festival at Alliance Fraincaise

CELEBRATING CINEMA: Eric Rousseau, director of Alliance Francaise, with film-maker Girish Kasaravalli (right) during the inauguration of the film festival in Bangalore on Friday. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE: Some of the best-produced films are being exhibited in the three-day tri-continental film festival at Alliance Fraincaise de that began on Friday. Known as "Human Rights in Frames," it was inaugurated by well-known film producer and director Girish Kasaravalli.

The festival — conceived in 2002 by a group of Latin American film-makers, features 24 films on themes such as alienation faced by call centre workers, "the politics of toilets," the war on terror, children in conflict situations, gay and transgender people gazing and being gazed at, the lives of revolutionary women, and the plight of undocumented immigrants .

One of the films exhibited on Friday, "Leila Khaled Hijacker," raised several questions on whether Leila Khaled, who hijacked two aircraft to highlight the plight of Palestinians, was a terrorist. The film-maker candidly admits she thought Leila Khaled would be remorseful about what she did. Instead, she finds her convinced that she has drawn the attention of the world by her act.

It is a fine narrative on how a young woman takes it upon herself to tell the world about the travails of her people and becomes famous.