9th Bengaluru International Film festival: Film making not always an easy task

BENGALURU: With two more days left for the 9th Bengaluru International Film festival (BIFFes), the state Tourism Department has planned to take it forward beyond 3D projection mapping and laser show on the Public Utility Building. It has decided to promote the festival at Garuda Mall on Thursday and Friday and outdoor movie screening at Manyata Tech Park on Friday.

Several foreign filmmakers on Tuesday spoke about various challenges and hurdles they faced in their respective countries. Egyptian director Hala Khalil, whose film Nawara  is based on the Arab Spring Revolution and has won six international awards, said that his government discourages any reminders of the revolution. “But the local people find movies like Nawara very interesting as there are still questions about the revolution that they are looking for answers and the subject has a personal connect as most were part of the revolution. There’s also the censor board to deal with especially for films dealing with any political, regional or sexual themes," she said, adding that she was lucky to get the approval for Nawara as she had approached them before it became very strict.

Indian filmmakers Dr Mohan Aghase and Mr Sunil Sukthankar, the director of Kaasav (Turtle), said that the point of making a good film is to raise pertinent questions among the audience and not necessarily always answering them.

They felt depression and suicide were extremely relevant topics that needed to be highlighted as India has one of the highest suicide rates among teenagers and geriatrics in Asia, and thus Kaasava happened, they said.

Ms Brinda Muralidhar, who hails from Mysuru and has settled down in Canada, has directed Knot Not, an English film. She said that as a theatre artist, she was under the wrong impression that movies were second grade entertainment and looked down on them. But with her husband’s encouragement, she started work on Knot Not! as a short film. But the number of talented actors that she came across forced her to expand the script into a full-length feature film to give them an opportunity.

Solomon George, whose debut film Kandaa in Kannada is being screened at BIFFes, said that he shot the movie entirely in one schedule to convey the message that every child especially girls should be treated well.