Support experimental films: director's plea to govt

The government should support screenings of experimental movies if it has to thrive alongside commercial cinema, veteran Kannada filmmaker P Sheshadri has said.

Speaking at an interactive session at Biffes in Orion Mall, Sheshadri regretted the fact that he could not release his movie 'Beti' 14 months after getting certification.

"Am I making these movies for festival circuits? How do I reach the public?" he asked, noting that filmmakers increasingly find a dead-end in their attempts to beam experimental movies in television channels as there are no buyers of satellite rights for a movie without a star cast.

"The government should support us in the exhibition aspect by reserving some screens to regularly show meaningful cinema," he added.

Sheshadri spoke of nurturing an audience that could appreciate tasteful cinema. "Don't refer to experimental cinema as 'award winning' as it seems to put off people," he said. "Instead, distinguish cinemas as good and bad."

Mohsen Gharale, director of the Iranian film 'Blockage', said audiences in his country prefer commercial movies like in other countries though he would like to make both commercial and socially relevant ones.

"People in China like to watch Hollywood films, and even Bollywood flicks like 'Secret Superstar' tend to be popular. When it comes to experimental films, they are restricted to the big cities," said Chinese director Qiao Liang.

Liang's movie 'Crested Ibis' - dealing with the thorny subject of pollution - was screened at the festival on Saturday. He said the Chinese government offers subsidy to award-winning movies.

On Sunday, a minute of silence was observed before the first show in all the screens owing to the untimely demise of superstar Sridevi, who died of a massive cardiac arrest in Dubai late on Saturday night.