Enriched by the experience

The just-concluded Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) offered a platform to many film-makers to showcase their work. While many films may not have created waves at the box-office, the film festival ensured that these got due credit.

Take for instance, BM Giriraj directed Kannada film Jatta, which the director himself acknowledged was a jinxed film. “In the first two weeks, there were hardly any viewers and after two weeks, it was pulled off the screens.I was so surprised that the film was screened twice at the festival and that too by public demand. It was such a new experience. This attitude of the sophisticated crowd was something  that I had never seen. In fact, the audience insisted that the screening of another film be cancelled for Jatta. This experience has compensated for the loss at theatres,” said an elated Giriraj after the screening of the film. 

The crowd-puller, however, was the public-funded movie, ‘Lucia’. Recalling how he used to attend film festivals as a college student, Pawan Kumar, the director of the film, said, “I remember not having any money to buy a ticket for the film festival and borrowing it. It feels great that my film has been chosen to be screened at the festival.” Pawan, whose film which is being made in Hindi and which ‘may be a 50-crore-project’ added, “The reason ‘Lucia’ worked was because there was a need for something new in Kannada cinema.”

For German film-maker, Pola Beck, the director of ‘Breaking Horizons’, who watched ‘Lucia’, the entire experience was a new one. “I was so surprised with the hooting and whistling during the film. Back home, the Germans would never show their emotions. It was the first time that I was seeing such a display of emotions and it surprised me. The concept of ‘Lucia’ was also something new and interesting.”

Pola’s film, which revolves around the life of a woman who is looking for change in life, said, “I’ve been inspired by contemporary film-makers. The problem in Germany is that Hollywood movies dominate the screens. It is  a topic which is widely discussed in the film industry.”

According to Pola that’s the reason a trend like parallel distribution is emerging. “It’s something that’s just starting. Let’s see how it works,” she said.