Perhaps the age of eight is too young for something like the ‘Children’s Indian International Children’s Film Festival’, the ninth edition of which is taking place in the City. This was clear from the bored commentary, unnecessary hoots and cheers and lack of attention by the children at Bal Bhavan recently.
One of the main venues for the festival, Bal Bhavan is being utilised for screening most of the full-length feature films based on serious themes.
The first-half of the day saw a Croatian film titled ‘Koko and the Ghosts’ followed by Malayalam film Kotti and Praveen Morchhale’s Hindi venture titled ‘Barefoot to Goa’. Post-noon, the focus shifted to French cinema with films like ‘Day of the Crows’ and ‘Moon Man’ being screened alongside South Korean film ‘Green Days’.
Of these, ‘Barefoot to Goa’ was quite a hit with the students. The film centered around the lives of a brother and sister living in Mumbai whose parents disregarded their paternal grandmother in Goa.
On finding their grandmother’s letters that their mother hid from them, the two leave home on an adventure to Goa to bring her to their City. From ticket-less train rides and bus journeys to bullock cart rides and eventually walking barefoot, they finally arrived at her house only to reveal a twist in the tale.
The unsaid lessons in the film were what impressed most students. “It wasn’t right of the children to go away without their parents. They should listen to what their parents say because the world isn’t safe for children,” said Abhay and Kaushik of Shiksha Sagar High School. Their classmates Siddharth and Sanjay added, “Any outing away from the classroom is fun.
‘Barefoot to Goa’ was a good film and we liked the adventures they had. What we learnt was that we should always help others and love our elders.” Mangala, their teacher, said, “I feel that they understood the film well. Of course, those who sat in the front row were keener than others. Whether based on a single topic or different ones, there needs to be more festivals like this in Bangalore.”
Ravi, one of the few adults in the screening, noted, “It was a very universal film that made you think, regardless of how old you are. It’s a hard-hitting film because it showed how children function from the heart, not head, which makes them more vulnerable. Also, it reflects the changing values of society.”
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