JOIN USTill a decade ago, films made in different parts of the country were usually screened in that part only, thus depriving film buffs of the rich content of regional and small budget cinema. “People mostly looked up to the International and Asian Film Festivals which screened mainstream Hindi films and so much excellent cinema from India was getting overshadowed,” says Vidyun Singh, director programmes, Habitat World.
The keen desire to research on regional cinema and screen it for the film buffs in the Capital thus led to the evolution of The Habitat Film Club in March 2000.
The year 2015 happens to be the 10th anniversary of the Habitat Film Festival. Known to bring to the fore a wide array of films selected from different parts of the country, this year too, the festival will have a blend of popular and recent names along with old classics.
Margarita, with a Straw will open the 10-day festival, that will also showcase the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer ‘Piku’ – which is set to release this Friday. “Over the years, this festival vindicated the fact that great cinema is being created in India. Ten years ago, people didn’t know about many a regional or small budget films. Today the social media helps in spreading the word and thus the screening for films other than Bengali gets a full house too,” adds Singh.
Undoubtedly, “the face of Indian cinema has changed” and the word spreads much faster than it used to earlier. But the same makes the festival curators more responsible for the choice of films.
This year, amidst presenting the best of Pan-India cinema through 48 films in 13 languages, the festival will also have a retrospective of films of veteran actor-director Kamal Haasan. Films such as Vishwaroopam, Ek Duje Ke Liye, Sadma, Chachi 420, Saagar, Hey Ram (Hindi), Virumandi, Nagayan and Guna (Tamil) will pay tribute to the veteran artiste’s contribution to cinema.
Singh explains, “Kamal Haasan has broken the mould in many ways and his contribution is distinct. Our selection for a retrospective is based on how the work of the artiste has made a difference.”
The challenge for the club, however, lies in clearing the doubt that “the festival is for everyone and not just film club members,” says Singh, admitting that they still need to go a long way in reaching those regions of our country where the information has still not reached and showcasing the cinema of these regions.
The complete schedule of the festival is available at www.habitatfilmclub.com.