directors at SAFF closing

By Staff
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New Delhi, Oct 31: It was a fitting finale to an endeavour aimed at exploring commonalities between South Asian countries by bringing filmmakers from the subcontinent on one platform where they could indulge in cultural exchanges and share their perspectives on cinema.

That there could not be a better means, than the medium of cinema, to bridge the divide between South Asian countries and build cultural bridges between their people, seemed evident as renowned Bollywood filmmakers Subhash Ghai, Madhur Bhandarkar and Ashok Pandit as well as Bollywood actress Mahima Chaudhry shared the stage with their counterparts in other South Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka at an event marking the closing of the First South Asian Film Festival (SAFF) here last night.

''I am honoured to be part of an event which brings on one platform artists from various South Asian countries to showcase their cinematic works and indulge in cultural exchanges,''renowned filmmaker Subhash Ghai, whose films 'Iqbal' and 'Pardes' were screened at the festival, told mediapersons here.

Lauding the holding of such an event by the South Asian foundation, which organised the festival in association with the Indian council of cultural relations, Ghai said,''I feel that cinema is, at present the only device to bring people of South Asia together given the fact that films are the main source of entertainment for millions of people in the subcontinent. In this context, I feel that such festivals, by aiding the process of exchange between filmmakers of South Asian countries, will in the process help remove some of the bitterness at the political level.'' Noting that the week-long festival, which opened on October 24, screened several excellent films from South Asia, he, however, regretted that he could not find time to see them due to his busy schedule.

Speaking on the occasion, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, whose films 'Chandni Bar', 'Page 3' and 'Corporate' were screened at the festival said,''it is a laudable effort in that it gives a chance to film professionals and artists of different countries from South Asia to interact with each other on one platform.'' He felt that such efforts needed all the support from filmmakers as well as the Government as they could, in the long run, help dissipate differences between nations.

''The impact of such efforts may not seem much in the short term but I feel that one nevertheless needs to continue with such efforts to promote cultural exchanges. Hopefully, over a period of time, such efforts will bear fruit in terms of achieving lasting peace in the subcontinent,''Madhur said.

Sharing the stage with Subhash Ghai and Madhur Bhandarkar were film personalities from South Asian countries including actress Sania Ansari from Pakistan (whose film 'Javaed Shampoo' was screened at the festival on Sunday), filmmaker Bilal Minto from Pakistan (whose film 'World Ka centre' was screened at the festival), filmmaker Taukir Ahmed from Bangladesh and filmmaker Dorji Wangchuk from Bhutan.

Talking to UNI Bhutanese documentary filmmaker Dorji Wangchuk said''I feel cultural events like this which screen films running across a wide range of genres from different South Asian countries play a great role in bridging gap between cultures.'' ''Events like these provide an opportunity for filmmakers in countries like, say, Pakistan and Bangladesh to showcase their films to a wider section of audience,''Pakistani acress Sania Ansari said.

The festival was inaugurated on October 24 by renowned Sri Lankan filmmaker Bennet Ratnayake followed by screening of the Sri Lankan film 'Dheevari' at the Siri Fort complex.

About 80 films in the mainstream cinema, documentaries and short films from countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maladives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were screened during the festival.

The festival was a continuance of the foundation's decade-long efforts to foster cooperation and understanding among people of the region.

''The main objective of organising the festival was to explore commonalities that run across cultures in South Asia as well as to forge an environment of peace and harmony among people of the region. In this context, I feel that the festival has led to a better understanding among filmmakers from different countries of South Asia of the perspectives of their counterparts in other countries through a host of cultural interactions between artists of the different countries,''secretary general of the foundation Rahul Barua said.

He said that though the organisers faced several problems during the holding of the festival, they expressed confidence that the second edition of the festival next year would be better organised.

''I feel such endeavours need to get as much encouragement as possible from all quarters as cinema is the best medium to build cultural bridges between peoples of South Asia,''Barua said.

In this context, he thanked filmmakers like Subhash Ghai and Madhur Bhandarkar for lending their support to the event.

Infact, over 40 eminent filmmakers and film personalities from various South Asian countries came together as part of this initiative of the South Asian foundation. The focus of the festival was on Sri Lankan cinema. Among the Sri lankan films featured at the festival were Darmisiri Bhandarnayake's 'Hansa Vilak', Bennet Rathnayake's 'Aswasuma', Inoka Sathyangani's 'The Wind Bird Feature film', Sudath Devpriya's 'Udugam Yamaya' and Prassana Withanage's 'Ira madiyama'.

The festival also paid a tribute to acclaimed Lankan filmmaker Lester J Peries by featuring a retrospective of his films.

A unique feature of the event was the that the films screened ran across a wide variety of styles and genres - ranging from parallel films like Sudhir Misra's 'Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi', Gautam Ghose's 'Paar', Sudhir Misra's 'Chameli' and Amol Palekar's 'Paheli' to multiplex films like Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Page 3' and 'Corporate' and Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Iqbal' as well as Mainstream commercial ventures like Subhash Ghai's 'Pardes', Aziz Mirza's 'Chalte Chalte', Prakash Jha's 'Apharan' and Farhan Akhtar's 'Dil Chahta Hai'.

Besides the Indian entries, the festival screened six films from Pakistan, 11 from Bangladesh, six from Nepal, 12 from Sri Lanka, two from Maladives, one from Afghanistan and three from Bhutan.

Among the films from neighbouring Pakistan featured at the film festival were Sharmeen Obaid's 'Reinventing Taliban', Bilal Minto's 'World Ka centre', Sharmeen Obaid's 'Terror Children', Bilal Minto's 'Javaid's Shampoo' and Sahiba Sumar's 'Khamosh Pani'.

The films screened at the festival were selected by a team of experts from the Foundation. Further, a steering committee comprising Union Minister for Science and Technology and Ocean Development Kapil Sibal, filmmakers Gautam Ghose, Shyam Benegal, Sudhir Misra, Punkuj Parashar and actor Vinod Khanna have given a new dimension to the festival by identifying a socio-political role for cinema.

A number of side events during the festival brought together various segments of the film industry. A seminar, 'Trends in Indian cinema:implications for South Asia' discussed the problems faced by the film industry in South Asia and highlighted the opportunity that its Indian counterpart can offer.

UNI

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