MIFF 2010

Discuss Festivals here
Post Reply
User avatar
Pooja Sharma
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:19 pm
Location: Mumbai
Contact:

MIFF 2010

Post by Pooja Sharma »

Incredible as it may seem, this year’s was only the second MIFF that I attended. Back in FTII, MIFF was still considered a fairly prestigious festival, up until the famous censorship fiasco that is. Or at least that is what I gathered from general reactions all around… At any rate, I was looking forward to the festival, given the lack of opportunities to see documentaries otherwise. Vikalp screenings have all but stopped, and though GRAFTII Adda has picked up, they don’t have a specific focus on documentaries. Besides MIFF is exciting also for its animation and short film sections.
Unfortunately, the festival this year, as in recent years I’m told, was disappointing. It didn’t begin well for me; the first film I saw was Trinh T Minh-ha’s The Fourth Dimension, part of her retrospective. The sound was terrible, and given that it was a collage of images with an occasional voiceover, not being able to understand what was being said took much away from the film. I have never been able to understand why sound is not given its due in this country, both at the production and post stages of making, and now it seems at screenings as well!
The rest of the festival was a mixed bag. There were some good films, a lot of average/ above average, and some not so good. I tried the Competition section the first day, but tired of it quickly. Of the ones that I saw, ‘The Hunted: In search of Home and Hope’ by Shaji Pattanam and “Dhaga mil gaya’ by Tangelia Madhavi were nice enough, although the former had what I feel is an advantage. It was an issue based film, and hence had the scope to make a strong statement, and was shot during a tribal protest by the only journalist who had managed to reach there, hence giving it the edge of exclusivity.
Among the other films that I saw, two notable ones along the same lines were ‘Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country’ by Anders Hostro Ostergaard and ‘The Sun Behind the Clouds’ by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam. Both films represent voices of the under dogs, that we documentary filmmakers love so much because they are often difficult to make. And sure enough, much of Burma VJ had been shot clandestinely under dangerous circumstances, and watching the film was like watching a thriller. ‘The Sun Behind the Clouds’ on the other hand, was a well-balanced film documenting the many voices demanding freedom for Tibet, including a lot of footage with the Dalai Lama.
Two films in the International Panorama that I enjoyed thoroughly were ‘Atijat: The First Wife’ by Anna Blaszczyk and ‘My Iranian Paradise’ by Katia Forbert Petersen and Annette Mari Olsen. Both films were made by women filmmakers, about two different women and their journeys, in entirely different circumstances. Both were films with a distinct female touch, and both were well made. ‘Atijat…’ was more contemporary and full of beautiful images. ‘My Iranian Paradise’ dwelled more on Iran’s past as seen through the journey of a Polish immigrant woman and her life. The films presented informative portraits of the countries they were set in, while remaining suitably intimate and sentimental towards the life and journey of their central characters.
The last two films that I feel deserve individual mention were old films, I believe from the 90s, and both made by apna seniors. ‘Kamlabai’ by Reena Mohan and ‘Saa’ by RV Ramani were both lovely short films. ’Kamlabai’ is film on based on one of the first actors of India, a dynamic personality even at her ripe old age of 92, as she was when the film was shot. She lit up the screen with her stories and anecdotes of a time when there were few women in film and theatre, and her every move was a struggle against social structure. Ramani’s film ‘Saa’ on the other had, was a collage of images and sounds, beautifully put together and left to the imagination of the viewer.
Of the animation films, I only liked ‘Chainsaw’, which was part of the ‘Best of Festivals’ package, so I guess its difficult to go wrong there. And thought the ‘Best of Festivals’ package did have some interesting films, not all seemed worthy of being part of a package by that name.

Bad sound, bad projections, and dubious selection of films played spoilsport, so I was happy to be able to come away with seeing one good film a day, and as it turned out my average was better than that, so I guess I’m not really complaining!
User avatar
Pooja Sharma
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:19 pm
Location: Mumbai
Contact:

Re: MIFF 2010

Post by Pooja Sharma »

And while trying to help out a cousin with his photography assignment, I came across two films that were a part of the 'Best of Festivals' package on youtube... Here are the links...



Last edited by admin on Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: embedded the YouTube videos.
User avatar
Paramvir Singh
Hero Member
Hero Member
Posts: 677
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 12:54 pm
Location: Mumbai
Contact:

Re: MIFF 2010

Post by Paramvir Singh »

any notable films from MIFF?
Post Reply