To make India a better place for cinema, there is now a need for professional cinephiles performing responsibilities like film programmer, film critics & film teachers are needed. They are needed to understand the viewers

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Cinema is like a time machine that makes you travel through different spaces and times whenever you watch a film. It was two years back that I got acquainted with the images of Yugoslavia through Emir Kusturica’s Underground. The alien world of Kusturica and the foreign French subtitles on the big screen was nothing less than a fantasy and yet this world did keep me glued to the screen for three hours. Such magical fantasies are only possible in Paris, where a cinephile can chose any time machine like La Cinematheque, action due cinema theatres, and film clubs to visit different places and times on any given day.

To build a gathering of cinephiles, with a place to watch good films and sharing the experiences through discussions got me back to India.  A small dream of a film club to build a cinematic culture in Delhi was what initiated Cine Darbaar (Gathering for cinema). Travelling across with this dream to different people for over months and still having no possible funding for the project made us start with a small film festival in collaboration with Film Trust of India and Iran culture house. This was the Iran film festival in Feb, 2009, which gave Cine Darbaar its first start to get in contact with the cinephiles in Delhi.

Thus we started the series of activities that our team began conducting in urban and rural landscapes in India. 2009, was hence the year of observation, experimenting, travelling & confusions. We conducted around five film festivals, interactions in three film institute’s along with cinephile meetings for about three months in six small towns and cities. But the goal with which it had started: to have a regular dedicated screening, talk on cinema, a place where once could read and to create that spot for all cinephiles under the common roof was deviated towards other activities. Fortunately, continuing these activities for a year helped us understand the basic problems of cinema in India. And in turn has created a strong foundation for a body beyond a film club like Cine Darbaar to exist as a necessity to bridge the gap for the existing loopholes in order to promote a good taste of cinema.

With all these activities and on the basis on experiences we categorize what already has been existed, what exists today and what more is needed.

IDEAS THAT HAVE ARRIVED

Under the Nehru’s government; International film festival of India, National film archive of India, National film development corporation as a funding body, (although came later) and Film and television institute (FTII), Pune emerged.  These bodies were formed in order to promote good cinema in India and it did start in a positive direction. It was from Bengal the new wave began spreading, and there was a shift in the process of film making. If one were to look at the developments in cinema in any other part of the world, one would find certain common platforms that were set to bring out these developments i.e. a change in the policies of government, an institution or a governing body being set up to promote cinema, a funding facility by the government for artist as well as an institution to impart education. For instance, Iranian New wave, it all began with such major developments pre and post revolution. There were children and adult foundation that helped directors like Abbas Kiarostami to make their short films. The government body Farabi cinema Foundation was set up to promote cinema and there were policies related to tax and censorship being put to practice. In that aspect India had enough set ups to take Indian cinema forward to international level and vice versa.

Like the IFFI (International film festival of India) was responsible for bringing forward the Italian Neo Realism and French New Wave through the first international film festival. This international film festival was the major shift in the style of Indian directors, where they came across the European directors and imbibed their style into the Indian traditions and culture. This was the time when the directors were consciously aware not only of the world cinema but also about their own regional lifestyles, art, music and culture and hence India saw the best of films during this time.

The post independence saw overall growth in National cinema including the Hindi cinema. Directors like Raj Kapoor, V.Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Mehbood, Guru Dutt, Saeed Mirza, Shyam Benegal, Mani Kaul etc lifted the Hindi cinema. The directors produced some great story line and social dramas and considered cinema as the medium to convey a lot of social issues in Hindi cinema. At one hand where film schools developed a ritual for all upcoming film professionals to watch plethora of films, we had film clubs in various towns and cities taking international cinema to the laymen. This was the film society movement, a time when the audience enjoyed films beyond the theatrical releases and had options for watching several films.

Then the film and television institute was set up to train the actors, directors and cinematographers. With teachers like Ritwik Ghatak produced some of the best directors of India. Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahini, John Abraham were among a few.  With this institute the Indian cinephiles previously autodidacts turned towards receiving a perceptive through a teacher with FTII. And thus this institution became an important way of producing the future great directors of India. To support the film makers was the Film finance corporation, now National Film Development Corporation of India provided funds for directors like Shyam Bengal , Kundan Shah, Mrinal Sen to make films with the help of the government.

Thus in short the ideas that have already been arrived since 60s are the educational institutes, Film Societies, National Awards, International Film Festival, Film Division and National Film Development Corporation. The whole infrastructure needed to develop a base for cinema had started developing. Cinema enjoyed popularity and was also taken seriously during this time. Unfortunately all these foundations to promote cinema have gone silent since years now. The ideas that arrived 50 years ago are in the dormant state.

IDEAS IN PROGRESS

In the 21^st century media has already become a strong source of revenue especially the film sectors on which all other media like television & advertisements look up for. Hence ideas that will affect the film viewing habits in India are already in progress, i.e. expanding the international cinema market to the mainstream audience has been progressing with various steps taken by different organizations.

Film festivals in India have already seen a growth during the past few years, a person on an average has more than three to four per month to choose from. There are efforts taken to conducts regular screenings at popular places during the dine outs often. Embassies are promoting their cinema for their own purposes in India. We also have feminist and socialist fighters using film festivals for their own purposes. One even finds international cinema on their television box now. More than this we have DVDs available in the market to select a variety of International directors as well.

Apart from screenings we also have private film institute’s mushrooming to spread an education in cinema. Regular workshops independently are conducted as well. Overall the accessibilities for an Indian audience towards international cinema have increased once again.

On the other hand for Indian cinema to be accessible internationally, there are ideas in progress as well. The government film department has taken an active role to send Indian films to major international film festivals. The Bollywood has realized the need to invest more funds in marketing with pre assumptions to marketing being equivalent to film being successful. The producers are also pushing the co production possibilities, like the coming of Fox and Columbia pictures in India, but they all

Hence one could say the infrastructure to promote cinema just like the past is once again pacing up in India.

IDEAS IN CONFLICTS

The ideas that already have arrived and the ideas that exist now have a huge difference. The earlier development took shape only with a group of cinephiles who took cinema seriously, who understood or tried to understand cinema and its potential as a mass medium. The film society movement, the famous critic Chinandana Das Gupta, the film makers, the film institute and film festivals all had common vision, to spread the art of cinema and its understanding among the masses by being honest towards their own medium.

Decades after, the effort are once again been made but not by cinephiles. The ideas that are in progress are the ideas whose genesis solely comes from the fact of generating revenue with the skills of marketing. Today if one has the option to watch many films it is because the seller sees his money and not because they take cinema seriously. For instance we don’t expect a lawyer, busy with his marketing team to sell his services to the clients, foremost we expect that lawyer knows his laws and professions. Or else there would be no other professionals expect marketers. Similarly, even in cinema if one chooses any market segment with in it, it should at least be accompanied by some cinephiles who could channelize the efforts in right direction.

Hence even though the genesis of viewing international cinema has seen a start in Indian, the change to appreciate cinema still is pessimistic because there are no right people to answer the basic WHAT? For e.g. What DVD distributor should buy? What film to be shown in television? What film festivals to be conducted? What kind of films is needed to develop the taste of cinema? What kind of films should be screened at the cultural centers? What should be the course curriculum for the private institutes? What workshops apart from the semesters do children need in films?

On the other hand getting Indian films at the international market is also facing the same problem. While we have producers and directors who have been trying to promote and sent their trash, hoping to be a part of the competition section, their marketing strategies and ideas have been failing. On the other hand, there are government departments responsible for Indian entries at international festival. Again the basic question missing is what films to be sent? What films need promotions? What films have the possibilities to be a part of the competition section?

IDEAS IN ANTICIPATION

The major lapse in as in answering these questions are due to the lack of participation of cinephiles and regulating the content for television, film festival, screenings etc. Hence there are some ideas that needs immediate attention and should hence be anticipated.

To make India a better place for cinema, there is now a need for professional cinephiles performing responsibilities like film programmer, film critics & film teachers are needed. They are needed to understand the viewers, film students and overall the market to be able to develop cinema gradually in a positive direction. Just like how all professions have been taken seriously with various people providing inputs as professional, cinema needs the same seriousness and the same seriousness to be given to such professionals.

We need these cinephiles to understand their audiences, their viewing and understanding habits and then taking them gradually towards better cinema through good film programming, through better film criticism & through better film education.

We need festivals, screenings to celebrate cinema, to celebrate directors and to celebrate their contribution to the world cinema rather than social and environmental fighters conducting film festivals. We need television channels to understand their audiences and decide their film programming a little better, rather than each distributor launching his own television channels to promote their DVDs. We need a common platform to watch film intelligently programmed understanding the audiences and to open their languages of cinema through screenings rather than every country promoting their own soft skills and promoting tourisms through cultural programmes. We need film programmers and not marketers to make Indian a better place for cinema. Where are the cinephiles who are working for the development of cinema? With so many seniors already taken up this space without any knowledge of cinema, that when the cinephile comes and expresses his wish to watch a series of films celebrating close ups, his ideas are no wonder shoved away and discourages by these bullies existing for their own reasons.

“ Why should they not conduct film festivals”

We need these film programmers to also help structure the film festivals in India and sending Indian films at the international film festivals. Why is it that after so many efforts with great marketing and PR skills, our directors and actors have managed to break through the top international film festival with no films being at the competition section? Why is that films that deserve a chance to be sent are never sent? Why is there so much red tapism that is affecting cinema? The departments are never accompanied by such film programmers to help them select the films to be sent. No wonder even the National award for the best film has no value. The jury members cover all the fields but cinema. And no wonder while other countries are celebrating their wins as best films, we are still harping with the news channels and being happy standing at the corner in the pavilion section. These are all the more reasons why a film programmer should exist.

On the education segment, we need film institutes to first tell the students to be a cinephile, to help build a cinephile culture of at least watching films at their institutes. We need teachers and directors to again to push the upcoming directors to pursue and make their films. We need teachers to incorporate among the students to understand an image, its relevance, what makes it dense? Even after three years of film making diploma, the children have not learnt to talk about images. Basic functions of camera, editing is what students are acquainted with, but not mise-en- scene and montage. Students understand the cuts between images but not the aesthetics. They understand the progress of the narrative structure, the linear, non linear editing but not the critical aspects to know, why? Hence we do need a revival in the course structure with the help of cinephiles to develop cinema. We then need teachers to develop their personalities then to be able to sell their ideas to producers, but foremost trying to understand cinema.

And to support a new kind of cinema, new ideas, and young film makers we need a revival in funding opportunities for these upcoming film makers. So that these students do not succumb to the escapist film making ideology.

The touring around during 2009 thus laid a strong foundation for Cine Darbaar and its film programmers to create a space for good cinema, to organize workshops at film institutes to give a new perspective on cinema. To what we started with a small fantasy of bringing the cinematic time machine to India from Paris has although been kept on hold, yet the year gave us an important reason to continue our activity and even more intensely now.

References:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cYDyMnL4M8
2. All images in this article from Cinedarbaar archive(C) Cinedarbaar Welfare Society

Tags: Cinedarbaar, Film Festivals, FTII, IFFI, Indian Cinema, Issue no-9 Feb 2010, NFAI

Posted By Supriya | Saturday, February 27th, 2010 | Filed under Cover Story, News