3rd Delhi International Film Festival
On a chilly afternoon in New Delhi, the 3rd Delhi International Film Festival was inaugurated recently in the presence of Shubhas Ghai, Sandeep Marwah, R.K. Parcha, Seema Parcha and Jalak Shrivastav (NDMC Chairman).
Cinema has always been a mirror to the society we live in and is a thread through which every person living on the earth are connected to each other. In such a scenario, film festivals like the 3rd Delhi International Film Festival gives an opportunity for everyone, from actors and directors to the general public, to get an idea or notion about the culture and environment of people across the globe.
The Delhi International Film Festival not only celebrates movies but also aims at giving a platform to the new born artists in any field such as painting, modelling, acting, singing etc. In its first edition, DIFF received 700 movie entries, in its second edition it received 650 entries and this year it received around 1300 entries out of which 250 have been shortlisted to be viewed during the week-long festival. The major and important factors of this edition of DIFF is that a lot of movies which would be showcased either have been nominated for an Oscar award or have already won an Oscar.
Speaking about why such festivals are important for national and international movies, Subhash Ghai, an eminent director, said, “I believe that movies help you become broad minded and increase your knowledge, but it’s sad that movies which have been appreciated in Film Festivals do not get space on the big level because of the entire process that has to be followed in distributing the movie and finding the right audience for the movie. By right audience we also mean that such movies are made by intellectual people to cater to intellectual audiences and not for masses so on this part the movie loses its ground on a big level. That’s why such festivals are celebrated on a massive level. And such festivals are an exchange for knowledge between countries.”
Talking about how 250 movies have been scheduled in 8 days event, R.K.Parcha says, “There are 4500 film festivals happening around the world in a small or big level. Some of these festivals celebrate movies of just a minute’s length. This time DIFF has got 54 entries of movies which are just a minute long and has contributed to the numbers. There are a lot of sections such as World cinema, Indian showcase (Indian movie, regional and NRI movie), cinema across the border, animation movies, student movie etc. We want to make it a platform where every age-group finds movies for them.”
In the coming monsoon, NDMC is also planning to hold film festivals dedicated specifically to movies, national and international, of 1950’s-60’s shot in Delhi. Talking about the Tribute section, R.K. Parcha said, “A.R.Kartar and Chetan HansRaj would be given a tribute this year for their contribution to the world of cinema. We think that a tribute section is important for us to learn the basics of cinematography, to learn aesthetic sense, values, and Camera techniques and so on and it’s similar to the way we have to remind ourselves about traditions and culture. It works as an inspiration to connect the present with the past and to create something which is relevant for the future.”
Adding to the same, Sandeep Marwah says, “The grammar of making a movie is the same but how the film maker uses this grammar is his calibre. With time we have witnessed film makers who have done extra ordinary jobs by using the same grammar but making it different by adding their own understanding and experiments, and their own aesthetics sense. It is more like a retrospect and recognition and appreciation of a work done by a particular person and it has become a custom in every film festival.”
The event would go on from 20th December to 27th December and the movies would be running simultaneously according to their categories which are- arts, entertainment, tribute, documentary etc. so anyone who is watching a movie of arts, can go for an international movie in the next slot. The timings for the event is 10:30am to 6pm and there will also be opportunities for people to learn some form of art there and then as for 7 days DIFF along with NDMC would hold workshops and seminars related to different arts and crafts.
