The Hindu : New Delhi News : Cinefan beyond the "usual''

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 07, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Cinefan beyond the "usual''

Mandira Nayar

MAKING A POINT: Neville Tuli, Chairman Osian's Cinefan and Aruna Vasudev, Director Film Festival, at a Press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: Anu Pushkarna

NEW DELHI: Ten days of "colourful" darkness and a ticket to dream, Delhiites will have a perfect excuse to spend the wet weather indoors from next week - cinema. The only window for the Capital for "festival" films now, the seventh Osians's-Cinefan Film Festival will try to get people "hooked" to a different high. Bringing to screen a kaleidoscope of films from all across Asia, there will be 120 of them from 30 countries in the region to choose from. Apart from "desi" fare that finds some place in the competitive section, the festival focuses on giving audiences movies that they would not usually get to see in plush multiplexes to get them to go beyond the "usual".

Using canvases that have now become fashionably lucrative to give people the choice of non-commercial cinema, Cinefan claims nobler intentions than just the pleasure of watching of few select people.

"It is all about building infrastructure. We can bring in corporates to bring in crores. But we have not taken a penny. We don't even charge for tickets. It is important to understand why. You have to put passion into the system to see it grow. We have managed to build an art market. It would have taken 50 Souzas and 50 Husains pictures to fund a film. Now I would need only to sell two Husains and two Souzas!'' stated Osian's Chairman Neville Tuli.

Kicking off the festival on an award-winning note on July 15, the show opens with Wang Xiaoshuai's "Shanghai Dreams'' which won the "Prix du Jury'' award at the recent Cannes Film Festival. There will also be a tribute to the Indian master Satyajit Ray on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of arguably the most famous Indian movie "Pather Panchali''. Buddhadeb Dasgupta's "Kaalpurush'' will be the closing film. Cinefan also honours Donald Richie - one of the best experts of Japanese cinema in the world -- with the Lifetime Achievement Award. There will also be several new additions to the festival this year, including a special section devoted entirely to cinema from the Arab world. The Indian competitive section will have an international jury for the first time.

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