The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : International film festival from today

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Thursday, Jan 03, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

International film festival from today

K.N. Venkatasubba Rao

It is being held amid cultural, political uncertainties

BANGALORE: The weeklong second edition of the Bengalooru International Film Festival will begin from Thursday amid the uncertainties that mark the cultural and political climate in the State.

The event is being organised with renewed hope and expectation among cultural circles that the Government will respond to the long-standing demand by cultural stake-holders to make the festival an annual event with adequate financial and infrastructure support.

The Union Government had successfully organised the International Film Festival of India for the first time in Bangalore in 1980. Encouraged by the overwhelming response and impressive infrastructure it brought the prestigious festival back to the garden city in 1992.

It was keen on holding the event again in the city in 2000. That plan, however, went awry reportedly due to political differences between the then ruling National Democratic Alliance-led Government at the Centre and the Congress Government in the State.

However, many festivals were here organised between 1992 and 2006 by film societies and foreign consulates.

The Suchitra Film Society with the support of the Government, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and other cultural organisations organised an international film festival with the title “World in Bengalooru” in December 2006.

Several film societies, the film industry and others had come together to advocate the need to create the infrastructure for holding festivals on a regular basis, and to promote quality Kannada films at home and elsewhere.

They were confident that the Government would extend financial assistance to such festivals, as actor H.M. Ambareesh was the then Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, and once producer-distributor H.D. Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister.

Inaugurating the festival in 2006, Mr. Kumaraswamy and then Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had promised that the Government would make the festival an annual event and provide financial and infrastructure support.

Filmmaker Girish Kasravalli had even urged the Government to allow the organisers of film and other cultural festivals to use its equipped auditoriums such as Gurunanak Bhavan as a permanent centre for their activities.

It will be of interest to see what response the second film festival will evoke from the public and the Government, and how it will promote parallel cinema, particularly in Kannada.

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