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We have kept the festival non-competitive…We also include films that may be badly made but feature a rare art form.

Splendid A Patchitra scroll on display at the festival

Last year, veteran artist Jatin Das and his wife Bidisha Roy Das put together a festival that included all art forms — from dance to architecture. This time, it was restricted to visual and plastic arts. Named the National Short and Documentary Film Festival on Art and Artists, the event, which concluded this past week in Bhubaneswar, got more than 200 entries from across India despite little publicity. “We squeezed in 42 films of varying lengths in three days, along with the first-ever exhibition on the Jagannath Temple and Patchitra,” says U. Radhakrishnan, the convener of the festival.

The three-day event that paid tribute to artist and sculptor Ram Kinkar Baij through a documentary film made by Ritwik Ghatak, saw film personalities like Shaji N. Karun, Amol Palekar, Jahnu Barua, Arun Khopkar and Raja Mitra, etc., sharing the platform. Regular interactions between famous and obscure filmmakers, fun-filled and yet artistic evenings marked the proceedings.

Looking at the magnitude of the festival, it seemed that it would soon become a trend, or take the shape of a movement. The idea began with the formation of the JDCA Film Forum that is archiving and cataloguing documentary films, the first ever such private effort. “We have received 1000 entries from all over the country. We are planning to make it international, beginning with a SAARC film festival from next year. We have kept it non-competitive and we won’t give any awards. The idea is to not only revive documentary films but also rare art forms. And hence, we take those films also that may be made badly but feature a rare art form. We are requesting the Government to re-start showing documentary films before feature films in cinema halls instead of commercials,” says Jatin Das.

If there were those who hoped the festival would turn into a movement, like CineMaya editor Aruna Vasudev, others thought it was just a bubble that would burst soon. “For any festival to become successful, the involvement of the local people is a must. If this fest dies, it would be the responsibility and defeat of the people of Orissa. Because the festival is not about an individual but a society” says Barua.

Says Khopkar, “The best thing about this festival is that it has no hierarchy unlike other festivals. But I hope it doesn’t take the shape of a movement, for then, it will have an agenda.” Filmmaker Goutam Ghose believes that it can’t turn into a movement because India is a heterogeneous country and every place has a niche culture which can’t be affected by one such move. Amol Palekar says that such festivals would help in breaking down the dominance of Bollywood over such small films.

Says Shaji N. Karun, renowned cinematographer, “In these economically powerful times, countries like India survive because there is a cultural side to it. Through such festivals if culture becomes a philosophy through the documentaries, there is no looking back.”

All said and done, the fest brought hope and smile on all faces.

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