Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Picture this A screening of Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’

An ardent film lover has never been this spoilt for choice. A mention of interest in World Cinema would have relegated you into the ‘arty’ category a few years ago. Equations have now changed and a film lover’s roster reads better. .

On Friday evening, Egyptian film-maker Nadia Kamel introduced her film Salata Baladi (A House Salad) and spoke to the audience about mixed marriages in Egypt in the times of xenophobia and divided communities. The documentary, which will be screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival followed by Delhi, Pune and Bangalore, had its Hyderabad premiere. And French film buffs are looking forward to the screening of Son frere (His Brother) on Tuesday. The former film was brought to town by Moving Images, and the second thanks to Alliance Francaise of Hyderabad. The Alliance is also hosting Parallel Perspectives: An Indo-French documentary film festival in March in collaboration with EFLU (English and Foreign Language University).

If you love the out-of-the-box experience, enrol in film clubs and cultural institutions - EFLU, Alliance Francaise, Goethe Zentrum, Hyderabad Film Club and Documentary Circle, and Moving Images. French students are regulars at Alliance screenings, while students of German language turn up for Goethe Zentrum screenings. Telugu film-makers and screenplay writers made a beeline for the Second International Hyderabad Film Festival, and the Hyderabad Film Club screenings at Sarathi Studios has its loyal members. A few true blue movie buffs attend screenings across organisations.

Jyotsna Angara, a film aficionado, travels that extra mile for a good film. “I attend at least two screenings a month; Nowadays I find new members who are keen on learning about films,” she says. Hyderabad is yet to figure among the top destinations for film festivals. Yet, there are attempts to get there. “Every other city now hosts an international festival; in most festivals, documentaries are shown alongside feature films. We are planning an international festival for short films and documentaries this year-end,” says N.M. Pasha of Short Cuts. Films Anonymous, a club that earlier screened short films, was part of the Chitra Yatra feature film festival in 2007. Says Rajkumar of KAD Entertainment, the founder of the club, “The turn out you see at screenings is not a true reflection of enthusiasts. More people are interested but unable to make it due to work or traffic constraints.” Films Anonymous, along with Mumbai-based Cyrus Dastur, released a DVD of Indian short films at the Clairmont Ferront festival in France and the Nehru Centre in London. “There’ll be a launch in Hyderabad too since the interest in niche cinema has grown,” adds Rajkumar.

Next time, apart from Motorcycle Daires and Bicycle Thieves, expect some stirring short films as well.

SANGEETHA DEVI DUNDOO

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail