No dearth of platform for Goa filmmakers

The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa is slowly but surely spurring a new film culture in the state allowing budding filmmakers to present their work to the people.

One such group is Framing Knowledge having people from different professional backgrounds. They organised a year-long workshop on films helped by creative groups- Multiversity and Praja.

Along with the movie club, Moving Images and Kala Academy, they screened experimental films of first-time filmmakers from Goa at Frame One.

Gayatri, a Moving Images member said, "We usually screen internationally acclaimed movies. But this time, we are showcasing new talents. All these people are amateur filmmakers, who wanted a platform to display their talent."

The festival screened seven movies, each directed by first-time filmmakers. The festival opened with a 40-minute documentary by Jerry Cherian, titled Living Off Heritage. Jerry, an architect by profession, through this film has attempted to bring to the fore the architectural distinctiveness of a Panaji neighbourhood.

He has also documented the controversial Fontainhas Art Festival 2004, the disaster of Mala Lake and the vandalism of the Mala Street. He brought forward all the issues of Fontainhas which made headlines during the year.

'Death of Rapunzel' by renowned Goan installation artist Apurva Kulkarni was also screened at the festival. The film, the shortest one of the festival, was of 2-minute duration. The movie emphasised that all the fairy tales cannot have a happy ending, as real life is not like that.

The third movie titled 'Untitled,' of eight-minute duration, has been directed by Edson Dias, a photographer and web designer by profession, showed the love and bonding of a man who has lost his wife. Even though she is not around, he believes she is. Dias purposely left the movie untitled as he wanted viewers to put forward their own interpretation.

Another movie 'In Search of Abbe Faria,' directed by Isabel Vaz, a lecturer of English literature was premiered on September 20, to commemorate the death anniversary of Abbe Faria.