Miffed by MIFF

I've paraphrased a brilliant piece by Ajinkya and Arindam

Backed by the government, the Mumbai International Film Festival, yet again alienated many documentary filmmakers.

While this edition of MIFF managed to lurch through the festival period without any superficial hiccups, many uncomfortable questions remain unanswered. An air of discontentment lingers among a large number of critically acclaimed and independent documentary filmmakers in India.
Saba Dewan, director of The Other Song, was so disillusioned by the selection procedure that she decided to withdraw her film in protest after being selected for the non competitive category. "MIFF has been mired in controversy since 2004. I find it surprising that the authorities blatantly disregard any attempts at reform. The selection has been getting shoddier and shoddier and I was shocked to see the films that were omitted from the festival this year," she said.

Films like Wagah (Supriyo Sen) and Bilal (Sourav Sarangi), which have been acclaimed internationally in film festivals, were rejected by MIFF. While many quality films that have won prestigious awards were rejected, many were pushed to the non competitive section without adequate explanation. The Superman of Malegaon (Faza Ahmed Khan) and The Other Song (Saba Dewan), which have several international awards to their credit, were treated rather shoddily.

2004, events came to a head when MIFF decided to censor several films which were of 'a politically sensitive nature' - for instance, portraying the genocide of Gujarat, or the protracted non-violent struggle of Naramada Bachao Andolan, turned into an extraordinary film by Sanjay Kak, among other similar films. Rakesh Sharma's Final Solutions (on the Gujarat genocide and the character of the Sangh Parivar) and Kak's Words on Water were barred. Filmmakers, film buffs,actors and artists' reacted with rage. MIFF was boycotted.

This cumulative anger gave rise to 'Vikalp: Films for Freedom', an alternative national platform of independent filmmakers whose films were being trapped in the barbed wires of mindless censorship. As a

part of the Campaign against Censorship, this platform became a parallel endeavor.

Filmmaker Anjali Monteiro, whose film Naata was one of the films rejected in MIFF 2004, but screened at Vikalp, talks of how MIFF has become a mockery. She calls it a "perpetuation of mediocrity". She points out at the 'retrospective section' which showcased a lot of films by the jury members themselves, from the films division archives.

Having received sponsorship from the ministry of information and broadcasting, MIFF boasts of one of the biggest budgets in the film festival circuit in India.