Lone Tamil film in IFFI Panorama, industry sore

CHENNAI: For Tamil film director A Sarkunam, the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) being held in Goa between November 20 and 30 is a special one. His ‘Vaagai Sooda Vaa’, a film about brick kiln workers set in a remote village, is the only Tamil feature film selected for the Indian Panorama section of the festival. The director has every reason to smile.But what irks others in the film industry here is that Tamil cinema registers a very minor presence at the festival year after year.
At a time when mainstream Tamil films are exploring various genres, the Panorama section — meant to showcase the diversity of regional films — has bypassed most of the innovative work being done in Chennai, said Tamil film director Amshan Kumar. Compare this with Malayalam cinema, which is represented by five films at the fest, and you can sense the reason for the heartburn. “The jury which selects films to the Indian Panorama follows a different criterion. They prefer only ‘art’ films, not mainstream films. Most of the good Tamil films are set in our rural belt. They are vibrant. The jury may not like such mainstream cinema,” said Amshan Kumar, director of ‘Oruththi’.
It was in October that the jury, headed by veteran filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta and comprising director Suresh Krissna, writer Venita Coelho among others, selected 18 films out of 144 eligible entries to the Indian Panorama. Malayalam films with five entries and Bengali with three dominate the Panorama. Most other regional industries have managed barely one or two entries. Veterans such as Jahnu Barua (with Baandhon), Rituparno Ghosh (Chitrangada), Girish Kasaravalli (Kurmavatara) share space with other upcoming filmmakers. Marathi film ‘Deool’ (directed by Vinayak Kulkarni) and ‘Byari’ (directed by Suvveran), which shared the Best Feature Film Award at the 59th National Film Award 2011, have been included as the 19th and 20th films respectively to the Indian Panorama by direct entry.
Even though Tamil movies are screened in many film festivals abroad, finding representation at the IFFI remains a challenge. Director S M Vasanth says everything depends on the jury. “Selection of movies to the Panorama should not be based on language. It should be based on the pan-Indian theme. What we need is good cinema. There are a number of Tamil movies, which could have been included in Panorama. But here everything depends on the jury and that’s the problem,” says Vasanth.
Meanwhile, Sarkunam is getting ready to leave for Goa, where ‘Vaagai Sooda Vaa’ is set to be screened on November 24 at the IFFI. “I am happy that it has been picked. Once a movie is selected to the Panorama, it helps us get access to big international festivals. I can also meet directors from other languages,” said Sarkunam.