Iffi sidelights

The case of the missing canvas: On Monday, vice-chairperson of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) and actress PalomiGhosh painted a message on a canvas at the Iffi campus as promotion for a festival sponsor. With the canvas being open to Iffi delegates too, one individual went on to paint his own message which read, ‘V r artists, not criminals. Ban the police.’ The delegate was referring to the unusually high numbers of police personnel at the Iffi venue this year due to an expected protest by students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Iffi organizers seemed to have spotted the message and, quite obviously, didn’t take kindly to it. Within hours, the canvas was missing from the festival venue.Day delegates save the day: Though the number of registered delegates at Iffi 2015 have come down to 7,000 from 13,000 in 2014, and with only 3,800 of those registered having collected their cards from the venue, the day delegates at the festival are doing their bit to make up for the low numbers. Those who have not registered as festival delegates can register as day delegates for 300 and can watch a maximum of three movies during the day. Around 150 day delegates are allowed to register on any given day and according to festival executives, all the available day delegate passes are selling like hot cakes among locals and tourists who discover a last minute interest in the festival.
Business stalled? While popular food stalls along the corniche near the Iffi venue have disappeared, organizers have set up kiosks adjoining the Inox complex. While these stalls were meant for the sale of books and CDs related to films, they remained virtually unoccupied by any retailers even on the third day of the festival. It would lead one to question why these unused stalls have been set up in a parking lot meant for two-wheelers. The lack of parking space has not only lead to double and triple parking of two-wheelers at the spot, but has also reduced access to the stalls, even if they were to be operational.