Iffi Sidelights

On the first day of the Open Forum at the 47th International Film Festival of India (Iffi), festival director C Senthil Rajan was faced with a unique question from a delegate who asked why ‘M S Dhoni: The Untold Story’a biopic based on India’s ODI skipper MS Dhoni’s lifewas not being screened at Iffi. She went on to accuse the festival organizers of not screening the film because it did not portray Dhoni’s brother, who, she said, is a BJP member.The delegate had difficulty accepting Rajan’s explanation that only films that apply to participate can be chosen to be screened at the festival. Finally, fellow delegates came to the director’s rescue and pointed out her folly.
Disaster averted
Alertness on the part of fire fighters stationed at Kala Academy helped staving off a fire that broke due to short circuit early Tuesday morning. Sources said that staff on duty heard a crackling sound from the DG room. Firemen, led by station fire officer Dilip Bicholkar, rushed to the spot and put out the flames with CO2 spray. The day’s schedule wasn’t hampered. A loss worth 10,000 has been estimated.
Delegates get disciplined
After threatening for several years to act against delegates who book shows indiscriminately and don’t turn up for screenings, Iffi authorities have finally begun holding them accountable from this year. Cards of all delegates are being screened before entering the theatres. Delegates have become so conscious of being tracked that several are turning up to get tickets cancelled when they know will not be able to attend a show.
Cancellations irk film buffs
Several events scheduled to be held at Iffi 2016 were cancelled at the last minute, dampening the enthusiasm of delegates who were looking forward to attending them. Kunal Goswami was to inaugurate the retrospective section dedicated to his father, Manoj Kumar, but the event was cancelled at the eleventh hour. The ‘In Conversation’ session with filmmaker Shoojit Sircar of ‘Piku’ and ‘Madras Café’ fame was also scrapped. The reasons were not known.