Jury: Clear winner for Golden Peacock this yr

PANAJI: Members of the international jury for the 47th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) said that Iffi is recognized globally as one of the ‘big festivals’ and that Indians need to take pride in their film festival. Speaking of the films in the competition section at Iffi 2016, the members said that the choice for the Golden Peacock this year was very clear to all of them and the decision was reached very quickly.Chairperson of the international jury, Ivan Passer, said that homosexuality and generational problems in families were the recurring themes they found in the competition films.“At other festivals where I have served on the jury, there are film critics and producers on the panel who may not necessarily understand films the way a filmmaker does. On this jury, all understood the films the same way, which made the working easy as we were all looking for the same thing,” Lordan Zafranovic, an acclaimed Yugoslav film director, said.Indian member on the jury, Nagesh Kukunoor, said that serving on the Iffi jury was an extremely enjoyable experience for him; one reason being its location in Goa. “To be taken to a location like Goa, being served the best food, watching the best of cinema from across the world, at a special screening facility, I would like to do it again,” he said.Larry Smith, who was the cinematographer on Kubrick’s last film, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ said that it was a jury this year, which saw no arguments and all members were in agreement with the prizes.Leila Kilani, the lone female member on the five-member jury, hs made acclaimed documentaries, such as, Tangiers, The Burners’ Dream, Passages and Our Forbidden Places. Fifteen films are competing for the Golden Peacock this year – ‘Ishti’ and ‘Sahaj Paather Gappo’ (Colours of Innocence) from India, ‘The Student’ from Russia, ‘The Throne’ from South Korea, ‘The Long Night of Francisco Santis’ from Argentina, ‘The Last Family’ from Poland, ‘Nelly’ from Canada, ‘Mellow Mud’ from Latvia, ‘Scarred Hearts’ from Romania/Germany, ‘Rauf’ from Turkey, ‘Personal Affairs’ from Israel, ‘I Olga Hepnarova’ from France, ‘House of Others’ from Russia/Georgia, Spain and Croatia, ‘Daughter’ from Iran and ‘According to Her’ from US.In addition to this, the international jury is also choosing winner of the centenary award for the best debut feature film of a director from seven other selections.