Documentaries to get dedicated sessions at IFFI

From nominations and awards at the Oscars to accolades at global film festivals like Cannes and Sundance, Indian documentaries have made their presence felt at most film festivals in recent times. Following in the footsteps of Cannes, Venice, and the Berlin Film Festival, this year, for a first, IFFI Goa will provide a significant platform to documentaries. I&B officials state that IFFI will host dedicated sessions for documentary film professionals.
When it comes to international festivals, Indian docus are ahead of their blockbuster peers. However, these accolades don’t necessarily lead to an immediate payoff, and documentaries still don’t get the support they need. Hence, a push at film festivals like IFFI is much needed.

THE 54TH EDITION OF IFFI HAS MANY FIRSTS IN DOCUMENTARIES
 There is a special docu-montages section of films, apart from the inclusion of documentaries in the Cinemas of the World section.
 Film Bazaar has also opened up different segments to documentary projects.

DOCUMENTARIES AT FILM BAZAAR
FOUR DOCUMENTARIES HAVE BEEN SELECTED IN WORK-IN-PROGRESS SECTION
 Waste Side Story
 Lasya
 Safarnama (The Invisible Wayfarers)
 Where Do We Go From Here
 Ammraa (We Are)

FILM BAZAAR RECOMMENDS
Two docu-shorts and two mid-length documentaries have been selected
DOCU SHORTS
 GOPI (14 minutes)
 Iron Women Of
Manipur (26 minutes)
MID-LENGTH DOCUMENTARIES
 Where My Grandmother lives
 Ladakh
SESSIONS PLANNED
At a session focusing on ‘Indian Documentary on the World Stage,’ Kartiki Gonsalves, RV Ramani, Miriam Chandy Menachery, Sai Abhishek and Nilotpal Majumdar will engage in discussions about documentaries. As part of Film Bazaar’s Knowledge series, a couple of sessions are planned to explore various aspects of documentary filmmaking.

LAURELS FOR INDIAN DOCUMENTARIES IN RECENT TIMES
 The Elephant Whisperers, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves won the Best Documentary Short Film category.
 Sarvnik Kaur’s Against The Tide bagged the Special Jury Award for Verite Filmmaking at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival
 Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes won the prestigious – 2022 L’Oeil d’Or (Golden Eye) for the best documentary at the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
 In 2022, at the 93rd Academy Awards, Writing With Fire directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh was nominated for the Academy Awards.
 In 2021, Payal Kapadia, won the L’Œil d’Or best documentary award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival for A Night Of Knowing Nothing