Global & local content to woo film buffs at 2-day fest

Nagpur: The sixth edition of Orange City International Film Festival (OCIFF) is all set to open in the city this weekend. A treat for the film buffs, the two-day festival spread over March 12 and 13 offers a bouquet of Indian and international cinema from USA, Spain, Canada, Australia, Bangladesh and India, for the connoisseurs. The film festival this year celebrates the centenary of three legends — film director Satyajit Ray, Hindustani classical vocalist Pt Bhimsen Joshi and Hindi film lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi. Though there is no content featuring them at Nagpur, but the signature tune of the festival does have portions of songs from Ray’s Charulata, Pt Bhimsen Joshi’s vocal rendition and ‘Allah tero naam’ penned by Sahir.The screening will be held at Cinepolis-VR Mall, Medical Square. OCIFF is held in association with Pune Film Foundation, Saptak and

Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh

and is presented by Orange City Cultural Foundation (OCCF) and Nagpur Municipal Corporation. The festival has evolved over the last five years though it could not be held in 2020 due to the pandemic. “The films that we are screening this year have been picked up from the scores of entries that were sent to us from across the world over the past two years,” says Samar Nakhate, who is part of the committee which curates the festival for Pune and Nagpur. This year the festival features 16 films. “We try to pick up films which sensitize the audience to human values and showcase diverse cultures,” says Nakhate and adds, “The committee decides upon some 20 films that it feels are a must watch. They form the core content of the festival over and above the retrospectives and tributes segment.” Agreeing that there is a severe time crunch at a two-day film festival, Nakhate says, “Film festivals should be long enough for the audience to soak in the experience.” Ruing the fact that technology today has drained out film societies, Nakhate says, “In a city like Nagpur we need to nurture a culture for cinema appreciation. That would be possible only if cinema related activities happen round the year.” OCIFF has also been screening content created by filmmakers from city. In the fifth edition held in December 2021, two locally made Marathi films —‘Gott’ directed by Shailendra Bagde and ‘Firastya’ directed by

Vitthal Bhosle

— were screened. This year ‘Jayanti’ directed by

Shailesh Narwade

will be screened. Bhosle, who is also the jt income tax commissioner posted at Nagpur, feels that film festivals provide an excellent platform for newbie filmmakers. For Narwade, it’s the critics appreciation which is important. “Jayanti released in theatres in November 2021 and received a good response, especially in Nagpur. But a screening at a film festival is important as the crowd is very discerning and a filmmaker gets valuable feedback,” he says.This year the festival is only about film screenings and there are no invitees or interactions with the guests. “Every year we have a four-day event. When we were planning for this year the pandemic situation was hazy and people were not willing to travel,” says Dr Chandreshekhar Meshram, the founder president of OCCF. The registrations can be done at Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh, Rani Jhansi Chowk, Sitabuldi, from 4pm to 7pm, informs

Vilas Manekar

, a member of Saptak.