Experimenta in its 10th edition is a little more grand. Shai Heredia, the filmmaker who founded the moving film festival, clarifies that the grandeur has set in because of the seminal works, some of which are rare and so old that they had to be restored.
“The budget remains the same. Yes, we have more guests, about 30 artists from all over attending the festival but they are all supporting themselves. The scaling up has happened because of the reputation the festival has built up. The festival has extended to one more day. It is an ideal film festival for me,” says the acclaimed filmmaker whose work An Old Dog’s Diary won the best short film award at London Film Festival.
The festival has got renowned Filipino filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik who will premiere his latest work Balikbayan and also present his iconic film Perfumed Nightmare (1977). The artist profile section also features another great – Rox Lee, comic strip artist and filmmaker. His experimental work The Great Smoke will be showcased.
“The last time Kidlat came to India was in the 90s. So, he really wanted to come somehow. The presence of such artists and works like Perfumed Nightmare is good for the festival,” states Shai. The 16mm film is a critique of neocolonialism and global capitalism.
The young curator also describes the showcase of works by two experimental women filmmakers – Peggy Ahwesh and Chick Strand – as other highlights of the festival. Peggy’s work deals with feminism through a Lara Croft game. Chick Strand, the late American filmmaker combined the aesthetics of documentary with experimental techniques. Some of her films restored by Academy Film Archive will be showcased at the festival. Mark Toscano of the Academy Film Archive will also be present at the festival.
There are quite a few restored films in this edition of the festival. The opening films Monangambreee by Sarah Moldoror (1969, Algeria) and Mueda, Memoria E Massacre by Ruy Guerra (1979, Mozambique) are restored and have been rarely seen. The films draw from Africa’s resistance against Portuguese colonialism and document the period. Uday Shankar’s masterpiece Kalpana (1948, India) which features in the Feature Focus section, has also been recently restored by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project. Contrary to what we would like to believe, there aren’t many full-fledged festivals of experimental films around internationally. “There are sections in film festivals dedicated to experimental films but not an entire film festival which is why the 10th edition of such a film festival becomes a huge deal. A lot of people with whom the festival began its journey like Kamal Swaroop, Oliver Husain and many more are back. And the festival gets its energy from there,” explains Shai, who teaches courses in film appreciation and experimental film practice at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
“The filmmakers don’t operate in the realm of market. It has taken the appreciation and interest of the people of Bangalore to build a community. I was surprised to see serpentine queues at the last festival,” says Shai.
Shai adds that the scene of experimental films is looking up as the boundaries blur and people feel no more compelled to follow a single path. “You see that even in mainstream, works cross between films, documentary and other genres. There are many contexts to show – online, galleries, small screening spaces. People are not that pre-occupied with the idea of a magnum opus or a feature.”
However, there is a magnum opus that features here – ORG by Argentinian filmmaker Fernando Birri. A three-hour long film that’s only rarely been screened since it premiered at the 1979 Venice Film Festival. For Birri, ORG was the result of his experience of exile in Italy. The film has over 26,000 cuts and 700 audio tracks.
The 10th edition of Experimenta presented by Goethe Institut and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in collaboration with Asia Europe Foundation and Prohelvetia- Swiss Arts Council will be on from November 28 till December 3 at Goethe-Institut, Indiranagar.
