At first, no one noticed when it buzzed above delegates’ heads filming everything on the ground, for only daydreamers look up at the blue sky at random times during the day. And at the IFFK, even the daydreamers are preoccupied with a hundred permutations and combinations on which film to watch next.
A drone camera has been a centre of attraction at the IFFK this year, with delegates gleefully smiling and waving at the ‘big brother.’ But at the same time, many are not comfortable with the idea of someone watching every move of theirs, that too in a space like the IFFK.
“Yes, at first it attracted me for the novelty factor. But, soon I was reminded of the wider repercussions of widespread usage of drones, something like an omnipresent eye in the sky. We already are so obsessed with having CCTV cameras at every imaginable place, from office rooms to even inside classrooms so that parents can watch over their kids from home. The introduction of drone cameras into such a society where concerns about surveillance are not taken seriously could be problematic,” says Arvind, a delegate at the festival.
At protestsDuring the ‘Kiss against fascism’ agitation in front of the Kairali cinema, the drone camera was seen right above the centre of action, focussing on the faces of the protesters. Most of those who gathered there thought that the police had sent in the drone camera to track the protesters, but it was later found to be of a private agency which has been handling the video coverage of the festival.
The camera here has a range of up to 1,000 feet, but restrictions at places in close proximity of airports and railway stations prevents them from operating at even half that height.
The police across the country have started making extensive use of drone cameras. Even marriage video coverage is now incomplete without such cameras.
Lost to the selfie-obsessed crowd though are the evils of surveillance.
