Belgium’s popular film festival MOOOV, which drew to a close on Thursday, had a strong Indian presence this year. The official festival jury was chaired by national award-winning actor Tannishtha Chatterjee, whose 2015 film Parched was the festival’s closing film. Incidentally, at 35, Chatterjee was the youngest person ever to have been appointed president of the MOOOV jury. Two years ago, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap was a part of the same jury.
Some of the Indian films that were screened at the festival included Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak , Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan and Pan Nalin’s Angry Indian Goddesses . While India made its presence felt through its cinema, not many Indians were in attendance. Kukunoor was the only Indian director present.
Chatterjee, on a telephone call from Brussels, told The Hindu , “Our films have been very well received and I have just finished a question and answer session on my film Angry Indian Goddesses ; I was asked very insightful questions.”
Held across eight cities this year in Belgium’s Flanders region, including Bruges, Turnhout and Gent, MOOOV is one of Flanders’ largest film festivals, drawing audiences from all over the world. With a focus on documentaries, independent films, and world cinema, the festival was the result of a 2013 merger between Open Doek Film Festival (Turnhout) and Cinema Novo (Bruges). Among its eclectic selection of films is a range of youth-centric films, in association with Flemish local schools and youth film distributors. Chatterjee says, “The festival is a great platform for independent filmmakers to make a mark, as the winning film is distributed for free across Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands by MOOOV.”
Specialised juriesThe festival, which started in 1992, includes the unique initiative of assigning two specialised juries, apart from the official one. These are a Youth Jury (comprising under-15 students from participating schools) and a Prison Jury (consisting of 13-14 chosen detainees from a local prison). This enterprise allows for social inclusivity while bringing in fresh perspectives.
The various categories in the festival are Competition, Stories, Discoveries, Family, and Docz.
While Chinese film Tharlo (directed by Pema Tseden) was voted best film by the inmates of Merskplas Prison, the Youth Jury and Official Jury both selected Israeli film Mountain (directed by Yaelle Kayam) as the winner. The coveted prize, The Canvas Award, which comprises prize money of €15,000, was given to Israeli director Asaf Korman’s debut film Next to Her . Again chosen by the Prison Jury, the Behind the Scenes Award was presented to French director Boris Lojkine for Hope . Argentinian film La Reina , by director Manuel Abramovich, won in the best Short Film category.
Chatterjee says, “It is wonderful to be a part of a multi-cultural jury where civil, academic discussions take place, and where no one tries to impose opinions.”
Chatterjee will be travelling to France and Germany to promote Angry Indian Goddesses , which will be releasing there next month. Her other women-centric film, Parched , is also scheduled for a June release in India.
The writer is an intern with The Hindu
