The Federation Of Film Societies of India (FFSI) has organised an online film festival, Retrospective Of Girish Kasaravalli Films. The festival, which started on July 27 will be on till August 2.
The film festival is free and you can just click on the links to either watch the films or participate in the discussion. The film chosen for the festival are Ghatashraddha (which won the President’s Golden Lotus Award as the Best Indian Film of 1976, https://vimeo.com/441814975 ), Thayi Saheba (also won the President’s Golden Lotus award as the Best Indian Film of 1997, https://vimeo.com/441815434 ) and Kanasembo Kudureyaneri - Riding The Stallion Of Dreams- (This film won the President’s Silver Lotus Award as the Best Kannada Film of 2010, Netpac Award, Rome, Italy, https://vimeo.com/441815905 )
That is not all. The Federation has also organised a live session with the director who will talk about the about the three film on July 31 at 5 pm. Girish will be joined by National Award winning film critic Professor N Manu Chakravarthy on https://event.webinarjam.com/register/45/ox82kcwl
Karnataka : Bengaluru , 13/12/2016 Renowned Kannada film director Girish Kasaravalli at his house in Bengaluru.Photo : Bhagya Prakash K
Girish talks to MetroPlus about his films and the virtual world. Edited excerpts
Could you comment on the choice of films for the festival?
FFSI chose these films. I was keen that Koormavatara be chosen as it is also the 150 years of Gandhi ji . I would have also loved it if my other films were chosen, but I am happy with this choice too. I don’t think many have watched Thayi Saheba or Kanasembo... As far as festivals go, I have observed that Ghatashraddha is a popular choice.
How do you think the online film festival will work?
It is an advantage for us. While the film industry is almost at a standstill because of the pandemic, there seems to be no space to screen old films. Every film festival looks for new films. Earlier the film society would promote films and send them to every festival, hence my works like Tabarana Kathe reached many. But gradually people started looking for the latest films and we lose the opportunity to reach out to a larger audience. This is a great platform for my work to reach out to people, especially Thayi Saheba , which is not available on DVD or on any streaming platform.
We just click on the links and watch the film?
Yes, it as simple as that.
On July 31 you will go live...
Yes, we will be discussing the three films in detail. The event will be moderated by the organisers and there will be a Q&A session too.
As everything is now virtual, do you feel there should be a pattern change when it comes to a director’s or an actor’s perspective?
I don’t think so. I feel this trend will last only as long as the pandemic. Cinema on screen is a different experience when compared to watching a film on your laptop or mobile. Especially those who watch mainstream cinema, will always prefer the theatrical experience as they do not go in for the content. So cinema on the big screen will never die. It may not get the reach of the virtual platforms, but it will not die out. It is just that the pattern has changed. Earlier films would run for 100 or 200 days. Today they run in theatres for a short time and are then released online. With the virtual releases I feel directors like me get affected. Those who make small budget films struggle to recover our investments. Now, with the pandemic, these issues have become acute that is all.
Tell us about your latest film, Illiralare Allige Hogalare ...
The film is stuck due to this pandemic. It is sad as not many festivals are happening. And I wonder if the organisations that have postponed their festivals to next year will take this film as it will be an old film by 2021. Will they consider this film as a new one because of the pandemic? That is yet to be seen.
What has been the hardest for you to deal with during this pandemic as a director?
For film makers and actors, not having contact with the outside world can be frustrating. We lose the touch with the real world. All we get to know is through the news, which also sometimes can be manufactured. It makes the line between the real and concocted very thin. So all we do is read books, watch news or films, but how much can one do these? It is not good for anyone as we lose social connections and may lose the sense of what is right and wrong, what is happening and what is not.
