For the first time in 11 years, the upcoming Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival (OCCF) will focus on Indian cinema, highlighting exciting moments from the Bombay film industry.
Comprising fours sections, the festival of contemporary Indian, Asian and Arab cinema will see the screening of over 100 films at Siri Fort Complex and Alliance Francaise from October 24 to 30.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Osian’s founder chairman Neville Tuli said: “OCFF will realise its true objective of disseminating art knowledge by merging with its radically original educational initiative Osian’s Learning Experience. Question and answer sessions, lectures, panel discussions and seminars to ensure connectedness and a deeper understanding of each film screened will give an insight into OLE.”
Though Neville asserted that he has not scaled down anything in this annual film extravaganza, he did admit that film screenings have been reduced. “For every film there will be a related event to make the public understand what that movie is all about. This time again we are hosting the festival on our own. The government is giving its blessings and infrastructure, while we have taken the responsibility of disseminating new ideas and showcasing cultures of different countries and States to the discerning film audience.”
Stating that the new stream session at the festival was conceptualised as a two-fold event, Neville said it will comprise conversation with filmmakers, actors and technicians as also interaction with the audience and screening of their latest work under discussion. “Filmmakers like Vishal Bharadwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and Imtiaz Ali will find a voice on this platform because they have earned a sympathetic audience in the traditional exhibition space for mainstream cinema. They have broken new cinematographic ground for the Indian film industry.”
Osian’s Cinefan director-general Mani Kaul said movies have been selected on the basis of the message they convey. “Colour, special effects and how a ladki looks like are all part of commercial cinema.” He added that in “real cinema, there is an invisible element” that the filmmakers “bring out.”
Archives such as posters, lobby cards, film stills and hoarding will provide a comprehensive exhibition of Indian cinema. Memorabilia from the New Theatres, Prabhat or Bombay Talkies in 1930s, the cinema of Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt in 1950s, Amitabh Bachchan in 1970s, as well as the films of Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma in 1990s will give the festival an old-world charm.
