Till last year, those walking around with the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) tag used to be treated with respect at Panaji, the host city of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). But now, after the 139-day-long student protests against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as FTII Chairman, the students and alumni of the institute are finding a hard time getting in.
On Tuesday evening, a group of film-makers, critics and film buffs from Kerala attending the IFFI, under way in Goa, had to face some opposition from the police after they sported badges in support of the FTII students. “The FTII students have organised a parallel film festival in protest against the government’s attitude towards them. So, some of us decided to express solidarity with them by sporting badges. The group included film-maker K.R. Mohanan and actor Prakash Bare. But, the police soon came and asked us to remove the badges. Thankfully, many others joined us in support. On Wednesday, we have a larger contingent who will sport badges and also attend the parallel film festival of the FTII students,” film critic V.K. Joseph told The Hindu .
Prohibitory orders have been imposed in the area for the whole length of the festival, perhaps the first such instance during a film festival anywhere in the world. At the inaugural ceremony, two FTII alumni who raised slogans were detained. The next day, a student wearing the institution’s T-shirt was also detained. The students’ films section at the festival, a regular feature, was also taken off.
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At the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) though, keeping out people connected to the FTII would mean there would hardly be anyone left to run the festival. The FTII alumni list here includes film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, current festival director Shaji N. Karun, editor Bina Paul who helmed the festival for over a decade, former festival director K.R. Mohanan, cinematographers Venu and Sunny Joseph, and Rajeev Ravi among the young set of filmmakers.
Kerala had witnessed the earliest and strongest of protest movements when the FTII issue came into focus earlier this year. Many of those involved closely with the IFFK came together to protest.
The International Documentary and Short Film Festival at the Kairali theatre complex here also became a venue for the protests.
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