A mix of the old generation of filmmakers and the new, arthouse cinema and commercial filmmaking will form a part of the Marathi presence at Marche du Cinema (the Cannes Film Market) this year.
Veteran producer Dr. Mohan Agashe and filmmaker Sumitra Bhave’s Dithee , Milind Lele’s Bandishala and debutante Omkar Shetty’s Aaron are the three 2018 films that have been picked for being showcased at the Marathi film booth.
All three films will have two industry screenings each at the market with two members from each of the film’s team in attendance.
This is the fourth consecutive year of the Maharashtra government’s initiative to promote Marathi cinema internationally and to open the doors of the global market for Marathi filmmakers. The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting organises the India Pavilion every year to represent Indian cinema at Cannes. However, Maharashtra is the only State in the country to set up its own stall and pitch its films in the international market, a practice started in 2016 at the behest of Vinod Tawde, the State minister for school education, higher and technical education, sports and youth welfare, Marathi language and cultural affairs.
Diversity of themes and filmmaking approaches mark the three chosen films. Mr. Shetty’s debut as a writer-director, Aaron, is about the journey of a teenager, in the company of his uncle, all the way from a village in Konkan to Paris in search of his mother.
Based on the work of well- known Marathi writer D.B. Mokashi and coming from a well respected filmmaker like Ms. Bhave, Dithee (Seeing), is a profound take on the circle of life and death. The philosophical film is about having the crucial vision through which the duality of life and death can be reconciled. Mr. Lele’s Bandishala (The Prison) is a comment on a social issue and institution. It is about a young woman prison officer’s attempts to bring in reforms in jail administration. But will she succeed in the face of entrenched corruption?
The Cannes Film Market, being held from May 13 to 22, is the business counterpart of Festival de Cannes (the Cannes Film Festival). Held in conjunction with the festival, it is the biggest film market in the world.
