Real-life tales to hold centre stage at Goa fest

NEW DELHI: An HIV patient who goes on to defy odds to win the title of ‘Mr India’, an abandoned woman who musters courage to create safe homes for over a 1000 orphaned children and the struggle of a rock band to stay true to its music and passion — real-life stories made immortal on films that will now be centre stage at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
The 10-day festival that kickstarts on November 22 on the sun-kissed beaches of Goa has long been a springboard for young directors experimenting with subjects that are hard-hitting and drawn from real life. This year the opening films for both the Indian Panorama and the non-feature section will be inspired and based on real life characters.
Marathi film “Mee Sindhutai Sapkal” — that will be screened in the Indian feature film section — is based on the true story of Sindhutai. Sindhutai was a child bride, married at the age of 12 to a 30-year-old, only to be abandoned on false accusations of infidelity. The film traces her journey from a point where she attempts suicide twice to getting back on her feet. She goes on to set up orphanages helping over 1,000 orphans. The film is directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan.
The opening film for the non-feature film section is a documentary on the band — Indian Ocean — called “Leaving Home”. Another documentary that has drawn interest is “Mr India” by Haobam Paban Kumar. The 47-minute digital film captures the despair of Manipur-born Khundrakpam Pradip Kumar Singh when he discovers that he was infected with HIV. Defying doctors who had warned him against rigours of body building, Pradip joined a gymnasium and nine years down the line wins the title of “Mr India”.
For the first time, IFFI’s competition section has been opened to feature films from across the world. Eighteen films (15 foreign and 3 Indian) feature films have been shortlisted for participation. Introduction of the best actor and best actress under the competition section is also a first.
The Indian Panorama will feature 26 feature films, including “Achin Paakhi”, “Abohomaan”, “Maner Manush”, “Ami Aadu” (all Bengali), “Three Idiots”, “Wake up Sid”, “Paa” (all Hindi), “Kaal Chilambu” (Malayalam), and “Ravanan” (Tamil).
The platinum jubilee of Odiya cinema will also be celebrated at the festival with five Odiya films being screened.
Two films associated with the work of the Dadasaheb Phalke awardees V K Murti and D Ramanaidu will also be screened.
A Cannes Kaledioscope and retrospectives of prominent filmmakers like Jan Jakub Kolski, Jim Jarmusch, Michael Cacoyannis and Mira Nair will also be part of the festival. The country focus during the festival will be on Sri Lanka, Taiwanese New Wave Cinema and a section on Australian Indigenous Fiction Films. IFFI would also pay homage to iconic French filmmaker, Eric Rohmer, who passed away this year. Six of his films would be screened.