A Look at the 30th Kolkata International Film Festival 2024

KIFF 30 was a celebration of all things film, Bengal’s arms reaching out to the national and world cinema.
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“Every time I go to a movie, it’s magic, no matter what the movie’s about “– Steven Spielberg

This was probably a common sentiment among movie buffs across Bengal with the commencement of the International Film Festival at Kolkata. Nandan had become the centre of Kolkata, the city of dreams, during the weeklong film festival held from 4th December to 11th December. KIFF’30 was decorated beautifully with dreamy lights and the Nandan premises was glistening with excitement and joy. It had become routine for me to spend the entire day at the film festival, the world around me reflecting my passion for cinema. It was my first time attending the Kolkata International Film Festival and as my experience led to a revelation. I believe the often-dull realities of life find respite in cinema, which acts a medium to provide an escape into fantasies that that may never truly come to fruition, but gives us the hope to dream, nonetheless?

The bustling of the crowds, the history that the walls of Nandan bear and the intellectual buzz that the area is laden with, got a new momentum with the arrival of the film festival.

The 30th edition of KIFF featured numerous seminars, including one that enlightened us on the value of cinema as an audio-visual medium. It was fascinating to get an insight into the history of cinema, what it represents and the influence it has had in the evolution of modern media.

One seminar at Sisir Mancha featured Dr. Jabbar Patel, the acclaimed filmmaker and theatre personality, in conversation with Shamik Bandyopadhyay, film critic and scholar. Dr. Patel recollected his time in Kolkata in the late 1960s when his production “Ghashiram Kotwal”, a play by Vijay Tendulkar was staged in the city, a memorable event attended by stalwarts like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, Tarun Majumdar, Utpal Dutt and others.

The celebrated filmmaker shared intricate details of his journey from a theatre personality to a filmmaker as well as his entwined connection with music that played a seminal role in both mediums for him. He expressed his heartfelt admiration for the works of Ray, Ghatak and Goutam Ghose and credited Mani Kaul for having been an influential figure in his life and work. He went onto discuss more of his pioneering works, urging young filmmakers to be more experimental with their craft.

Innumerable award-winning films from all over the world were screened at Nandan Cinema as part of the Kolkata International Film Festival

An insightful session was conducted on “Explosion of Shorts and Documentaries in Digital Era” on 9th December. The respected Amaresh Chakraborty was the moderator, alongside panellists Anjan Bose, Sourav Sarangi, Deependra Mohora, Farha Khatun and Debalina Majumder. The seminar encapsulated conversations on the rapidly improving technology that have allowed filmmakers to incorporate technical elements into their works easily. The audience communicated their thoughts on the increasing use of AI and the panellists offered valuable inputs on the matter. The art of curating alternative forms of storytelling were another interesting segment of this seminar.

A seminar on Kumar Sahani was held on 10th December at the KIC Auditorium. Sandip Chatterjee, one of the speakers, rightfully appraised that “Kumar Sahani is the uncrowned king of Indian Cinema”. The seminar commenced with the screening of “37 Down Manmad Passenger”, a rare film finally made public after retrieval from archives. Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, Professor of Film Studies at Jadavpur University, shared insights about Sahani’s early days and his numerous discussions with the stalwart. Rimli Bhattacharya who has been archiving Kumar Shahani’s works raised the question of learning and imitation and how Sahani drew a line between the two.

Numerous seminars were conducted involving eminent personalities of the film industry from around the world

An eminent seminar of KIFF’30 was “Film Festivals Then and Now” on 10th December. The panel comprised of personalities like V.K Cherian, Amudhan R.P, Vikramjit Roy, Judy Gladstone, N. Vidyashankar and Supran Sen with Swapan Mullick as the moderator. Supran Sen, the Secretary General of the Film Federation of India concluded the discussion with his experiences of visiting 26 film festivals across the world and how each of them differed in their own unique way. These engaging sessions were the highlights of this year’s festival, making room for the systematic study of cinema as a distinct medium, providing firsthand accounts of significant events in the creation of celebrated films and in the lives of eminent personalities of Indian Cinema, and promoting discussions on the future of cinema, amid the emergence of a new era, with technological advancements at their peak.

Also Read: Kolkata Film Festival Pays Centenary Tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Every evening at KIFF had a new to gift for the audience with its lively and riveting “Cine-Adda” sessions. The first Cine Adda had invited comic actors of Tollywood including Rajatava Dutta, Ashim Chatterjee, Ambarish Bhattacharya, Kanchan Mullick and Biswanath Basu to speak on the theme of ‘There’s a smile that feels like pain’. The session began with remembrance of Charlie Chaplin and veteran comedians of Bengali cinema like Rabi Ghosh and Tulsi Chakraborty. Each panellist shared personal anecdotes of their journey as a comic actor. The session acknowledged the contribution of comedy to a film. Comedy adds depth, creating a multi-faceted character, and is often a memorable part of a film, when done right. Comic roles are less recognised but requires greater skill to embody skill. session as it highlighted some of the most noteworthy and life-altering lessons.

A display of films significant to Indian Cinema at KIFF’30

The Cine Adda on “Duo or Discourse” involved personalities like Haranath Chakraborty, Chiranjit Chakraborty, June Malia, Soham Chakraborty, Paoli Dam, Ankush Hazra, Sayantika Banerjee and Bonny Sengupta with Srijit Mukherji as the moderator. In heated discussion, each of them put forth their opinions, with a majority feeling a union between a star-cast and content facilitated success while others stressed on one or the other. Actor Soham Chakraborty commented on the new generations’ reliance on OTT as their source of entertainment believing it to be a space for emerging content creators to be a part of the industry. The Cine Adda were the centre of attention, not only owing to the interesting discussions, but also the glamorous music and dance performances by distinguished artists of India.

The press-conferences held enhanced the experience of the audience and provided rare insights into the making of the films being screened at the festival. Some of the noteworthy conferences were that of Vidya Balan for “Bhalo Theko”, Leo Bello for “Notary of Souls”, Gustavo Galvao and Cristiane Oliveira for “Bleak Sunday Afternoons”, Pulkit Tomar’s “Kafal Pako Ashadha”, Navin Chandra Ganesh’s “Jhanjhaarpur”, Jayashri Mukherjee’s “Me & Michael: Ventriloquism 50” and Hiren Bora’s “Burkha, The Veil”.

Since its inception in 1995 Kiff has come a long way, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year which was commemorated through the exhibition of photographs that capture the iconic moments of its long journey.

Furthermore, the centenary year of film personalities Tapan Sinha, Arundhati Devi, Marlon Brando, Marcello Mastroianni and Harisadhan Dasgupta were celebrated at KIFF’30. Tapan Sinha’s son Anindya Sinha was present to honour his father’s centenary birth year. He recalled his father’s belief that a person should be in love with the camera and have the capacity of seeing the world through the lens to be able to be a good filmmaker.

The people felicitated at Tapan Sinha’s Centenary tribute on the final day at Rabindra Sadan were Madhabi Mukherjee, Dipankar Dey, Dulal Lahiri, Sumanto Mukherjee, Laboni Sarkar, Sonali Gupta, Moonmoon Sen, Romi Choudhury, Arjun Chakraborty, Shakuntala Barua, Devika Mukherjee, Rajatava Dutta, Koushik Sen, Palash Bandyopadhyay, Soumik Halder, Joy Chandra Chandra, Gour Karmakar, Rupchand Kundu and others. Each of them shared their experiences with the Sinha, expressing their resentment at how the pioneer had remained underappreciated throughout his career. The session ended on a somber note. The man may be gone, but his influence has not. The nostalgia his films incur are and will remain constant, the countless current and emerging filmmakers he influenced shall keep his memory alive.

A still of a film being screened at Nandan Cinema as part of KIFF’30

KIFF’30 had also curated a beautiful exhibition for this celebration at Nandan which had gained immense sensation.

As the festival nears its end, Bengal will revert to its daily life, but the seeds are sown for a brighter cinematic experience for next year’s edition. Hopefully, Bengal’s soul will meet world cinema again.

Image Courtesy: Author, Kolkata International Film Festival

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Didhiti Paul is a postgraduate student at the Department of English, Jadavpur University. Didhiti has a profound love for books that delve into feminism and post-colonialism, appreciating their rich, thought-provoking narratives. As a dancer, her dance enables a profound understanding of emotions. A cineaste with a particular focus on scriptwriting, she holds a Film Appreciation Certificate from the Information and Cultural Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal. Her love for literature allows her to craft insightful and genuine literary works.

Didhiti Paul is a postgraduate student at the Department of English, Jadavpur University. Didhiti has a profound love for books that delve into feminism and post-colonialism, appreciating their rich, thought-provoking narratives. As a dancer, her dance enables a profound understanding of emotions. A cineaste with a particular focus on scriptwriting, she holds a Film Appreciation Certificate from the Information and Cultural Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal. Her love for literature allows her to craft insightful and genuine literary works.

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