The 55th edition of the International Film Festival of India currently underway in Goa offers yet another opportunity for the government of India and the government of Goa to capitalise on India’s prowess as a filmmaking powerhouse to sell India’s and Goa’s story to the world. The festival, which was moved to Goa as its permanent destination twenty years ago, a move that was designed to give the festival a distinct identity, has made some, but not nearly enough progress in that regard.
India’s filmmaking industry is a major source of soft power and a major exponent of India’s diverse multiculturalism on a global stage. However, IFFI has failed to elevate its prestige as a film festival despite being rated and accredited by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) to be among the top international film festivals in the world.
The festival showcases some of the best critically acclaimed films in the world and is undoubtedly the place you need to be if you want to witness some of the best films from across the length and breadth of India.
However, for every step forward that the festival takes, there are two that hold it back. Two years ago, Nadav Lapid, the head of the international jury, questioned the festival's artistic integrity for including the poorly made ‘The Kashmir Files’— clearly a political decision rather than an artistic one — in the international competition section of the film festival.
Since then, it appears, few lessons have been learned, and this year, too, decidedly average movies from India have made it to the international competition section of the festival. IFFI’s prestige as a film festival relies on its ability to be independent of government interference — at least when it comes to the critical component of the festival — the choice of films.
While that’s always been a tall order considering this is a festival hosted and sponsored by the government of India and the government of Goa, if there’s one thing that can kill the reputation of a competition faster than anything else, it is the general belief that it lacks integrity. It’s a trap that IFFI needs to avoid at all costs if the government is serious about elevating the film festival to a higher level on the lines of the better-known festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, etc.
Domestically, too, IFFI faces competition from the Mumbai International Film Festival of India (MIFF), which takes full advantage of its independently organised nature and its holding in Mumbai, the home of Bollywood and the country’s foremost cultural city.
To truly elevate its prestige, IFFI needs to free itself of political control, focus more on the quality aspect rather than the pageantry of the festival, and more importantly, earn its integrity back by cutting itself free of government interference in artistic decision-making.
It takes years to earn a reputation and a few bad decisions to ruin a reputation -- to truly elevate itself on the lines of the world’s top international festivals IFFI needs more of the former and less of the latter.
