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The ifs and buts of IFFI halfway through
Highlights
The ifs and buts of IFFI Halfway Through, 44th International Film Festival of India. And yet Kiran Shantaram made an announcement that the Asean film festival will be held annually in Goa from next year. It seems that incompetence is an asset as far as film festivals go.
The 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is nearing its halfway stage, but the problems continue. The second half schedule isn’t ready yet and by evenings the crowds are so huge (after allowing non-ticketers) that the theatre gets too hot. At least the airconditioning should be stepped up. There seems to be no feedback and the organisers don’t seem to be bothered about the little ‘ifs and buts’ but are not crossing their t’s or dotting there i’s.
The exits at Inox are not sufficient. The only relief is the IFFI shuttle between the two venues and as it is not much publicised there is generally no rush. Only the regulars know it. But it is the wannabes who cause most of the nuisance.
You surely get the wrong folks coming - like a Panjimite Kovilkar who has not yet seen a film but is enjoying himself partaking of free snacks. “I also visit festivals in Maharashtra,” he adds proudly.
And yet Kiran Shantaram made an announcement that the Asean film festival will be held annually in Goa from next year. It seems that incompetence is an asset as far as film festivals go.
At the entrance to Kala Academy an obvious Goan remarked “This is not Goa by any stretch of imagination,” referring to a statue of a potter. Ran into Chitra Palekar, ex-wife of Amol, and she too complained bitterly, “If they are catering mainly to interneters, then why call us,” she said about the second half bookings
But coming to the films, Mohammed Ahed Bansoudo’s ‘Behind Closed Doors’ (Morocco-France) is a powerful drama of sexual exploitation, a common malaise in offices the world over, but the protagonists here do an excellent job.
Bansoudo was present for his film but he didn’t need to explain. Samira (Zinch Abeid) is a beautiful married woman working in an office where her new boss (Karim Doudikali) is more than a lech. He first spots her in a traffic jam even before she takes up the job.
And he does not hesitate to pick up from where he left off. What’s more, the boss has political connections and uses these to further woo Samira. He gives bad reports about her, erases her work on the computer... All he wants is one night in bed with her.
With the rest of the staff he is strict. Samira gets no support from her colleagues who are too scared to oppose their boss. She goes to the women’s rights folks, but they need evidence.
Samira’s husband is at first supportive but later they find the doors shut. What is her way out?
Both Zinech Obeid and Karim Doudikali are absolutely excellent in their differing roles as they dominate the proceedings. It is a well crafted film sensitively handled by Bansoudo to provide a realistic picture of the
problem.
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