12th Asian Film Fest holds promise for budding directors

Third Eye, the 12th Asian Film Festival, kicked off on Friday at Ravindra Natya Mandir in Prabhadevi. The week-long festival will see more than 80 films being screened from various Asian and European countries. Organised by The Asian film foundation, with support from the Department of Culture, Maharashtra, this festival is set to give a platform to various budding directors from India, Japan, China, Bangladesh, Iran, Vietnam, Korea and other film-making nations in Asia.

Kiran V Shantaram, who conceptualised the festival, tells us about the thought behind this idea and how he has seen Asian cinema evolve over the past 12 years. “When the festival started in 2002, we had only about 20 movies and now we have more than 80. It was conceptualised because we realised there was a lack of focus on Asian cinema in big festivals abroad,” said Shantaram, who is also the vice-president of the Federation of Film Societies of India.

“Over the years, I have seen an increasing number of the younger generation come out to participate on this platform. This year, we will be celebrating 100 years of Marathi cinema by remembering Dadasaheb Phalke, who directed India’s first film during the silent era, thereby instilling confidence that India could make movies indigenously. All six Marathi movies which will be shown are made by young first-timers,” he added.

One of the only full feature Hindi films being showcased was Dozakh, which highlights the innocence of a child’s mind, which is untouched by the complexities of religion that his elders follow. The son of an orthodox Islamic cleric, the child is fascinated by stories of Hanuman and Ganga, which is unacceptable to his father. It is only when one day he goes missing, the father realises that his role as a father in his son’s life is more important than his role as a cleric in society.

Directed by journalist/ novelist Zaigham Imam, Dozakh reinforces the influence that cinema can have on the thought process of a society. Other recommended highlights of the festival are Koan of Spring and Aftershock.

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