INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The SAARC Cultural Centre continues its tradition of bringing a wider recognition to South Asian films, presenting the 9th SAARC Film
The SAARC Film Festival had been held every year since 2011 and this is the ninth consecutive time that Sri Lanka is hosting this
prestigious film festival.
The agenda of the Festival is all about bringing unity through diversity
The South Asian region can be identified as one of the most diversified regions in the world in terms of language, culture, nationality,
Although there are tremendous differences, it is interesting to note the similarity in the human emotions that have been captured in almost
every film presented at the Festival
That is a main reason for the importance of this film festival which occupies number one position in the SAARC Cultural Centre
calendar.
The inauguration of this year SAARC Film Festival was held on July 2 at the National Film Corporation with the participation of
almost every filmmaker who submitted films, as well as many film enthusiasts and movie fanatics.
The closing ceremony of the festival will
be held today (7) at the National Film Corporation
This year there will be 12 main awards, such as the Special Jury Award, Best Cinematography, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Short Film,
Best Sound Designer, Best Original Score, Best Director, Best Editor, Best Actor and Best Feature Film.
The SAARC Cultural Centre functions
as an important focal point for the artistic communities of the eight member states of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Each member country can submit five films, consisting two feature films, two short films and one master film
The master film is not entitled for the competition and is a retrospective for a master filmmaker of the respective country.
&This time we
are pleased to receive 34 films in total for the festival and almost every filmmaker is taking part in the festival
Therefore, the SAARC Film Festival has now become the meeting point for every filmmaker in South Asia.
&Although the Maldives doesn&t have
a strong film industry it is a good sign that they show their interest by attending the SAARC film festival and are eager to collaborate
with Sri Lankan filmmakers, actors and crew
It time for us to think about collaborative work within the region without looking for opportunities in Europe or America,& Dhanushka
Gunathilake, Consultant, SAARC Film Festival 2019, said.
&The selection process of films for the SAARC Film Festival is very much
diplomatic as the Cultural Affairs Ministry of each member state selects the films and sends them to the SAARC Sectarian in Nepal through
the respective Foreign Affairs Ministries.
&As the curator of the SAARC Film Festival, although I do not select the films, I am responsible
for curating the film package we receive from the member state
We have the liberty to select the jury and we always make sure to get a jury from outside South Asia thereby creating the opportunity for
Sri Lankan and South Asian filmmakers to get foreign knowledge and experience on filmmaking, especially, through Master Class Programs,&
said Dhanushka.
Jury of the Festival
The jury of this year Festival consists three well-known names outside the South Asian regional
The head of the jury is Hassan Nazer, an award winning British film director of Iranian origin.
Hassan feature films were released in Iran
and internationally, such as, Back Day, Here Iran, Utopia, The Check Post, and Winners
They are mostly collaborations between UK and Iran as well as India
The film Utopia was an official entry for the Academy Awards 2015 and the Golden Globe, and has won more than 18 awards nationally and
internationally.
Emmanuel Dela Cruz, a Philippine Film Director is a versatile and sought-after creative personality in the film and TV
industry in the Philippines
Milana Majar, is a film director from Bosnia and is also a journalist and screenwriter specialised in documentary films.
Speaking about the
judging criteria of the SAARC Film Festival Hassan Nazer said, 50 percent count the technical aspect of the film and the balance 50 percent
for the theme, which also depends on the message the film festival has to convey to the world
&It important to understand the cultures, traditions and politics of the different countries
&There can be minor differences though there are many similarities too
That is the beauty of the cinema,& he added
&I&ve been part of the jury for three local film festivals held recently
The selection criteria is totally different from one to the other
In selecting, what I consider most is the originality of the soul of the film.
&There could be European, American, Indian influences, but
what matters is the heart of the respective culture of the filmmaker and how much he can inter-relate with the world,& he said
Nazer said that nowadays there a huge influence made by Netflix and other entertainment platforms into the cinema, and through this new
medium of entertainment the audience has widened and expectations run high
&It encouraging to see a mix of entertaining films with strong themes,& he added.
&A South Asian film can be differently read at a European
Festival, and given totally different interpretations
As a filmmaker from a European country, I believe it important to have a film festival for its own region with its own kind of reading
without a European eye,& said one of the jurors, Milana Majar.
Master Class
Master Class is a key event in the SAARC Film Festival,
grabbing much attention, especially, from young filmmakers of the country
This year theme was, ‘Why do we need funding for independent cinema& conducted by the jury members, Hassan Nazer, Emmanuel Dela Cruz and
Milana Majara, moderated by Dhanushka Gunathileke
It was held on July 5 at the Colombo Film and Television Academy.
The speciality of SAARC Film Festival is that it opens doors to witness
other parallel art house cinemas in the region besides European, American and Indian main stream cinema
According to Dhanushka unlike previous years they received more art house films from countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal this year,
although the trend was main stream films in the previous years.
Dr
Soumya Manjunath Chavan, Cultural Specialist & Programs, SAARC Cultural Centre, said &The cultural ministries of member states have now
realized the importance of promoting meaningful cinema to the festival which has travelled around the world.
&The main purpose of
establishing the SAARC Cultural Centre is to promote cultural cooperation within the region, enhance cultural understanding and harmony
among the people of South Asia and share the distinct cultural identity of the region with the world.&
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Soul (Short film / Maldives)
Ali Seezan started his career as an actor who pinned his name on top of the actor list with Hiyy Edhenee which won him the best actor at the
3rd National Film Awards in the Maldives
Having a successful career as an actor, Ali stepped into filmmaking which was his childhood dream
He has created nearly 25 short films and won many national awards, and is well recognised in the international film festival arena
His short film Soul is to be a co-production of the Maldives and Sri Lanka
&The SAARC film festival is something we all look up to
This is the first time that I did a collaborative work with a foreign cast and I&m really excited about it,& he said.
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&I&m really
excited and it a great honour to participate in this year SAARC Film Festival
Our film Bul Bul was well received by the audience
The Q - A session was really good and I&m impressed by the Sri Lankan filmgoers and their critical reading of the film,& said Swastima
Khadka the main actress of the film Bul Bul from Nepal.
Bul Bul is a film about women empowerment
According to its synopsis it is also described from a psychoanalytic perspective
It is a story of unmet desires and other core issues
Binod Paudel, the director of the film couldn&t attend the festival as he had to participate in the Nepal & America Film festival in
USA.
Talking about the culture and the film aesthetics of Nepal and Sri Lanka, Swastima believes there no major difference in the two
&This is my first visit to Sri Lanka and I see a lot of similarities in terms of culture, hospitality, human behaviour, etc
I watched almost every film at the festival and it is an amazing experience to know more about South Asia and its cinema,& she added.
