Father & Daughter Film Report
...and other things in INDIA
So, besides sharing with you some of the great films seen at this premier film festival in India, must also share with you some personal experiences & what was learned about the changing film industry in India. For like America & other parts of the world, the film industry of India is changing....and very quickly.
Back in October, on the very day that several powerful planetary aspect lines were directly over India - well, on my chart anyway - three invitations arrived from India.
So I had to go - and here was the trip:
So, first stop - Jaipur, India - where you will find one of the most exciting film festivals in the world....! Fantastic films from all over the world & some very insightful independent films - local & from all over India - revealing some of the directions the creative rebellion against Bollywood are manifesting in each of the other cultural centers in India.
However, sadly, I must inform you all that Amanda was needed in both Texas, Colorado & Washington DC, where she is working on several projects at the time so was not able to fly over, however hope she may take the journey next year.
Opening day the GOLCHA CINEMA was packed...! One sees & feels why the word INTERNATIONAL is the "I" in JIFF 2018, and just as exciting is the fact this movie house was in the "Pick City" & only a block away from the wonderful Hotel Sweet Dream & Restaurant run by Rahul Agarwal:
But enough about food, let's talk films, and the difficulty it is not only to choose some to write about, but how. Naturally the ideal way is to simply show them to you, however this is not always possible...
Nor is it easy to choose which one will be written about first...however for this festival, 2 BY 2
from Director Mark Playne was clearly the audience & jury favorite for the film, cause & the idea behind it, which was bringing together a group of directors from various countries create films to improve Turkish-Armenain relations & heal old wounds:
Don't let the log line fool you:
Two macho shepherds - men divided by history, religion and a border fence -
suddenly find they have a chance to be the last two human survivors of a world catastrophe.
However, their survival depends on one of them being man enough to dress up as a woman.
This is a profound film masterfully done:
Look for the interview with Mark Playne in PART II of this series, as we were able to chat a bit over lunch & lemonade at our favorite roof top hang out in the Pink City.
Of course going to, inbetween, & after checking out films at the festival one certainly has to take in the local sights, of which in Jaipur were some beautiful ones:
NEXT TIME: JIFF Part II
Interview with Mark, several Indian films that defy Bollywood's classical formula...