Technical workshops mooted at Women’s International Film Festival in Kozhikode

Film makers Aisha Sultana ( Flush), Tara Ramanujan ( Nishidho), Mini I.G. ( Divorce), and Sunitha C. ( 21 hours) took part in an open forum at the Women’s International Film Festival in Kozhikode and discussed on the topic ‘Digital cinema and presence of women in the technical sections’, on Sunday.

Ms. Mini mooted some technical workshops under the academy for budding filmmakers who do not have a film school background. Ms. Tara also said that she could have done better if she had a little more technical knowledge. They were supported by Ms. Sunitha, who pointed out that the director’s lack of technical knowledge was often frowned upon by experienced technicians. Such directors are often kicked to the curb, especially if they were women, she said.

Ms. Aisha Sultana said that her movie, which featured newcomers, had no value among distributors, and hence, despite having some commercial elements, such as songs, could not be released in theatres. Ms. Tara said that her movie would not have happened without the government’s help. Being a total newcomer, producers would not support her, especially as it had very less entertainment value.

Later, the forum turned into a debate on the incident involving director Kunjila Mascillamani. A member of the audience questioned Ranjith, chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, about the criteria for selection of movies for the fest, and why the film festival did not show justice to women filmmakers.

Mr. Ranjith answered that Ms. Kunjila’s movie was part of the anthology and separating a single short film from it was not right. He said the filmmaker should have contacted him formally by e-mail. He maintained that the academy had no role in the police action, as it was just a law and order issue. His comment about Kunjila’s ‘naughtiness’ and the ‘drama’ was questioned by other members of the audience.