The protest from FTII students mounts the cloud of controversy over the IFFI

IFFI celebration this year is facing the controversies from many sides which include the disappointed delegates, media people and protesting FTII students.

This is the 10th year of IFFI celebration in Goa since the Goa has been made the permanent venue for the film festival. The whole process of bringing IFFI into the state of Goa was initiated and implemented by the former Chief Minister Manohar Parriakar in 2004. Ever since then, the festival became the regular affair for Goans. Every year the celebration brought some new developments and improvements too. But since past two years the quality of the festival has started declining with the standard of the management getting pathetic with the time.

This year it seems like the whole management has collapsed with the media persons facing the problems for getting the schedule of the movie in time. There were no media kits such as tote bags and movie catalogs available for the media persons. The management at PIB office was not in a position to help them and frustrated press people seen talking on the television channel of their grievances. Even the basic potable water was not made available to the media this time at the ESG.

The protest of the FTII student went to the level where they have chalked out the plans of holding the two days parallel film festival in the state. According to the available information, the FTII students association had managed to get the support of two eminent film personalities to the press conference organized by them out of which one them is a former chairman of FTII Saeed Mirza and second is the actor of a film ‘36 Chowranghee Lane’ Riddhiman Chatterjee and both of them had condemned the act of manhandling of the protesting students by the organizers and police in the campus of 46th International Film Festival of India in the state of Goa.

Saeed Mirza, who had produced several rebellion films was very shocked at manner in which the peaceful protesting students been handled by the police, he said that he had never witnessed such level of the harassment towards the film students and it’s high time for the whole film fraternity to come together in the support of the cause that students have taken up. Actor Ridhiman Chatterjee went one step ahead by addressing the 46th IFFI as a police state and that he has never witnessed such things in the last 30 years of his experience at several International Film Festivals all over the world.

The agitated students have decided to organize the parallel film festival on 24th and 25th November from 11 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 7 pm at The Institute of Piedade in Panaji said Kislay Gonzalvez, who is the Ex FTII student and was arrested by the police for shouting the slogans at IFFI inaugural ceremony. In the two days festival, FTII students will be showing the 10 short films produced by them including the films made on India’s eminent filmmakers who have returned their national awards. They seem to have even printed the T-shirts with a slogan “Save FTII, Protest is on’ and will be wearing it during this festival.

The act of government is anti-democratic as they have arrested, detained and filed the chapter case against the two FTII protesting students just for shouting the slogans? In fact, FTII students also have been even banned from entering the IFFI venue. The fleet of Goan lawyers came forward voluntarily for arguing the matter in the court where the students been produced for the bail with the charges including, Trespassing (while the students had the valid passes and delegate cards) Assault on government servant (in fact the police manhandled them) Impersonating as Guests and Causing the International Embarrassment to India (it is very difficult to bring the relevance in these) the story does not end here. On 21st November, another FTII student Ashutosh Vandana was picked up by police for the simple reason that he was wearing the T-Shirt with FTII logo on it.

It seems like the government is trying to take away our democratic rights to protest against the injustice said one of the lawyers appearing for the students. FTII students had been asked to leave the Film Bazzar at Marriott resorts despite having the valid delegate card and in another incident 7 FTII students were denied the entry into Kala Academy auditorium to watch the film. Despite getting their delegate cards in a legitimate manner, it has been revoked and ESG office does not have an answer to this.

Whatever is happening is not good and it will reflect into the media at national and international level. People are educated enough to understand who is right and what is wrong and application of force will not change the reality. Today raising the voice against the injustice is becoming very hard. The government is making use of police to curb such voices and make sure that they do not rise again. But it will not sustain for a long time. What is your opinion on this issue? Please do leave your comments and suggestions.

You can also read some of the following

#FTII Strikers Protest At #IFFI: Two Arrested, Brutally Beaten Up https://t.co/ppppU9KkKS pic.twitter.com/NZbcWBve0o

— Countercurrents.org (@Countercurrents) November 21, 2015

Source: Various Sources

Edited by Goa Prism News Desk