Cannes comes closer

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), conducted the virtual edition of Indian pavilion for Cannes Film Festival on Monday.

Prasoon Joshi, who was at Cannes Film Festival last year, said he was happy to be a part of the virtual inaugural meeting that had dignitaries from both the Government of India and the film fraternity.

Talking about cinema, he said, “Hum to dariyan hai, humein malum hai jis taraf bhi chal padenge raasta ho jaayega. Art, no matter what, finds its way, like we will mark our presence virtually in this year’s Cannes festival. As people have started to see life in a different way, so does cinema.”

“Last year when I was present at Cannes, we interacted with many international filmmakers, writers and directors. Foreign filmmakers want to come to India. If there’s a single window for permissions issued from the government, the film market would do great,” says Madhur Bhandarkar, the award-winning director.

Colin Burrows has executive produced many Indian films and has been a regular at the festival for the past 35 years. He said, “The greatest advantage of Cannes is networking. Films only work when people come together to share ideas.”

Kangana Ranaut says, “We are all caught up in these uncertainties. To be able to attend this event is a reassuring experience. This is my third year. I hope next year I will be there in person amidst warm hugs, handshakes, wine and what not.” This year, India has sent two films for screening at the festival, namely, Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/200 (Marathi) and Hellaro (Gujarati). —Sheetal