IFFK 2013 : An Experience

Photo Courtesy http://img.indiaglitz.com

Participating in this year’s IFFK for me was an experience beyond compare. Being a movie buff it is with some embarrassment that I confess that this was my first IFFK. As with any other first experiences I found myself woefully unprepared in the beginning.  I did not register on time. By the time I realized that no one is going to show up at my door step with a VIP pass for IFFK, it was too late and the registrations were closed. 

So I had to go through a lot of other options to finally get a pass (Not an easy task by the way). Ultimately I did get my pass, the T-shirt and the booklet, marking the beginning of endless nights of research. I take movie viewing rather seriously and  am particular about the movies I watch. Since due to time constraints and college hours  my movie time was cut down to two movies a day as opposed to the 25 that was to be screened, research was the only solution.

 At first, after seeing the choices I thought the Film Festival was all about boring drama films targeting the intellectual crowd in particular. So far as preconceived notions go that was not the worst I had about the film festival. The worst preconceived notion I had about the film festival was that my mistaken impression that seats would be automatically booked for me the moment I chose a movie to watch and I just have to arrive at the right moment to sit back and enjoy the show. That preconceived notion got me into some trouble. But that is something better left unsaid (A story packed with lots of embarrassing moments). So coming back to research, my research methodology followed this pattern…First I would read about the movies to be screened in the IFFK booklet. Then I would mark them in the schedule, after which I would sit in front of the internet researching for hours and going through opinions, ratings and certifications (Never knew that there was no censorship in IIFK so had to be extra careful) Ruling out movies with repeat shows to finally end up with two or three movies I had to watch at all cost and Finally spending the night tossing and turning trying to choose one (This was where factors like movie timings, location, next movie to be watched and the crowd pull was taken into consideration). I know I may come off as an OCD but this was just a onetime thing and I wanted to make it count.

So finally the first day of IFFK arrived and I have zeroed in on the movie Hives. The morning was spent trying to find the correct outfit as I wanted to look the part of a genius owing to my preconceived notion number one. Faded kurta, faded jeans and the IFFK satchel completed the ensemble. The only thing lacking was plain eye glasses which I couldn’t manage at the last moment. Arriving at the IFFK late by 10 minutes I was surprised to find a couple of other girls who were dressed exactly like me (Guess I was not the only one who wanted to dress the part). Okay so the dressing took some time for me and when I finally arrived at the theater I was happy to see that not many people opted to see this movie. The movie was good and I deliberately chose it because of its multiple POV. I really didn’t want to get stuck at one of those dramatic monologue movies my first time. The next one I wanted to watch was also going to be played in the same theater. However I changed my movie choice after watching the long line that was waiting to get into the theater, which had me watching my second choice. I had to leave after that but didn’t want to as I found myself really enjoying the experience. Between the movies in different languages and portraying different culture I felt like I took a trip around the world. It was like I had the world at my finger tips.The first day went well but the second day was not as smooth a sailing as the first. Both the movies I chose were crowded and it was the first time I had to push my way through to get into a theater. Since the movies were good I couldn’t really complain. The third day was the day I was supposed to watch a movie suggested by Biju Chandran Sir from Journalism class. A movie called Megha Dhaka Tara. So here it the thing, I did not do much research because I was viewing it as a compulsory assignment. Half way through I was having a hard time trying to keep my eyes open as it was a black and white movie rich with symbolism based on the life of Ritwik Ghatak (A person I have came to know about only two days before). Exactly the kind of movie I thought would be showcased in a film festival. In the end when the audience stood up and applauded the same I was left feeling dumber than ever. The next movie was even worse and this time I did not even bother to keep my eyes open. There after I left the movie theater with a silent vow that I will not watch anymore movies that are critically acclaimed. The last day of the film festival was a Friday and I decided to take my chance and watch all the movies showcased that day. I had two choices for the first show but ended up watching a movie that was not my choice owing to a mix up with the theater. The movie was good so I can’t really complain. In the end IFFK taught me a lot of things. I thought me more about movies, more ways to experience it, more ways to understand it and more ways to enjoy it. Though I couldn’t take full advantage of the venture I would definitely have missed out if I gave up the moment I did not get a pass. Now that I have experienced IFFK I will be coming back next year with much better thought out strategies with regard to movie selection