“Transparency alone matters in the long run when you run a film festival of the stature of Kashi Indian International Film Festival Awards”
NAVIN AGARWAL (Founder-Actor-Director) & PRAIRNA AGARWAL (Writer-Producer-Actress-Destival Director) tell Senior Journalist JYOTHI VENKATESH all about Kashi Indian International Indian Film Festival Awards(KIIFFA)
Why did you float yet another International film festival in India, when already there are several other film festivals in India?
If that is the yardstick, in every city there are hundreds of malls as well as shops selling sweetmeats. Isn’t it? It has always very important that we accord primary importance to the content in all films which are being showcased at Kashi International Indian Film Festival Awards. We are just a one year old International film festival. Last Year we started the festival and showcased 59 films from all over the world including Europe, USA, France, China, Canada, Brazil, Afghanistan, Iran and Great Britain and given awards to the best of the lot. From India, we showcased films in 11 different regional languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Haryanvi, Gujarati, Chhattisgarhi and Marathi
What according to you is the primary importance of the film festivals all over the world?
Hanks to the various International film festivals; we come to know about the cultural as well as economic backgrounds of each and every country through their films
When is the second Kashi Indian International film Festival scheduled to be held next?
It will be held from February 11 to February 13 , 2022 in Delhi at the Agrasen College Auditorium
Has conducting the International film festival last year taught you anything tangible?
It was a very great learning experience as well as a herculean task to conduct an International film festival of the stature of Kashi Indian International Film Festival Awards during the corona last year. Thanks to the great efforts on our part, now more people are aware of what the festival entails and what’s more, there are many number of people including the youth who want to take part in a festival like that of ours.
What does an International film festival mean to you both?
It all depends on your vision. We at Kashi Indian International Indian Film Festival Awards believe a lot in honesty and hence there is lot of transparency in the way we conduct the International film festival
On what basis do you give away the awards at your festival year after year?
By coming forward to give away the awards for the films which have been entered in our festival, we boost the morale of the film makers every year. The awards which are decided by a Jury appointed by us are given away on the basis of the content of the films, their technical strength and the message that they set out to convey to the audiences. The main criterion is that the film should be shot according to universal standards
Most of the Indian International film festivals have done away with the restriction that your film should be censored. Have you also relaxed the rule to accept uncensored films in your film festival?
We also have relaxed the rule at our International film festival where you can submit your film without a censor certificate attached with it. Not only that, we also showcase released films as well as those which have not been able to release all these years and are languishing in cans.
Do you charge the producers for showcasing their films or pay them to screen their films at your film festival?
We do charge a certain fee to the producers for entering their films in our prestigious International film festival, since we, in turn also have to incur a lot of expenditure to showcase the films, including appointing a special jury to select them.
What is the biggest advantage for the producers to enter their films in your festival?
The producers are able to ensure that by entering their films in our film festival, they are able to reach audiences in thousands for their films as well as get a lot of social media publicity in the process since we also organise press conferences as well as seminars at our film festival where they can talk about their films to the audiences which comprise critics as well as filmmakers from all over the word.
Do you make sure that the films which are entered in your film festival see the light of the day by ensuring that they are also marketed properly all over the world?
Frankly, we do not at all focus on the marketing of films which are entered in our film festival as we are in the years of infancy and would like to focus only on the showcasing aspect of the films as of now
Do you get the support of any state government or funding for your festival?
Right now, we are in talks with the state government for subsidies and are hopeful that we would get it to conduct the film festival.
Though yours is Kashi Indian International Film Festival Awards, why are you holding it in Delhi and not Kashi?
Last year, though we wanted to hold the film festival in Kashi, we were not granted permission to host it in Kashi because Covid 19 had set in. This year though we planned to host it in Kashi, we have been denied permission because this year the elections will be held.
Is it true that last year the festival was held in two different cities whereas this year it will be restricted to just Delhi?
Yes. Last year, we held the festival actually for six days by holding in Delhi as well as IMS in Ghaziabad for three days each but this year we will hold it in just one venue for three days. We also had to depute a team at each place and hence we decided to have only one venue this time so we can concentrate on the festival in just one place.
How tough was it to start a film festival?
In the first place, I decided to start a film festival in tandem with my husband Navin Agarwal, because when I entered my first film in a festival, I realised that a festival gives an opportunity to several people to enter their films and I too should start one to give an opportunity to deserving people to showcase their films every year.It was very tough to start the festival last year because we have to think of making it different as well as better than all the other film festivals in our country. As the Festival Director, my primary duty along with the other founder members like my husband Navin Agarwal, Vinaysheel and Anil Dubey was to work on transparency since I believe that transparency only matters in the long run when you run a film festival of this stature.
What have you learnt after holding a film festival for one year?
You tend to learn a lot every time you hold a film festival. We are getting a lot of entries especially since we have not limited the entries to any particular time period. We also accept films which are four to five years old. We will also hold retrospective of old films of classic masters of the film industry.
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