Mumbai Films Division cancels screening of films by FTII students

As part of the 160th edition of ‘the fd zone’, the Films Division was scheduled to screen six diploma films made in the last five years, along with three other short films which dealt with the ongoing agitation at the institute and how it has affected the students. It included a five-minute documentary on the agitation named ‘Strike: Day 70’, another 12-minute film named ‘Feel in the Blanks’ made by Himanshu Prajapati and a six-minute film ‘Level 0’.

FTII students said they were informed about the cancellation of the screening by one of the ‘the fd zone’ curators.

[related-post]

“The curator told us that the planned screening could not take place because the films division bosses have conveyed that the forum cannot be used by the FTII students at this moment. We were told that the curators are now looking for an alternative venue outside FD to conduct the planned screenings on Friday,” said Ajayan Adat, an FTII student.

Yashaswi Mishra, another student, rued that by taking such a stance the FD officials were making two important institutions ‘irrelevant’. “This is very much what we were scared of. FTII is a place where experimental cinema is made and films division is a place where such films are screened. By taking such a stance, they are making two places irreverent. The worst part is that they are not giving any reasons. They did not give us any reasons for frivolous appointments on FTII society. They are not giving us any reason for cancellations,” said Mishra.

Repeated attempts to reach FD officials for a comment were unsuccessful.