A first,FTII to conduct course in film curation

“The course will aim to re-frame,re-contextualise and clear the space for new interpretations of films. The idea to conduct the course came afte a lot of our ex-students,who had been to festivals around the world,came to us asking about film curation and the science behind it. Hence,we asked professionals to conduct the course,” he said. It is learnt that there are plans to make this course a permanent fixture in the FTII curriculum.

During the course,Italian film curator Italo Spinelli,Aashish Rajadhyaksha,authority on silent Indian films and curator and filmmaker Meenakshi Shedde will be speaking on the various aspects of film curation. As many as 20 participants including senior students and faculty members will be attending the course.

The course will cover topics such as the job of a film curator,the idea behind it,and its practices. In addition,it will have debates on cultural context in film curation,film history and theory relevant to the curator,research,writing and building networks,the understanding of film laws and bylaws,rights related issues and the many challenges that are there in front of curators.

“Spinelli will also be showcasing some of his films. The challenge for curators arise when they have to develop a comprehensive package of films for a festival,” he said.

Interestingly,there is a lot of work that is happening in India in this field. Bina Paul,one of the coordinators of the Kerela Film festival,is assisting the Dr Ambedkar University in Delhi to develop a full time course on Film Curation.

“Universities abroad now offer full time courses under film studies. Also,more and more cities in India are hosting film festivals that require curators to compile the packages for them. It is about time that we also start thinking on similar lines here at FTII,” said Bhattacharya.