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Journalism of Courage
Want to break barriers? Make films. That’s what panelists at a seminar titled ‘Will The Crouching Tiger Finally Leap?’ said.
Film-makers, critics and movie buffs debated the question at the meet, organised by The Indian Express-presented Third Eye Asian Film Festival at the Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi, on Sunday.
Italo Spinelli, the director of Film Festival on Asian Films, Rome, gave some credit to Prince Charles, the future king of England, too. ‘‘In November 2003, Prince Charles gave the clapboard to Ketan Mehta’s The Rising. That shows an increasing cultural exchange,’’ he said.
‘‘And there’s definitely a demand for Asian films in Europe. People just love the dances, the music.’’
The only thing Spinelli doesn’t like about Indian films is that ‘‘the actors are talking all the time’’.
Kim Dong-Ho, director of the Pusan International Film Festival, South Korea, believes Asian films have a bright future.
Also considered ‘the moneybags’ in festival circles, he runs the Pusan Promotion Plan, a funding body for co-productions.
To make the Crouching Tiger leap, Dong-Ho, also a former deputy minister of culture in South Korea, proposed some steps: ‘‘Close your ranks, collaborate and cooperate,’’ he advised.
However, there were a few dissenting voices at the meet too. Sapna Samant, who organises the Asia Film Festival in New Zealand, complained about the apathy of Indian distributors and embassy authorities in promoting Indian films abroad.
Panelists also asked for removal of censorship. ‘‘Censorship is undemocratic,’’ declared Spinelli.
