MIFF 2016: Open Forum V: Embedding documentaries in film studies

Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF)’s fifth and last Open Forum was held on 02 February. It was organised by the Indian Documentary Producers’ Association (IDPA) every day, for five days, in the step-garden of the Films Division (FD) Complex. For this adieu session, topic chosen was ‘Building awareness of documentary and non-feature films in the younger generation: Is the documentary genre getting sufficiently embedded in the education curriculum? Scientist turned film writer/director Barnali Ray Shukla (Miss Shoe Bra Negi, Thodi Life, Thoda Magic, Liquid Borders, Kucch Luv Jaisaa) moderated.

Four speakers and a moderator formed the panel: Dr. Anjali Monteiro (Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences-TISS, has a Masters degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Sociology, made over 40 documentaries, authored the book Fly in the Curry), Father Benny Benedict (Kerala-based; Director, Chetana College of Media and Performing Arts; organiser, VIBGYOR film festival), Jeroo Mulla (taught film appreciation and photography, and supervised student documentaries at the Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai, for 35 years; mentored some leading women documentary makers) and Rahul Jain (Guwahati-based; Secretary, Film & Cultural Society of the North-East, organised over 50 documentary film festivals; working since 2008, to promote documentaries among teenaged students).

“No,” began Monteiro, on a realistic note, “the documentary genre is not getting sufficiently embedded. We, at the Culture and Media Studies Department of TISS try to bridge the gap between theory and practice, by linking with issues. In 2012, our students made six films on Bombay Ki Kahani, Mumbai Ki Zubani, about the Bombay riots of 1993, covering dislocation, denial of justice and bystanders’ views. Three of them were aired by NDTV. Our endeavour is to make the classroom socially relevant and interactive.” Ray Shukla asked her if these exercises go beyond the classroom. “Yes”, insisted Monteiro. “Take the other issue we tackled: caste. You might think that caste would be non-issue in a metropolis like Mumbai. But the personal experiences of our six documentary makers were otherwise.” Ray Shukla reacted with, “A lot of evil exists covertly.”                                                                                      

Journalist turned documentary activist Jain described himself as a postman who carries good documentaries to high school and undergraduate students, not film students, most of who have never seen a documentary in their lives, and do not even know that such kinds of films exist. He holds shows in halls of 250-300 capacity. “Since there is no connectivity in the region, I sometimes request the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to provide a temporary high speed internet connection, and get the students to talk to the director of the film. It is not my ambition to influence the students to become film-makers, I just want to promote and propagate documentaries.”

Recalling the early days of MIFF, Mulla said she was delighted to see that it has not only survived but grown significantly. “My 35-year career has been a long and positive journey, with my students winning awards, and even managing film-screening platforms like Vikalp and FD Zone. But I do feel that documentaries and non-features need to be embedded much more in local schools and colleges.”                                                                                                                                              

Fr. Benedict told the gathering that VIBGYOR takes films to schools and colleges as Campus VIBGYOR and to villages as Village VIBGYOR. “We screen a lot of children’s films. Some of these are made by adults, others by youngsters. All organisational aspects of the festival are handled by young volunteers. I would be very happy to see an official student documentary film festival held every year in Kerala.”

Winding up, Ray Shukla commented, “There is darkness along the way, but, thankfully, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and never mind if it is a halogen lamp!”

Among the IDPA members who worked relentlessly to organize these Open Forums were Secretary Priti Chandriani, Lygia Mathews and Veena Bakshi, both Executive Committee members.

Priti Chandriani

                                                                           Veena Bakshi