3,000 film entries lead to remarkable film selection at Jagran Film Festival  

Diligently browsing through a maze of over 3,000 film entries the Preview Team of 7th Jagran Film Festival concluded its selection process yesterday. The selection includes the Best of Indian and International Cinema.

While some films are from renowned film festivals like Berlin, Rotterdam and Sundance, there are a lot of films hitherto unexplored by film festivals. On one hand the festival beginning in New Delhi this July will screen films like Lee Tamahori’s ‘Mahana’ (The Patriarch) from New Zealand, ‘The First, The Last by Bouli Lanners from France/Belgium, both from Berlinale and ‘Thank you for bombing’ by Barbara Eder, an Austrian film from Toronto, on the other it also screens unexplored films like ‘Discordia’(Romania) by Ion Indolean and ‘Chatô- The King of Brazil’ by GuilhermoFontesbased on the life of Brazilian Media Moghul, Assis Chateaubriand, the film is a revelation and won 13 film awards in Brazil.

Talking about ‘Discordia’, Festival’s Strategic Consultant, Manoj Srivastava says, “A unique film that actually impressed the Preview team because of its great cinematic treatment like use of blank spaces, camera work, minimal dialogues and deep exploration of subjects. A drama that is low on intensity but high on attraction sucks you in.”

Lee Tamahori known for his films ‘Die Another Day’(2002) and ‘State of the Union’ explores in ‘Mahana’, the lives of. two Maori families, the Mahanas and the Poatas, in New Zealand of 1960s who make a living shearing sheep on the east coast of New Zealand. The two clans, who are bitter enemies, face each other as rivals at the annual sheep shearing competitions. Simeon is a 14-year-old scion of the Mahana clan. A courageous schoolboy, he rebels against his authoritarian grandfather Tamihana and his traditional ways of thinking and begins to unravel the reasons for the long-standing feud between the two families. Before long, the hierarchies and established structures of the community are in disarray because Tamihana, who is as stubborn as he is proud, is not prepared to acquiesce and pursue new paths.

The Preview Team that worked relentlessly for over a month included renowned Film Critics Saibal Chatterjee, ManjulaShirodkar, Sharad Dutt, Former Chief Producer, Doordarshan, Vinod Kapoor, Former Deputy Director General and Columnist, Cinematographer Sanjay Dattani and K S Sahani, Former Joint Director, Directorate of Film Festivals.