Oh, humans.
This throwaway line from Iranian filmmaker Mehdi Rahmani's excellent Snow (Barf) best describes the overall feeling after day 1 of the 16th Mumbai Film Festival (MFF). As is now common knowledge, the MFF lost its title sponsor and was on the verge of being cancelled before film lovers and industry folk, led indefatigably by film critic Anupama Chopra, rallied together and resurrected the festival in a mere six weeks. It was an incredible feat and, make no mistake, we're all very grateful that the festival is even happening.
However, that doesn't mean the MFF can be forgiven its lapses - and there have been quite a few, so far.
The day began with some confusion, with the organisers apparently only just having realised 2-3 days ago that the state of Maharashtra would be going to vote on October 15. The result was that one of the venues - Cinemax Versova - would be shut till 2 pm, since it was part of a mall that was required by law to stay shuttered during elections. This meant that a number of screenings and events at the multiplex would have to be pushed forward.
After the disastrous opening film the night before - Susanne Bier's Serena, an annoyingly self-indulgent snoozefest that saw mass walkouts - I was looking forward to watching some actual 'film festival' cinema. My first booking - Snow (Barf) - did not disappoint. A warm and well-paced dramedy about a family trying to get their only daughter married off, it featured a universally excellent cast, stellar writing (including the line mentioned before, which drew applause from the audience), and very able direction. It was the best film I watched yesterday.
Next up was Lessons In Dissent, a documentary about the debate over National Education in Hong Kong directed by Matthew Tome. Featuring the stories of real-life young student activists Joshua Wong and Ma Jai, the film presents itself in 7 chapters or 'lessons' that illustrate how exemplary this ongoing social movement has been as Hong Kong continues to fight for democracy.
I was riveted by this documentary till the last 15 minutes, when I felt a slight nudge on my shoulder. I whirled to my left, annoyed at being disturbed, only to find out that it was a tiny little mouse running past me on the parapet which had come in contact with my shoulder. I jumped up in alarm and the mouse ran away. The remainder of the film was watched by everyone sitting in that row with their feet up, waiting for the film to end so that they could run out of the theatre. I tweeted about it (https://twitter.com/SupraMario/status/522298209146642432) and heard later from a friend that a higher-up at PVR was dealing with the problem.
A quick dash home for lunch (I am fortunate to live within 5 minutes walking distance of two of the venues this year) and I arrived in time for the Master Class conducted by Anupama Chopra in conversation with legendary French actress, Catherine Deneuve, who is MFF's guest of honour and was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award on Wednesday, and Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, whose film Happy New Year releases in less than a week (ahem, not that I'm trying to imply anything). This event can safely be described as an exercise in self-parody, and you can read about my thoughts in detail here
I needed a blast of pure cinematic oxygen after that, so I headed to Chandan cinema to watch celebrated Dutch filmmaker Rolf de Heer's Charlie's Country. The film, an Australian production, features a bravura performance from aboriginal actor/dancer David Gulpilil as Charlie, a native who feels out of place in modern-day Australia and craves to live the way of his ancestors. Selected as Australia's entry to the Oscars next year, Charlie's Country is a familiar story of identity which is often moving largely thanks to Gulpilil's stunning screen presence, never mind its predictability and self-indulgence.
By now, through conversations with friends and acquaintances, I had come to know of a few other problems with the festival during the day. For instance, the German film Stations Of The Cross played at Chandan without subtitles and had to be cut short because - reportedly - the projectionists there couldn't figure out how to put the subtitles on. Meanwhile, angry festival-goers who were already irritated at having to wait for Cinemax Versova to re-open in the afternoon as they waited to collect their passes must've been annoyed further by the rush to get into Richard Linklater's Boyhood, which reportedly sparked off some anger despite the seat reservation system.
In conclusion, day 1 had its high points, but it laid bare the seams of the hurriedly-stitched-together festival. Here's looking forward to a better day 2.
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