Woody Allen when he was in high school went eagerly to check out the Swedish film “Summer With Monika” for the sole reason that it had one explicit scene which was unheard of in American cinema till then. Instead he came out of the cinema hall, in total awe of the director Ingmar Bergman, whose art would turn into a lifelong admiration and an eternal source of inspiration for Allen. Satyajit Ray in the early 50s happened to watch the Italian neorealism classic “The Bicycle Thieves” which convinced him to become a filmmaker. His choice of stories and the treatment would be profoundly affected by the influence of having been exposed to world cinema. And Ray went on to make many classics himself, and to this day continues to inspire awe among generations of filmmakers. Okay, why am I telling all this? I am saying this because films are a great piece of art, and nurturing and encouraging that culture is so important. Films are not only a great documentation of the times we live in, but also the time machines which help us give some great glimpses of human journey. It is because of this that festivals like BIFFES are so important, according to me. I can’t explain it in words the sheer joy of standing in long queues at BIFFES alongside extremely old couples, pregnant women, college kids - all waiting to witness the magic of cinema. So when I was thinking about this culture of cinema watching, I thought why not sponsor two underprivileged students for BIFFES and do my tiny bit. One student pass costs Rs.300. I bounced off this idea to Harish Mallya who gladly accepted that he would also sponsor two students. There is a reason I did not message any of my film loving friends specifically, because I did not want them to feel “obliged” to be part of it. So I am posting this in public so that anyone who is interested in sponsoring some students to the festival can voluntarily join us. You can spread the word if anyone loves to fund, and also if there are worthy students who can benefit this. The students should be over 18 years of age. They need to get two passport sized photos. The students will be sponsored on a first come, first serve basis.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 07:45:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015