"Art is not Olympics; one needs to make judgements to select the best," said ShekharKapur, Chairman of the International Jury of 46th International Film Festival of India. While addressing a Press Conference, Mr.Kapur underscored the creative conflicts involved in the adjudication of creative works. He said that there is a thin line between judgement and prejudice; taking an objective decision is a difficult task. While talking about the process of selection and adjudication of films in IFFI, Mr.Kapur also said that the quality of some of the films in the competition category was amazing. It has been a tough task for the jury members to choose one film from a set of high quality films, he added.While responding to a query on Children’s films, Mr.Kapur also said that it was time to think beyond ‘education through films;’ films that teach would not be appealing to children anymore. At the same time it is important for children to learn cinema and the processes associated with it.SuhaArraf, one of the jury members, said that she is very happy to see houseful theatres at IFFI and that it is heartening to note that good cinema is being appreciated well at the festival. She also shared her views on the process of evaluation of films; she said that it is important to understand the filmmaker’s point of view while judging a film. It is not easy to compare one film with another, as there are different genres and themes involved in the same category of competition.Michael Radford, another Jury member added that it is important to involve celebrities to enhance the popularity of the festival. JeonKyu-Hwan, Jury member from South Korea, also expressed satisfaction over the quality of films in the Competition segment this year at IFFI.
About the Jury Members
ShekharKapur (Jury Chairman) is a veteran filmmaker of international repute. He is known for films made both in India and in the West. In India, he has had box office hits like Masoom, Mr India and The Bandit Queen. His Elizabeth and its sequel Golden Age garnered several Oscar nominations. Kapur’s films tend to move across genres.Michael Radford was born in India, brought up in Middle East, and educated at Oxford University and the National Film and Television School. His film White Mischief won 5 Academy Award nominations, 2 BAFTA awards for Best Director and Best Foreign film and more than 20 other awards worldwide.
SuhArraf is a renowned filmmaker from Palestine. She began her films career as a documentary film-maker. Her docu-film Women of Hamas (2010) received 13 awards at international film festivals. Her first feature film Villa Touma (2014) was screened at top festivals like Venice, Toronto, and London.Julia Jentsch is an acclaimed German actress who has been nominated for Oscar Awards for her role inSophie’s Scholl – The Final days in 2005. She has also won awards like Beast European Actress, Best Actress at DeutscherFilmpreis and the Silver Bear at Berlin International Film Festival.