Festival Note IFFB 2018

Indian Cinema, as a term, is misleading in the singular, it is to mistake it for a search of a singular, rather than exploring the multitudes that exist in the diversity of the 1.3 billion people. The question is of increased importance today, with increased vehemence since 2014, the imposition of a 'singular' national culture, ema- nating from a very constricted reading of nation and its culture. Every year we have remarkable films made in various Indian languages. They are generally called regional cinema but we think that together they actually give Indian cinema its own distinct identity.

Film festival curatorial exercise is an effort to give expression to a dynamic imagination of 'nation- al' cinema. The 'national' is a contested terrain. Developments in Cinema are significant sites of this contestation. To savour the taste of Indian Cinema, it has to be found in also considering and engaging with films from the often overlooked ar- eas like the North East, the many languages of that region and their histories, conflicts and storytelling traditions.

We at FSB (Film Society of Bhubaneswar), en- deavour to share with our audiences, the multi- tudinous nature of stories from across the coun- try, its varied tapestry of traditions and bring to the audience's fold the warp and weft of the magic of the cinematic form. The festival aims to interrogate the contours of Indian Cinema and what such a framing enables in the present. The task in front of us, then, is not to search for a quick answer to the question "what is Indian Cinema?" but to make sure the question is never foreclosed.

The festival aims at screening films released in India over the last couple of years, material which is generally not circulated in the organised distribution networks. We have a selection of around thirty outstanding works of cinema from the North East: Bodo, Manipuri, Arunachali (Wancho) and Assamese languages, from South: Malayalam, Kan- nada and Tamil, from West: Marathi, North: Hindi and Punjabi, East: Bengali and Oriya, a fairly repre- sentative mix of the Indian Cinematic imagination. Together the films present an intimate and insight- ful portrayal of India in its diversity of regions and cultures, its people and their lives, hopes and aspirations, struggles and possibilities.

The films featuring in the festival are recipients of critical acclaim and honour at both national and international level for their artistic merit and socio-cultural relevance. They engage with and depict in meaningful, thought provoking manner significant contemporary concerns such as social reality, questions of caste and gender inequality. ecology and environment, political and economic change.

There will be a retrospective of noted Malayalam film maker G Aravindan. The retrospective is made possible by the support of Kerala Chalachi- tra Academy (State Government of Kerala) and National Film Archives (Government of India) for sourcing of films. The festival hopes to encourage young filmmakers to make work from the eastern part of the country by providing mentoring opportunities with master film makers.