From the dynamics of a grassroots protest to the complexities of human relationships, to a portrayal of the struggles of the marginalised, the 11th Puducherry International Documentary Short Film Festival, which begins on Friday, August 4, 2023, will highlight a variety of thought-provoking issues.The Alliance Francaise's three-day film festival will showcase 32 films in 11 languages from nine nations, including an assortment of award-winning documentaries.
The Puducherry Film Forum, the Films Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the National Film Development Corporation of India, the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers/Artists' Association, and the Alliance Francaise Pondichery are among the partners for the free event. The festival opens on August 4 at 5 p.m. with the screening of 'My Imaginary Country,' a film by Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzman that focuses on a new type of grassroots protest in which every volunteer is a citizen journalist and a hundred mobile phone cameras document army and police atrocities. Following that, two more documentaries will be screened. Tourism Minister K. Lakshminarayanan, D. Ramakrishnan, filmmaker M. Sivakumar, editor B. Lenin, and actor Rohini are among the luminaries slated to attend the event, according to festival organisers K. R. Ravichandran and S. Ramachandran.
Laurent Jalicous, Director of the Alliance Francaise, who introduced a festival booklet, emphasised the relevance of documentaries in this age of disinformation. He said that French documentary director Agnes Varda expressed it best: "Documents are essays, attempts to understand the world, to understand others, and to understand yourself." "In a world where misinformation can spread like wildfire, documentary cinema stands as a beacon of truth," said Mr. Jalicous.
There will be back-to-back screenings on Saturday and Sunday, according to the organisers. Following the screening, some filmmakers will discuss their experiences with participants. Around 120 delegates, including mass communication students from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, are in attendance. A notable presence of Tamil entries (11 films in the local language), a showing of 'The Transformation,' a short film on Sri Aurobindo as a sesquicentennial tribute to the nationalist-philosopher, and three films created by community college students are among the festival's highlights.
There are additional entries from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sri Lanka in the international area. Three cartoon films are also included in the festival lineup. The event will be held till August 6, 2023.
