“Fiction more effective than documentary sometimes in portraying reality”

A Panel of Directors in International category of IFFI 2015 interact with the media

Films speak about life and sometime become political statements. Raising the social issues through films is participatingin people’s life and flagging their concerns. This was observed by panel directors during media interaction at IFFI-46 today.


Thepanel included directors LekalSumi from Taiwan, Laurent Lariviere from France, Julia Vargas from Spain, David Constantin from Mauritius,Michael Klette from Germany and art director Ramses Benjumea Torres from Columbia.


The films by these directors, being screened at IFFI 2015, raise issues such as diversion of farmers’ land for commercial purpose, trafficking of dogs in Eastern Europe, dumping of toxic waste,survival issue of aboriginals and plight of sugarcane farmers in Mauritius. Responding to a query, they said that the very act of making films on such social issues was a form of activism. They also said that fiction is sometimes closer to reality, making it a superior form of story than documentary.


Backgrounders


Wawa No Cidal( Director,Sumi Cilangasan), a heartfelt drama illuminates many of the complex issues faced by Taiwan’s Aboriginal communities. The directorial duo of Cheng Yu-chieh and Lekal Sumi breaks new ground by moving forward and casting an eye on the indigenous tribes’ current predicaments. The story revolves around the struggle of an indigenous family resisting property developers encroaching on their ancestral land.


I am a Soldier(Director,Laurent Lariviere), is a social drama about a woman who is obligated to return to her parents’ home and agrees to work for her uncle in a doghouse as she is unemployed


Sealed Cargo (Director, Julia Vargas),high light issue of toxic waste and its trade and dumping


Solness (Director,Ramses Benjumea), is the story of a subtle campaign of vengeance that is waged by 22 years old Hide, who has believed in the promises made by Solness.


Embrace of the Serpent(Art Director,Ramses Benjumea),The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.


Sugarcane Shadow(Director,David Constantin),The close down of an old sugar mill in Mauritius, calls into question the lives of Marco and his friends, a group of former workmates in their mid-fifties.


Courtesy:pib.nic.in