IDPA Open Forum MIFF2022 Diary

IDPA Open Forum 1.00 pm. Day 1, 30th May 2022 MIFF 2022 held its first Open Forum organized and curated by IDPA at the Open Space seating located opposite JB hall at 1.00 pm. Panelists included filmmakers as well as OTT platform creators and distributors; Samir Modi CEO Pocket Films, Award-winning filmmaker Piyush Pande of ‘Mike’ and ‘Man who planted a Jungle’ fame, Sushil Kumar Agarwal, CEO, Ultra Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd and Bharat Shitole award-winning filmmaker who is currently in the process of making ‘Adipurush’ based on the Ramayana. The discussion moderated by Ms. Swati Indulkar revolved around the business of creating, distributing and monetizing documentary films and further explored how OTT has affected the growth of this industry in a positive way. All panelists were of the opinion that documentaries have played an important role in bringing to life, real-life facts and events to the lay audience. At first Doordarshan and Films Division were the two main centers aiding and abetting documentary creation but now there are several platforms including OTT and YouTube that showcase documentaries and short films. Piyush Pande was of the opinion that “OTT has played an important role in furthering the interests of documentary filmmakers. In fact because of OTT platforms filmmakers from India, who hitherto have had to depend on Doordarshan or Films Division, have since been able to showcase their films, both shorts and documentaries, to the world audience.” Sushil Kumar Agarwal spoke about Ultra’s experience in the field of distributing and exhibiting short films and documentaries. According to him, “India has a history of documentary filmmaking going back as far as 1888 and it’s important to keep this medium of filmmaking going. It has therefore become pivotal for platforms like Ultra to go beyond distribution and therefore, currently, we are looking forward to setting up an exhibition platform for the masses - specially for documentary and short films.” Samir Modi of Pocket Films spoke about how his organization was exclusively working towards promotion and exhibition of short films and documentaries. He was of the opinion that the process of exhibiting documentary films has evolved over the years and it has become much easier for filmmakers to exhibit their films because of OTT platforms and YouTube. “ The audience approach to content has improved drastically because there is far more interest in niche content which would otherwise be neglected by the mainstream.” Bharat Shitole spoke about how Doordarshan which used to be the only avenue for showcasing documentaries is now being overshadowed by the OTT platforms. “Today even Amazon, Netflix, Discovery Plus, NatGeo etc. have a reach that far surpasses what Doordarshan could bring to the table. And they pay handsomely for content.” Moderator Swati Indulkar opened out the discussion by putting forward the question as to how filmmakers could approach OTT platforms to buy/exhibit their films? Samir Modi of Pocket Films said, “ We are open to everyone but production quality, communication, visualization are the basis for any selection. Also, we are in the business of making profit so the bottom line is also important. Does the film have the potential to attract a wider audience and therefore generate revenue..? Is a question we ask before deciding on whether the film is suitable for our platform.” Sushil Kumar Agarwal spoke about alternative resources for making documentary films for government organizations – mainly content that has historic value and could be valuable enough to be stored at the National archives. IDPA, PSBT are also organizations that encourage documentary filmmaking. As far as distribution is concerned he was of the opinion, “ Most platforms operate on a revenue sharing basis. It’s very rare that a platform would fund a film completely or purchase a film outright. Making money on a documentary film is a laborious process and filmmakers need to have passion and patience to await returns.” The moderator asked the CEO’s of Ultra and Pocket films about their process for selection and the time taken to okay each project or film. Samir Modi replied, “ We take around 7-10 days to review the project and send a response. We are also into revenue sharing so the filmmaker should not be expecting immediate returns.” Sushil Kumar Agarwal of Ultra said, “ If the film/ concept is good, the selection could be immediate. If it’s not that attractive then it could take longer because then marketing and strategy come into play.” All panelists were of the opinion that content is king even for documentary filmmakers. If the content is good and if the filmmakers are passionate about their creation, chances are that they will get an audience and returns concurrently. Piyush Pande was of the opinion that, “ Filmmakers should not make short films or documentaries to make a profit. Passion alone should drive their creation.” A question from the audience threw light on OTT versus Youtube benefits. The audience member, a filmmaker, had to take down his film from Hotstar and then upload it to Youtube to get revenue. The Panelists cautioned filmmakers regarding the process involved in promoting films. They unequivocally opined that , On OTT platforms, the platform itself takes on the responsibility whereas on Youtube you will have to do the hard work yourself. One of the panelists also suggested that IDPA and Films Division should set up their own OTT platform considering they have so much content in their archives.

johnsont307@gmail.com -------------------------------- IDPA Open Forum Day 2: 1.00 pm at the Open Space opposite JB Hall – A Report by Johnson Thomas Topic: 75 years of Documentary films: Journey and Growth Panelists: Premendra Majumdar Filmmaker and Film Society Activist Sanjit Narvekar Filmmaker and Academician, recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award MIFF 2022 Pankaj Jaiswal, CSR Advisor The Session was moderated by Santosh Pathare from Prabhat. Sanjit Narvekar opened the discussion by saying, “ The greatest filmmakers have worked with Films Division so there should be no Us Versus them (FD filmmakers Versus Independent Filmmakers) division. Filmmakers who initially started off with Films Division have even worked for free. It was their passion and they saw nothing wrong in gaining experience and reach through FD.” As per Narvekar, The division arose because of anti-establishment sentiment fanned further by western film theorists and academicians who spend a few weeks or months in India and speak to a few filmmakers without understanding the real context. He goes on to say that we must not only promote Indian documentaries but also South Asian documentaries including films from Bangladesh and Pakistan. “ There are only good films and bad films, and it must be said that FD has sustained documentary filmmaking all through the rough patch before the advent of OTT” he said. According to Premendra Majumdar, Film Society Activist and Filmmaker, “ Earlier, before mainstream feature films were shown in theatres there used to be compulsory viewing of documentaries. Now that is not so. Advertisements have taken over that slot. Our film society put forward a proposal to Kolkata Film festival, as early as 2001 to exhibit Documentary films parallel to the main festival. Despite initial opposition, the proposal was accepted and the festival screenings were a huge success. Nowadays, documentary films are shown shoulder-to-shoulder with feature films at the Kolkata Film festival at Nandan complex. But it’s not only the north-east that has taken on the onus of promoting and creating a receptive hub for documentaries. Today Kerala is at the forefront of all filmmaking. There are several film festivals being held in Kerala all year round and filmmakers have several avenues to showcase their films there. Film Societies in the North-East have been tying up with FD and the National Film Archives to showcase documentaries all over the north east. While the festivals attract attention and audience, we find that people are yet not willing to pay money and visit a theatre to see a documentary. Monetising a documentary film is hard work and not for everyone.” Pankaj jaiswal, CSR advisor, spoke about how the Govt. has made CSR funding mandatory. “ 2% of the profits from the last three financial years must account for corporate social responsibility activity. According to the Govt.’s advisory, Schedule 7, there are 12 activities clearly defined- which include hunger, women’s empowerment, health and awareness activities, gender equality, education etc. Corporates are allowed to set up their own CSR wing to conduct these activities or approach partner NGO’s/NPO’s for that purpose. Filmmakers can therefore approach corporations directly or reach out to NGO’s/NPO’s with concepts and ideas related to these specific topics and garner funding for their films.” As far as quality of the content is concerned all were of the opinion that the quality of documentaries have improved tremendously because of technology and the opening up of New media and OTT platforms. They also agreed that getting an audience is still the unsolved part of the problem even though the reach has improved tremendously with the advent of the OTT platforms. They were of the opinion that film societies, and organisations like Film Federation and IDPA should join hands to strengthen the documentary viewing network. Premendra Majumdar was of the opinion that Govt. should participate in promoting documentaries by reserving complexes like Nandan to showcase documentaries at lower ticket rates so that viewers could be lured to the theatres for an interesting educational experience. The panelists also agreed on the fact that the media should also play a major role in promoting documentaries by having regular focus pieces on documentary filmmakers and their work. They also suggested the setting up of an exclusive 24x7 channel for documentaries and short films on the lines of PBS. Eventually this channel could also finance the production of documentaries. All agreed that India with its rich and varied history, diversity and culture, has many real stories to tell and these can easily be tapped by documentary filmmakers. With rich and interesting content, audiences could be lured to the exhibition centers eventually – given that true stories are already making their mark at the Box-Office in the mainstream feature film front. Johnsont307@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------- IDPA Open Forum Day 3: MIFF 2022 A Report by Johnson Thomas The discussion revolved around Co-productions. Panelists included Abby Fhejo, animator from Portugal who was involved in two co-productions, Vikramjit Roy, Head · Film Facilitation Office of the Ministry of I&B, at NFDC, Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Film Marketing & Distribution Producer-Director, Programming, Impact Films, Anuradha Singh, Editor turned producer of Documentaries who has worked abroad the last few years on two co-productions and is currently producing her own documentary film. The session was moderated by internationally renowned affordable housing expert turned filmmaker, Scott B Knox. Abby Fhejo spoke about his co-production experience as a filmmaker from Portugal attempting film tie-ups with Canada and other European countries. He pointed out that when he put forward his proposal to the Canadian Film commission, he had to sign several pages of legal document as whereas when he signed a co-production agreement with the UK’s Film Commission it was just 1and a half pages of legalese. “What I’d like to point out is that each country has its own requirements and as filmmakers we would have to abide by their strictures. In some countries the process is quick and easy while in others it’s laborious.” Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Impact Films, gave the example of ‘All That Breathes’ Shaunak Sen’s multiple award winning (Oscars & Cannes) documentary that has garnered raves across the world but is yet not well-known or seen widely in India. He said, “ Documentary filmmakers struggle to get screen time in India. At Impact films our policy is to choose documentaries that have a world connect in order to get them screened in India. Finance is an important factor in making a documentary and that’s the reason why co-productions are an attractive proposition. Film Commissions of several countries support co-production efforts. Even for animation films, since the cost is very prohibitive, co-productions make sense. Documentaries with focus on environment, ecology, nature, geographical developments have much more of a chance of getting a lift-up on the co-production firmament.” Ashwini goes on to say that Indian documentaries that have done well abroad have a better chance of getting screen time in India. He also pointed out that OTT platforms like Hotstar were screening documentaries and that increases audience reach with regard to documentaries. As far as Panelist Anuradha Singh is concerned, “ Co-productions are the way forward for documentary filmmakers. The reach becomes wider, the project is more viable and the market outside becomes more easily accessible.” Vikramjit Roy spoke about how in the post Covid scenario the appetite for diversified content has increased tremendously. “ There has been a growth of 16 – 17 % for content, globally. That has had a positive impact on the co-production front. The growing appetite for production has in turn incentivized content creation. India has in fact signed co-production treaties with 15 countries for audio-visual content which includes feature films, documentaries, shorts, animation films etc. In India both the Centre and individual State Governments have very attractive schemes for diversified content. Filmmakers need to educate themselves about these schemes and apply for them as per the norms mentioned.” Vikramjit Roy exhorted aspiring documentary filmmakers to work the markets. They have to do enough groundwork to achieve their objective. It’s not easy but it’s not tough either. The Panelists shared experiences of film festival meetings where they started conversations with individuals and chalked out potential co-productions. They were all agreed on taking at least 4-5 meetings before any co-production tie-up took shape. According to Abby Fhejo, it’s not necessary to have co-production treaties with countries in order to have a co-production. Its also possible to do it the other way around. Both his films were done without co-production treaties in place. Sanskar Desai of IDPA suggested that Documentaries should also have a Film Market either at MIFF or IFFI and the panelists all agreed that it was a wonderful suggestion and IDPA could initiate discussions with the Government on that front. Johnsont307@gmail.com ----------------------------------- IDPA Open Forum Day 4 MIFF 2022 Topic: Contribution of Doordarshan towards Society Panelists: Seema Kapoor Actor, Producer Nimish Kapoor – Vigyan Prasar Neeraj Agarwal – ADG Doordarshan Pradeep Mehrotra- CGM NABARD Sunil Puranik – Popular actor Kannada film industry Moderator – Yogesh Kulkarni Actor. “Doordarshan’s role as an agent of change” – Panelists Discuss. Johnson Thomas

Right from its very inception Doordarshan has played an all-important role as an agent of education and social change. Initially, Doordarshan used to support middle and higher secondary school education and it’s experiments in teaching of science, mathematics and language were proved most successful. Doordarshan was also the primary and only source of documentaries across all subjects and topics. So the topic of the IDPA open Forum was a very fundamental one. The Discussion on Doordarshan’s important role in producing, exhibiting and promoting documentaries of all hues and time frames were done by Panelists; Seema Kapoor Actor/Producer, Nimish Kapoor from Vigyan Prasar, Neeraj Agarwal ,ADG Doordarshan, Pradeep Mehrotra, CGM NABARD, Sunil Puranik, Popular actor from the Kannada film industry and was Moderated by Yogesh Kulkarni Actor.Pradeep Mehrotra, NABARD spoke about how DD promoted NABARD’s Kisan credit card, Farmer Producers organisations, MCX programs, and also worked with NGO’s in a big way. Nimesh Kapoor of Vigyan Prasad(1989) spoke about the initiation of the International and National editions of the Science film festivals. He reminded the audience of how Prof Yashpal and Jayant Narlikar’s Turning Point was a watershed in science programming on TV. According to him, Doordarshan was instrumental in debunking rumors relating to blind faith and unscientific ritualistic practices. Doordarshan was one of the premier institutions in India which created a widespread awareness on the fundamental duty of promoting scientific temper in India. He declared, “ In 2019, ‘India Science’ an OTT channel exclusive for science programs, was commissioned. The DD Science channel which was to be started last year has been delayed due to COVID but will be inaugurated soon.” Sunil Puranik, Popular Kannada actor, spoke about the role of DD in promoting National Integration. “DD sourced programs from all over the country for its National Broadcast and thus generated viewer interest in regional content that was not from the metros. It was DD who taught us our many varied traditions.” Seema Kapoor, Producer/Director/Writer has provided content for DD in the entertainment sphere. According to her, “DD is the only group of channels to provide clean, unadulterated programming and never panders to commercial elements.” Neeraj Agarwal, ADG ,DD spoke about the 33 channels that DD has and how filmmakers can avail of the opportunity to provide niche content for specific channels. All agreed that DD was the fountainhead, the training ground for all kinds of creative talent that migrated to other channels and OTT platforms. Sanskar Desai, IDPA requested Neeraj Agarwal for an exclusive documentary channel and Neeraj Agarwal responded by saying “IDPA is free to suggest documentary content for DD Bharati. Starting a channel exclusively for this purpose is a laborious process and will take a lot of time and effort.” Johnsont307@gmail.com[a1] [a2] ---------------------------------------------------------- IDPA Open Forum Day 5 MIFF2022 Script and Visualisation are the main elements which will determine whether your film is Good or Bad. – Johnson Thomas At the last Open Forum on Day 5 of MIFF 2022 the discussion revolved around “whether short fiction films were more viable than long documentary films.” The Panelists constituting Dharam Gulati, member of selection panel of MIFF 2022, Senior DOP who has shot ads, short and feature films in several Indian languages, K.G Suresh, Vice Chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi University, Bhopal, Sanskar Desai, Gen Secretary IDPA, making documentary films since 35 years and the session was Moderated by Shantanu Ganguli, film festival organizer and curator who has been involved with Osian, IFFI and NETPAC.

Sanskar Desai opened the discussion by mentioning a brief history of IDPA which started in 1956 and revealed that it was started with the aim of giving a voice to the independent film movement. Films Division was the main player in the documentary films space and independent filmmakers, though making films separate from FD, had never come together to voice their concerns and needs as a unified force. He gave the example of the Nehru Speech when India gained Independence, ‘Tryst With Destiny’ which was documented by an Independent filmmaker and was later brought by FD. “ Independent films needed to be known and seen widely in order to magnify reach and IDPA was mainly there to support that independent movement.” The us versus them distinction began in the 1990’s when the independent film movement gathered steam. But as per Mr. Desai and the moderator Shantanu Ganguli, there is nothing called art or commercial cinema. There’s only good or bad cinema. Academician and Vice Chancellor K. G. Suresh defined his work in media studies as focused on teaching basic, guiding principles and ethics of media and not interpretation. He opined, “ A filmmaker must have his own take on the subject and his experiences must define his creativity.” As per Dharam Gulati, DOP, “ Fiction shorts have come up in a very impactful way in the last few years. But a commercial outlet for their monetization has still not evolved fully. New Media, OTT platforms are avenues that are yet being explored. The market is still developing.” According to him Documentary films have been made in India even before Independence yet these films have not found any major market. “ They serve a very niche need and don’t necessarily have to be commercially exploited. Documentary filmmakers though, must make sure they make films that grab attention rather than just exist.” K. G Suresh was the opinion that Documentaries are a piece of history documented for future reference. “Short films are for the masses. Let’s face it. Documentaries will never attract the kind of audience that short fiction or feature films attract. Docudrama could be a form that could bridge that gap in some form.” The panel was happy that more and more people are making short films of good quality using mobiles. They believed that young filmmakers must start by experimenting with short films on mobiles and handycams and then only attempt features. That is the best way forward for them. Those experimental attempts could be a strong grounding for progressing to feature films. The panelists also mentioned that writing a synopsis for a film is as important as making the film. The panelists were also of the opinion that the script and visualization are the two main elements that need to be worked on in order to make a good film. Johnsont307@gmail.com