The Bitter Truth About Cannes That No One Is Telling You!
Don't get fooled by the pictures on your newsfeeds,beneath all the red carpet and blingy beauty, there is an ugly downside to Cannes Film Festival that no one wants to talk about.
Every year the who's who of Cinema flock towards France to attend the renowned 'Festival De Cannes' and every little detail of their seconds is updated throughout the social media and conventional media. While there are plenty of films which compete with each other to win the coveted award of Palme d'Or and other categories, there is something that is being kept hidden from the readers in India. Or at least not being talked about.
What happens at Cannes, Stays at Cannes!
Every year this film festival opens with a huge uproar and brings new as well as seasoned filmmakers together to compete for recognition of their films as well as garner distributors. However, as a film festival, Cannes has a number of sections which select films according to their content and invite them for showcasing.
But here's the catch!
We all keep going Gaga over the presence of our beloved Bollywood celebs at Cannes, but have you ever wondered what are they even doing there?
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has been a regular at Cannes since her famous 'Devdas Appearance', owes her presence at Cannes because she is the face of the International Cosmetics giant, L'oreal which is very well known in the circles. So are Sonam Kapoor, and Freida Pinto, and Katrina Kaif. Festival De Cannes is rumoured to receive an extensive chunk of corporate sponsorship from L'oreal, and hence their presence on the red carpet is as the ambassadors of a beauty giant, and not Indian Films.
So, where are the Indian Films at Cannes? What are we even doing?
In a country which boasts of the biggest film industry in the entire world, it is disheartening to see that even a single nomination from India doesn't make it to the nominations or invited screenings, let alone win an award. We all know what a sham award functions in India have become when the stories of how films are selected and how awards are given away come up , thanks to social media. And in the competitive sections of Cannes, Indian films have fared very poorly.
Don't believe us? Wait and watch as we reveal one of the murkiest secrets being hidden under the garb of multi-thousand dollar dresses and glammed up faces.
Every year different films compete with each other for the prestigious 'Palme d'Or' (Golden Palm) Award which is given to the best film in the competitive category. And let us break it to you easily, the last Indian film that won a Palme d'Or was in 1946, a film by Chetan Anand , 'Neecha Nagar' (Lowly City). And that was 70 years ago when this award had a different name , Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. Since then, any Indian film has failed to bag the award.
Alright, what about these Indian films that keep getting screened there? Who screens them and why?
So here's where the pandora box opens and we let you in the world of relentless PR and photos of red carpet which hide the ugly (and troubling) truth.
Cannes is an Invite-Only event. And Indian Government has its own 'India Pavillion' at Cannes where they can invite whomsoever they want, or feel like.
FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), in association with Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, organises India Pavilion at Cannes where they organize talks and hold events for, you know, Indian Films. Because it's India Pavillion, a safe bubble of Indian Government set up in an International Film Festival Giant for the people who can feel like they have been invited to Cannes and can flaunt the fact that they got a stamp on their passports.
Not even the highest award but Indian films have in general failed to leave their mark at the Festival, apart from few exceptions.
The official selection committee invites films from around the world which compete for Palme d'Or, Un Certain Regard (A certain Regard), Out of Competition Films, Special Screenings, Cinefondation and short films section. The Parallel Section invites entries for Cannes Classics which shows Restored prints, Tour Les Cinemas du Monde in which one country's entry is shown every day. The prestigious Camera d'Or Award selects the works of Debutants amongst all these, Director's Fortnight and International Critics' Week, where one is picked from these all.
Interestingly, Indian directors have received only TWO Camera d'Ors that too in the 90s. Where Mira Nair won one for 'Salaam Bombay!' in 1988, whereas Murali Nair won it for 'Throne of Death' in 1999. Honorary mentions category only has Shaji N. Karuna's entry in 1989, The Birth, and Deepa Mehta's film 'Sam and Me' in 1991.
Remember Masaan? Yes, even though it received appreciation at Cannes in Un Certain Regards Section, it did not win the specific award for it.
Director's Fortnight, where you read up about the screening of these films from India, is produced by outside organisations and NOT the Cannes festival itself. Being there at Cannes doesn't mean that you have been invited by the organisers to participate, you can register your presence otherwise through other invitations as well. As per reports, this event doesn't even happen at the main Cannes festival venue, but in a separate place.
People From India at Cannes: Underrepresentation or just lack of competitive films?
In the Jury section of Feature films, there have been 4 people up til now. Arundhati Roy in 2000, Nandita Das in 2005, Sharmila Tagore in 2009 and Vidya Balan in 2013. The Jury presidents have included people from United States, Italy, France, Canada, Hong Kong, Serbia and Montenegro, Australia, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, but no one from India yet.
So it's not about the films at all, perhaps. It's more about Photo ops and portraying a fleeting interest in people who have nothing to do with the films but hey, it's all show biz baby.
Updated: May 26, 2017 11:42 AM IST
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