MOHALI, India — The two-day Chandigarh University International Film Festival 2024 (CUIFF’24) concluded on Friday with a healthy panel discussion on changing face of Indian film industry and plethora of opportunities available to the youth in the entertainment industry.
The CUIFF’24, hosted by Chandigarh University’s Department of Animation in collaboration with Vancouver Film School, witnessed screening of over 350 films, including 12 international entries at the Chandigarh University campus in Gharuan. These films included 100 short films, 25 experimental films, 50 documentaries, 50 2D and 3D Animation Films, 25 VFX (Visual effects) Films and 80 Showreels.
The highlight of the concluding day of the festival, being held since 2015, will include notable appearances including Rohit Tiwari, a multifaceted actor, writer, and director, Ashish Kulkarni, the Chairman of FICCI for the AVGC Forum and Sanjay Khimesara, the President of Asifa India.
Participating in Panel Discussion on “The Globalization of Indian Cinema: Challenges and Opportunities in Live Action, Animation, and Industry Growth: Discussing the global prospects of Indian cinema with a focus on live-action, animation, and the role of industry organizations like FICCI and ASIFA”, Tiwari said India is becoming the global hub for all kind of content but work is needed on the quality of the content.
“The number of content being created in India is huge and we are leading the world in it, but we need to work on the quality of content being created in India. OTT (over-the-top platforms) has made huge impact on Indian cinema and new type of content is being created in the country now. Earlier only big stories were told on the big screen but OTT is felicitating content creation of simple and ordinary topics also. At the same time lots of experiments are being done in the field to cater to the people of different regions of the country or serve the untold stories of different regions to the audience,” he said.
On lack of movies with social messages in the current cinema, Tiwari, who has acted in notable films including Dhobi Ghat, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster, Mission Mangal, Mirzapur, and Dream Girl, said it’s a case of demand and supply. Movies like 12th Fail or Laapataa Ladies will inspire more movies with strong social message.
“But commercial movie making is a business and audience for such content is shrinking in Hindi film industry. But Bengali, Malayalam and Marathi cinema is coming up with such films with social messages,” he added.
On brain drain the film and animation industry, Tiwari said, “We have a huge population and pool of talent in the county. The people who are going abroad are technicians because they have been doing animation for many decades now. But Indian technicians now know they can also be creators. So if you are creator, you need to go anywhere and make a career here in India. Yes, people are going abroad for good salaries but still we have good people staying back in India because they can be creators here than just be technicians abroad,”.
On the threat from the Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ashish Kulkarni, the Chairman of FICCI for the AVGC Forum, said, “AI is highly hyped. Our business is about emotional intelligence not artificial intelligence. You need to relate to characters. The characters need to have strong emotional connect with the audience. Animation is the most interesting from of storytelling. But we need to have patience to tell the story and keep people engrossed,” he said.
On the boom in the Indian animation industry, the President of Asifa India, Sanjay Khimesara said, “India is a top five economy while we are witnessing recession in many countries even in Europe. So India is offering the best opportunity to the world. Even companies like Walt Disney has opened office in India. So to say that Indian talent going abroad is a myth because best opportunities are being offered in India. But yes the world over Indians are being hired by top companies. Indian animation industry is growing at the rate of 15 to 18 per cent per annum. It’s a sunrise sector with huge scope for talented youth in India. Indian industry is definitely on a roll. We are working to get 10 per cent of global market by 2030 and it’s already happening,” .
During the festival, awards were given to participating movie makers in various categories. The first prize for the Best Experimental Animation Short Film was given to Tansheet Bhat for the movie “Raakshas (The Demon)” and second prize in the category was given to Smrithi Ramesh for the movie , Vehem.
In the Best Short Film category, the first prize was given to Tushar Das for “Messi” and second prize to Samanway Biswas Anuparna Roy And co-producer Bibhanshu Rai.
The first prize in the Best Documentary category was given to Riah Taipodia for “Khiew Ranei” (Black Clay) and the second prize to Sabir Ali for “Ghagghar : Tera Panni Amrit”.
For Best Showreel, the first prize was given to Abhayudaya Vishwakarma of Chandigarh University and second prize to Yashpal Patial of Chandigarh University for “Composing Showreel”.
In the Best Visual Effect Short Film category, the first prize was given to Akshit Arora for “Looking through the Window” and the second prize to Bharatdeep Singh for “Inside the Mirror”.
For Best VFX Short Film, the first prize was given to Tanvi Prabhakar for “Bhein Patata” and second prize to Hope Studio of Chandigarh University for “First Gate of Hell”. The festival concluded with a power-packed Bhangra performance by Chandigarh University students.
