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Godmother to open Panasia film fest

Ranvir Nayar in Paris

Veteran actress Shabana Azmi is the star attraction of the Panasia film festival that will be held in the coastal town of Deauville in north western France.

A retrospective, honouring Azmi’s contribution to reel and real life, will be the main attraction of the second edition of the film festival in this town that has, so far, been known for its American film festival – the second most important film festival after Cannes.

Alain Patel, the chief organiser of the festival, told rediff.com that Azmi was chosen for the retrospective due to her immense contributions not just to the Indian cinema, but also in recognition of her struggle for women’s rights, her struggle for the homeless and for human rights in India.

"She is one of the best actresses in India. But though she is a very well-known actress and activist in India, unfortunately, the French people are not very well acquainted with her. We hope that through this retrospective, we will be able to create some awareness about her."

The retrospective will feature four of Azmi's films, spanning almost her entire film career. The films that will be screened at Deauville include Shyam Benegal’s Ankur and Junoon, Mrinal Sen’s Genesis and Vinay Shukla’s Godmother.

In fact, Godmother will also be competing for the top prize at the film festival, where Indian films have already proved to be popular. Last year, at the first edition of the festival, Deepa Mehta’s Earth was overwhelmingly voted for the top prize. The film festival will open with the screening of Godmother, says Patel.

Godmother will be up against eight films in the competition category. In all, the festival, lasting three days, will feature 21 films from 10 countries. Among the other films to be screened at the festival is Pakistani producer Jamil Dehlavi’s Jinnah. Patel says historical films have been an important part of the Deauville festival, which is why both Jinnah and Junoon have been selected.

"Normally, the people in France have little awareness about Asia. May be they know about China, but that is it. We hope that by screening historical films like Junoon, we will be able to show them not just the country and its geography but also a lot about its people and the culture. The Earth, last year, was an important film since few people in France are aware of the Partition and what it meant for the people," says Patel.

Though it is only the second edition of the festival, Patel is very confident about achieving his ambitious plans for making the festival as big as the Deauville's American festival. Next year, the festival will be held over four days. By the year 2002, Patel hopes to make it a week-long festival, with categories for documentaries and television films as well.