Mangaluru: NITTE’s International Film Festival (NIFF) came to an end after 4 successful days at BIG Cinemas, Bharat Mall in Mangaluru. Over the span of 4 days over 60 critically acclaimed movies were screened for free at the venue.

The festival was much more than just screening movies. NITTE hosted about 30 filmmakers and conducted sessions after the screenings for the audience to interact with. In addition to this there were talks on Film and society and Media and politics as well.

On the third day of the festival, Director Ramesh Sharma’s 2006 Emmy-nominated documentaries,” The Journalist and The Jihadi” and the 1986 feature film “New Delhi Times” were screened. Following the screening, there was a discussion between the national award winning film critic Manu Chakravarthy and the director himself.

Chakravarthy questioned about the background for Mr. Sharma making the movie“New Delhi Times” and asked him whether he had thought about producing a sequel. Sharma answered by reminding everyone of the censorship present today that restricts creative freedom and is tiresome to go through. The discussion steered through topics like media ownership and how it affects journalist freedom and integrity.

On the final day of the festival, three directors from different states came together for a discussion. Sanal Kumar Sasidharan (S Durga, Ozhivudivasathe Kali), Suneel Raghavendra (Puta Tirugisi Nodi) and Sachin Kundalkar (Gulabjaam) talked about representation and identity politics. They conversed about the different responsibilities a filmmaker has since cinema has a huge impact on society. They also touched upon the topic of women in the film industry and stated how it is imperative that the industry welcomes more female filmmakers to include diverse voices.

Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s movie ‘S Durga’ was the closing film of the festival. The movie was surrounded with controversy due to clashes with the censor board. Director Sasidharan spoke on how we have to resist the restrictions the state tries to put on our creative expression. He stated the nation today does not practice equal distribution of power and we remain a democracy only on paper. ‘S Durga’ was an apt choice for a closing film as it garnered a positive response from the audience.