'Divides More Than Unites': Indian Film Festivals & a Shrinking Space of Dissent

Seven sound designers from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute – a reputed film school in the country – were invited to assist in the sound recording of the films being made by the contestants of "75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow" – a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting initiative to "identify, encourage and nurture young creative talents from across various aspects of filmmaking." Aman Parikh, a sound professional, mentioning the "48 hours filmmaking challenge" told The Quint, "Me being the only sound guy in the team, I had a tight schedule for my deliverables despite which, basic recognition seemed a tall ask." Saptak Sarkar, a final year student at the institute who received his return ticket to Kolkata less than six hours before onboarding his flight, told The Quint that this was just one of many instances of mismanagement, recollecting how the bags and T-shirts distributed during the opening ceremony which were taken away later left them embarrassed. Not just these sound designers, such an approach was also flagged by those attending the 'Film Bazaar' – a global film market event where either someone was asked to vacate a pre-booked seat for an "important reservation" while in some other screening, one did not even get to sit on the floor of the theatre hall due to authority protocol.