Israeli filmmaker slams IFFI organisers

Pic/Pintrest

Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman on Saturday slammed the organisers of the International Film Festival of India, claiming the security apparatus was lax and the film submission procedures at India's biggest film festival were antiquated and steeped in bureaucracy.

"Here, if you go to any big hotel, people check your car with a mirror under the car. And you are like, "Oh my God! How long [do] they have to do this?" I could be carrying a big bomb on my lap and you wouldn't know," Wolman said, during the Open Forum interaction at the ongoing 50th edition of the festival, which allows foreign filmmakers to interact with delegates attending the event.

Wolman, who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2018 edition of the festival, also critiqued the organisers for the shoddy protocol as far as filmmakers submitting their films for the event was concerned.

"[At other festivals] you can send films across through the internet. But, here, they ask you to send the hard copy. Sometimes, they do not receive it by courier. It has got to do something with the bureaucracy, which needs to be improved. It is too complicated," said Wolman.

The nine-day long IFFI is billed as one of Asia's largest international film festivals, during which nearly 200 films from 76 countries are scheduled to be screened for a more than 7,000 odd strong contingent of delegates.

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