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No censor certificate needed for films to be shown at IFFI

Filmmakers welcomed the move as it creases out censorship issues

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Poster of the 'Filmistaan'.
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Realising the growing popularity of Indian films worldwide, the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry, has decided to rid a section of films to be screened at the government-run International Film Festival of India (IIFI), Goa of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificates.

The directorate of film festivals (DFF) – under the I&B ministry — has now invited entries for feature and non feature films for the Indian Panorama category for the 47th IFFI that would be held between November 20 and 28 this year. Films which are yet to procure a CBFC certificate can also apply given that they are produced between September 1, 2015 and August 31, 2016. As per existing rules, the Indian Panorama selection includes 26 feature films and 21 non-feature films, of which the best feature and non feature films are direct entries.

The move is significant since it not only meets the long-pending demand of filmmakers and but also clips the wings of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), whose chief Pahlaj Nihalani had long earned the ire of filmmakers for recommending indiscriminate cutting of films for producers to get a CBFC certificate. This will also give an opportunity to several small-budget filmmakers to get in touch with foreign production companies for releasing their films in other countries.

Requesting anonymity, an official from the I&B ministry confirmed the development, saying the move will ensure screening of the latest films at the IFFI, thus bringing the film festival at par with other popular film festivals of the world and also other state film festivals.

"So far, even two-year old films used to apply for the Indian Panorama category. Such films had already been screened at other film festivals across the globe, but could not be screened at IFFI because of a lack of a CBFC certificate. Only after they got a certificate from the CBFC, which could take several months, could they apply for the IFFI," the official explained.

The official, however, clarified, that the uncensored films will be only for the Indian Panoroma jury. "The DFF has to get an exemption from the I&B ministry for public screening of the uncensored movies in the country, while the films will require CBFC certificates if the producer of the film decides on the commercial release of the film inside the country," the official said.

The guidelines for certification of films in film festivals state that for non-commercial film festivals, where their viewership is confined to delegates, the government would grant exemption for foreign and Indian films. Private-run film festivals like MAMI, on the other hand, functioned with either a CBFC certificate or a I&B exemption. However, in exceptional cases, the I&B ministry also has the powers to reject the request for exemption to any film if it feels the film impinges on the security or integrity of the country or affect law and order or affect relations with other countries.

But does it mean the quality of the entries submitted to the IIFI will go down in the lack of a CBFC certificate? "We have to trust the jury of the Indian Panorama in that case," an official said.

Several filmmakers expressed relief at the move; many said that it makes it easier for filmmakers, especially those with small budgets. Filmmaker Nitin Kakkar, whose Filmistaan bagged a National Film award for the best Hindi feature film in 2012, says that the movie could not make it to the Indian Panorama section because of the censor certificate. "The deadline for certificates was August 31, and I procured it on September 3, making my film ineligible," says Kakkar. His second feature, Ramsingh Charlie, was however, selected for the 46th IFFI in 2015 under the feature film category.

Kakkar said that apart from creasing out censorship concerns, the move also makes it easier for filmmakers economically. "A filmmaker usually shells out an amount for the censor certificate, and low-budget filmmakers, who adhere to the CBFC rules (like not showing smoking, drinking onscreen) usually makes only one copy of the film which is also shown internationally. That is very distracting for a filmmaker," said Kakkar.

Filmmaker and film critic Utpal Borpujari, who headed the Indian Panorama selection committee in 2014 for the non-feature section, says that international films never needed a certificate. "The government's excuse was that the certificate was needed to ensure the date of production, which ensured that several Indian filmmakers could not compete," said Borpujari, whose Song of the Blue Hills was selected in 2014 in the non-feature section.

He added that issues of censorship will now be easier to dealt with. A mandatory CBFC certificate meant that censorship could stop a film from being showcased. A glaring example was Kamal Swaroop's Dance for Democracy: Battle of Banaras which could not make it as it had a run in with the censors. "Under the new rule, Kamal will be able to show his move to the world," said Borpujari.

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