Are festivals ceding space for commercial films?

Mainstream cinema, which already enjoys star power and theatre release, is now gaining an upper hand at film festivals

What makes for a good watch at BIFFes is clear: an international feature film that has done well in international circuits. Consequently, the best draw of the season has been Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite’, a movie that is so easily accessible that, despite its obvious merit, it seems absurd to wait in line for it at a film festival.

The South Korean film is currently running in four commercial theatres in Bengaluru.

‘Parasite’ is a very necessary film about a working-class family (Dare I call it socialist?), which has become a darling of distributors. It’s like when a t-shirt that says “Death to the bourgeoisie” is made in a factory that exploits workers. With both Cannes and Academy Award glory, ‘Parasite’ has taken the spotlight away from films that it should have shared it with.

Film festivals have traditionally acted as a space for premieres of smaller films. Here, ‘small’ means not just low-budget releases, but films by women and minorities that do not always have distribution systems and public relations teams to push them ahead. These are necessary tools to succeed as theatres look for films that have star power.

For a while, it looked as though OTT platforms may foil this grand money-fueled enterprise, but more than one filmmaker has told this writer that these platforms have been demanding star power, too.

There was a time when offbeat films got some respite through Doordarshan releases, but that era is long gone. Festivals seem like the last and only resort. But it looks like that hope is fading away, too.

“I have heard some filmmakers say that they have got their film on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Now I had three options: theatrical releases, channels and digital platforms,” said Geetha J, the director of ‘Run, Kalyani’, which was screened at BIFFes.

“Theatres won’t take my film because it doesn’t have a star. So, that option is out. Channels want films that are released. I now hear that since digital platforms are inundated with films, they are only looking for ones that have had a release or have a star. What does someone like me do?” she said. Geetha says that festivals too are becoming a platform for mainstream cinema. This writer, while covering the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) last year, had noticed that Anil Kapoor was using a festival venue to promote his then upcoming film ‘Pagalpanti’. This is an arrangement that benefits both the star and the festival. The star gets a place to sell his film, while the festival shares the media attention that someone like Anil Kapoor brings, which someone like Geetha cannot.

A few months ago, disheartened filmmakers had protested the presence of star power at the International Film Festival of Kerala. “Films that are getting theatrical releases, films that are already on digital platforms and films that are generally easily accessible were screened there,” said Geetha.

The only way out of this is for film festivals to demand premiere status, which the top festivals do. ‘Parasite’, for instance, would not have been allowed into the Cannes film festival if the film had already been screened in commercial theatres in Europe or at the Berlin film festival, which takes place a few months before Cannes.

Few Indian festivals demand premieres, and BIFFes is not on that list. The festival has already made important strides when it comes to protecting smaller films.

This year, for instance, 40 films got their premiere here. There also was a special category, although non-competitive, for women filmmakers. So, if BIFFes makes its rules for premieres stricter, it may perhaps be able to create a friendlier environment for good small filmmakers who deserve an audience.