Art and Artist above Boundaries: Goran Paskeljevic

Serbian film director Goran Paskaljevic commented that no boundaries can force a stop on the life of art and creativity of an artist. He was speaking at the press conference on the fifth day of the festival. “Even though war has divided Serbia and Croatia, it was not enough to break the creative feelings of a person. And this is the reason that both the nations jointly produce films even now”, the director added.

Paskaljevic said that he always felt film as a medium that has the potential to unite people and help them face and survive the harsh realities of life. When asked whether he is a political filmmaker, he remarked that he would not call himself as political filmmaker but the socio-political situations had persuaded him to be one. “Films are my medium of communication through which I make social interventions and statements”, he expressed.

He spoke from the heart while narrating the emotional stages that he came across after the war; which made him a migrating bird that flew across three nations, for rest of the life.  “Still my filmmaking hasn’t changed, as I still tries to explore humanity at large”, he concluded. Goran Paskeljevic is honored in the festival with his seven films in Masters in Focus category.

Debut malayali filmmaker Farooq Abdul Rahman narrated the story of hard work and stress he had undergone for the making of ‘kaliyachan’, the film listed in the competition category. Rahman opened up that the film was the result of his admiration towards the poet P Kunjiraman Niar. He also expressed his happiness on many producers coming forward to make films with artistic value and not only aiming at profit. “I couldn’t have made the film, had I never got the support of NFDC”, the director concluded.

Marathi poet-cum director Nagaraj Manjule remarked his film ‘Fandry’ as the story of his community. “The film is inspired from the anecdotes of my life, my village and that of friends as well”, he noted. On asked about how to derive a solution to the existing caste system, Manjule opined that the answer should come from the society and not from a person. “Being a good human being is enough. It can indeed change the way we look at things”, concluded the highly confident director whose film is part of the ‘Top Angle Cinema’ package.