Goa should seriously deliberate whether to continue hosting a sort of foisted International Film Festival. Any occasion cannot be at the inconvenience to others and that too for 10 long days that the residents of Panaji and those at Campal in particular have had to endure.
An International Film Festival is a serious affair. What we saw was a mismanaged combo of fanfare at the taxpayer's expense. It was a carnival with magical performances and non-film related events with virtually anything the most incompetent and unprofessional ESG and the DFF could think of. IFFI was per se a Sorpotel or Bhaji Puri thrown open to the whole world in the name of an International Film Festival. The charade of 20 odd floats to mark the inauguration of the festival lacked any punch and above all had no context to a film festival. That money could have been better spent in hotmixing Panaji's internal roads, which are in a pathetic condition. Goa cannot continue to be forever hospitable. It has to assess what benefit the state would get from any event it hosts. The local artists have failed to make gains of any significance from the just concluded tamasha. The two crore jetty adjoining Kala Academy built in a hurry with no foresight or vision should be the venue from where the organizers of IFFI should jump to another destination along with the heaps of garbage that they generated. The money they made could be left behind. Aires Rodrigues Ribandar Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Goanet supports BMX, the alumni network of Britto's, St Mary's and Xavier's -- three prominent institutions in Mapusa, Goa. Events scheduled from Dec 16 to 21, 2006 For more details visit http://www.bmxgoa.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------
