 It
was the ideal occasion. Come 2003 and it would
be 40 years since the first bunch of students
graduated from Asia’s Premier Film School
– The Film and Television Institute of India
(FTII), Pune. It was time to showcase the work
of FTII graduates during these 40 years in all
fields of filmmaking, to show how much they had
contributed to the Indian Film Industry, to disprove
the fact that the FTII alumni were just a bunch
of intellectual ‘artistes.’ This led
to The Wisdom Tree Film Festival held in November
2003 at Pune.
About 80 feature films were screened at this
festival from Blockbusters like Sholay
(1975), Lagaan (2001), Hum Dil De Chuke
Sanam (1999), Pardes (1997), middle of the
road gems like Saraansh (1984), Guddi (1971),
Chit Chor (1976), Parinda
(1989), National Award work in Hindi cinema
done by FTII graduates – Paar (1984
- Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi), Ardh Satya
(1983 - Om Puri), Dastak (1970
- Rehana Sultan), Children's films - Kabhi
Pass Kabhi Fail, Ankur Maina Aur Kabootar,
the Best of Regional Cinema - Bhavni Bhavai
(1980), Piravi (1988), Mukha Mukham (1984), Maya
Miriga (1983), Amma Ariyan (1986) to name
a few beside path breakers like Uski Roti
(1969), Tarang (1984) and Om Darbdar.
Add to this - a rich feast of Documentaries, Short
Fiction, Television Work, Ad and corporate Films,
Features on DV, Diploma films of its alumni down
the years. Needless to say, the festival was a
resounding success.
The Festival was organized by GraFTII (Graduates
of FTII), the Alumni Association of the FTII.
GraFTII had been active from the early 1980s,
but only in fits and starts with a small bunch
of committed volunteers. In the mid 90s, the FTII
went through a period of extreme turmoil when
a lack of teaching infrastructure and a diluted
syllabus led to students going on strike and the
working of the Institute nearly grinding to a
permanent halt. At that time, GraFTII’s
stalwarts founds themselves playing mediators
and trouble-shooters. During those troubled years,
the Institute – and by association, its
alumni – received a lot of media attention
but for the wrong reasons. The Wisdom Tree Film
Festival changed all that, reminding not only
the public but also all those associated with
the FTII itself what they stood for.
To run the festival, GraFTII got together a strong
core team of vounteers, hired professional event
managers, and successfully carried out the job
of co-ordinating hundreds of delegates and film
screenings in 3 venues across Pune city. Riding
this momentum, GraFTII got an elected body of
members, renewed its affiliation with the Film
Federation of India, and today has various projects
up its sleeve. Links with the FTII remain in place,
with many GraFTII members going back to the Institute
to conduct workshops and hold lectures, passing
on their knowledge and experiences to the current
students, just as they too would have learned
from former students in their time. Several GraFTII
members also serve on the Academic and Governing
Councils of the FTII.
Meanwhile, in Bombay, there is another project
afoot to promote the kind of quality cinema that
FTII graduates represent. GraFTII has teamed up
with Fun Republic and the National Film Archive
of India, Pune to do a series of film festivals
entitled In Focus: The Films of... Each
of these events highlights the work of one FTII
graduate and introduces the film-going public
to critically acclaimed films that are not accessible
otherwise. The initial programme, held last year,
 centred
on the work of renowned cinematographer KK
Mahajan, while recently this year GraFTII
showcased the films of editor Renu
Saluja. GraFTII even brought out a book -
Invisible: The Art of Renu Saluja on
the occasion.
Besides this, the most exciting development on
GraFTII’s front has been the launch of its
own official website www.graftii.com.
With this website, GraFTII aims to bring its community
of filmmakers and actors spread the world over,
under one space. Here people can look up profiles
of their friends and colleagues, share thoughts
and queries, renew old friendships or resume unfinished
arguments and muse on the days gone by –
while making films, of course. The site’s
alumni database is also a valuable reference tool
for any net surfer looking for information on
FTII alumni, or on Indian cinema practitioners
in general.
On being asked where GraFTII goes from here,
Vice President Chandita Mukherjee says that GraFTII’s
upcoming endeavours are only going to get bigger
and better! We certainly hope so …
(Images, courtesy GraFTII)
|
