Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the very outset had made it clear that the 15th Kolkata Film Festival will be a lukewarm affair due to the budget cut. But its manifestations are now being felt at the event in more ways than just one.

While the number of foreign delegates has dwindled considerably, the film market, a regular feature at the festival for over the last few years, is conspicuous by its absence in this chapter of the festival.

The film market usually housed stalls by distributors and displayed CDs and DVDs of Bengali cinema. The East India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) and Patton were integral parts of the market.

Festival director Nilanjan Chatterjee cited EIMPA and Patton’s disinterest in organising the film market this year as the reason behind its absence.

“The organisation of the market was handled by two bodies — EIMPA and Patton. Both of them didn’t seem very interested in putting up the market and we also didn’t push them,” said Chatterjee.

According to Arijit Dutta of EIMPA, the festival committee’s inability to promote the market was the principle reason for the market not being organised.

“We weren’t given space this time. It’s not that we weren’t interested in organising the market,” said Dutta.

Dutta’s opinion brings forth the rift that runs through the intellectuals, especially film fraternity, in the city which has been just intensifying over the last two editions of the festival. Post the alleged police firing in Nandigram in 2007, prominent film personalities including Aparna Sen had given the festival a miss.

... contd.