Nitte International Film Festival concludes on a high note

Media Release
April 20, 2018

Mangaluru: The second edition of Nitte International Film Festival concluded on April 19 with S Durga as the closing film. For four days, film lovers in Mangaluru reported to the NIFF ticket counter at Bharath Cinemas, to catch as many films as their schedule permitted. About 60 award-winning and critically acclaimed films played across four days in the three screens dedicated to NIFF at the venue.

If every film-viewing is considered as a conversation begun, it becomes the responsibility of the viewers to contribute and take it forward. With this in mind, NIFF hosted about 30 filmmakers to allow for the possibility of such a conversation. There was an interactive session with each filmmaker after the screening of their film. In addition to this, there were also sessions scheduled to discuss film and society.

Conversing about Cinema

On the third day of the festival, national award winning film critic Manu Chakravarthy, was in conversation with the director Ramesh Sharma. Two of Sharma’s films were showcased at the festival – the 2006 Emmy-nominated documentary The Journalist and The Jihadi, and the 1986 feature film, New Delhi Times. Chakravarthy asked Sharma to talk about the politics and history behind the making of New Delhi Times, and asked whether it was high time to make a sequel to the movie.

“I do not want to make a sequel in the current times,” Sharma declared, talking about the rise in intolerance and the cumbersome censorship process. He admitted his late-career preference for the use of the documentary form over fictional narratives to tell his stories.

The discussion, moderated by Chakravarthy, explored the link between media, politics and society, raising questions about media ownership and the resulting compromise in the freedom and integrity of journalists.

Ethics also featured prominently in the discussion on the fourth day of the festival between Sanal Kumar Sasidharan (S Durga, Ozhivudivasathe Kali), Suneel Raghavendra (Puta Tirugisi Nodi) and Sachin Kundalkar (Gulabjaam). The directors from different states, having made very different movies, came together for a panel discussion on representation and identity politics. What followed was a thoughtful conversation on the role of films in society and the grey area of the ‘responsibilities’ of a film maker.

With three male film makers on the panel, an inevitable question was on the challenge of creating and sustaining roles for women. The consensus, amongst the panelists and the audience they were speaking with, was that the industry needs more women filmmakers, and that we have to make space for and include different voices in our cinema and in its making.

 “When I started assisting in films, I found that the making of a film itself is built on the edifice of the caste setup. We have separate meals for the lighting team, the assistant directors, and the directors and actors,” said Raghavendra.

Sasidharan, whose film S Durga courted controversy and ran into trouble with the censor board, said that democracy is meant to ensure the equal distribution of power, but our society today is a “democracy only on paper.”

He spoke about resisting the restrictions imposed on creative freedom by the authorities, by having film screenings in different parts of Kerala, including remote villages. S Durga, which happened to be NIFF’s closing film, received a warm response from the audience, and was a fitting finale to the festival.

Comments

Shankar
 - 
Saturday, 21 Apr 2018

huh? that's the high note?

l ess than 100 people?

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News Network
January 3,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called on young scientists of India to "Innovate, Patent, Produce and Prosper," and said these four steps would lead our country towards faster development. The Prime Minister also stressed on the need to transform the landscape of Indian science, technology and innovation.

"The growth story of India depends on its success in the science and technology sector. There is a need to transform the landscape of Indian science, technology and innovation," Modi said.

Speaking after inaugurating the 107th Session of Indian Science Congress, he said, "My motto for the young scientists in this country is -Innovate, Patent, Produce and Prosper. These four steps will lead our country towards faster development."

"If we innovate we will patent and that in turn will make our production smoother and when we take these products to the people of our country, I'm sure they will prosper," he said, adding that innovation for the people and by the people is the direction of our new India. The Prime Minister also said he was happy to learn that India's ranking has improved in the Global Innovation Index to 52.

"Our programmes have created more technology business incubators in the last five years than in the previous 50 years. I congratulate our scientists for this achievement," he added.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 15: A 28-year-old man, who is a first-year MBBS dropout, was arrested by the police after he posed as a doctor and treated patients at a private hospital at Derlakatte on the outskirts of the city.

The arrested has been identified as Mohammed Habib Hussain, a native of Shivamogga, who was residing in Attavar, Mangaluru. He had discontinued studies after the first year due to personal reasons.

The incident took place on Sunday night  at Yenepoya Medical College, Derlakatte. Dr Sampathila Padmanabha, medical superintendent, Yenepoya Medical College, said the accused had come to the medical college at midnight on December 29.

After speaking to the security guard at the hospital entrance, he introduced himself as an assistant to the consulting urologist, and wanted to visit patients at the private ward situated at floor number 7.

After entering, he called the duty nurse to get case sheets. Later, he examined two women patients in the presence of the duty nurse, and also wrote a prescription on the patient case sheet. He also yelled at a nurse, saying that she isn’t doing her duty properly, and left the place.

However, the nurse who grew suspicious, informed the management, after the accused had left the place. The management, who crosschecked about the accused, found out that he is not a doctor, and that he is also not associated with the hospital.

The management sent an advisory to all employees to produce their identity cards, whenever they enter any wards, especially at night, and also to keep an eye on anyone suspicious. The same message was passed on to other hospitals in the vicinity.

The accused again showed up at the hospital on Sunday night. As security guards were told about strangers visiting the hospital in the guise of doctors, he was allowed to enter the hospital premises, so that he can be apprehended. He later went to the reception counter and queried about the consultant urologist. When he noticed that the staff had an idea about what was happening, he tried to flee from the spot. He was later caught by a security guard, and the police were informed. He was arrested by Ullal police station personnel.

Dr Padmanabha added that he used to roam around with his friend in a car. He was also involved in a similar incident at a private hospital in Kankanady, and the same has been informed to the police. He visited hospitals in a car, which has been seized by police.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 21,2020

New Delhi, Jul 21: A 42-year-old contractual doctor, who was working with Delhi government's National Health Mission, passed away yesterday due to covid-19.

Dr Javed Ali had been on the frontline in the fight against the highly contagious illness since March. He tested positive for coronavirus on June 24 and was hospitalised for treatment over the next three weeks.

For the last 10 days, he was on a ventilator. Yesterday morning, Dr Ali breathed his last at the AIIMS trauma centre. He is survived by his wife and two children - a six-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter.

"I am proud of my husband. He kept working till the end and he is a martyr. He did not take even one day off since March. He worked even on Eid," Dr Heena Kausar, his wife, told media persons.

The cost for the initial treatment at the private hospital was also borne by the family. "No treatment cost was covered when he was at a private hospital initially. We spent around Rs 6 lakh from our own pockets," she said.

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