The newly re-constituted governing council of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) today in principal agreed to hold a four-day workshop on digital technology for films, with the involvement of Hollywood artistes and technicians, during the forthcoming International Film Festival of India, for imparting serious image to the festival.
The meeting of the council was chaired by the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat. The Chief Secretary, Mr J P Singh was also present on the occasion.
The CEO of the ESG, Ms Nandini Paliwal told the media that the workshop proposed to be organised in arrangement with the US-based THX Company will consists of a premier show of a Hollywood blockbuster, during the film festival, accompanied by presence of the film actors on the occasion, besides around 30 to 35 of its technicians, including the film director participating in the workshop. The general manager of the society, Mr Nikhil Desai was also present, at the briefing.
The film would be chosen from a bouquet of 11 movies available with the THX Company, and the actors could be Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and so on, that is if they star in the movie to be premiered at the IFFI 2007, she informed, adding that the key-note address at the workshop would be delivered by one of the biggest names in the Hollywood who have effectively used digital technology in his films.
“We are hopeful of getting Steven Speilberg, George Lucas or James Cameroon,” she informed, adding that the workshop could cost around Rs 2.3 crore.
Ms Paliwal also informed that the governing council of the ESG is against organising peripheral activities during the film festival, including beach and mobile screenings.
In fact, she maintained, the entire focus would be on serious cinema and making the film festival a more viable exercise with holding of seminars and workshops on serious cinema-related topics.
Informing that Hotel Cidade de Goa has been selected as the official IFFI hotel for festival delegates, while Hotel Marriott is the official IFFI hotel for the festival jury members, Ms Paliwal said that the Film Bazaar would also be a serious affair with the National Films Development Corporation (NFDC), supported by the Confederation of the Indian Industries (CII), organising a day-long event, ‘Big Picture’, during the bazaar.
It was also informed that a special committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Mr Vishnu Wagh to invite suggestions and objections from various stakeholders as regards the future of the old Goa Medical College building.
This committee will also put a plan in place, as regards how the particular building could be put to optimum use, since the ESG offices in the Old GMC complex would soon be moving to the new building coming up near the complex, she pointed out.
The CEO of the ESG stated that a delegation of the society which had visited the Cannes Film Festival, earlier this year presented its report to the ESG’s governing council. The report includes certain recommendations like increasing the potential and scope of the Film Bazaar, she added.
Ms Paliwal pointed out that the governing council would be meeting on August 29 to take crucial decision about the budget marked by the state government for the film festival.
The Finance Minister, Mr Dayanand Narvekar had recently said that this budget has been curtailed to Rs 5 crore. The ESG annually receives Rs 3.7 crore from the Inox multiplex and around Rs 10 to 15 lakh from the film units shooting in Goa, besides Rs 5 crore from the government.
The ESG’s CEO further informed that the council, in principal has approved purchasing of a software, which is being used for nearly 21 film festivals around the globe and which takes care of the registration process, ticketing, booking of seats, hospitality, travel, application for film participation, tracking of film movement, etc.
“The ESG has already discussed this aspect with the Directorate of Film Festivals,” she maintained, pointing out that the proposed cost of the software is Rs 24 lakh, including the user fees, user training charges and its maintenance for one year. “The software is a permanent product which can be used every year and improved upon,” the ESG CEO observed.
Ms Paliwal noted that the ESG, following the practice at the Cannes Film Festival, will appoint mature people as the volunteers for IFFI, since youth are found to be incapable at handling pressures of the job and efficiently interacting with the VIPs. “From this year, the event management agency will not be allowed to appoint the volunteers,” she said, adding “and the ESG would be appointing them with payment of suitable remuneration.”
Ms Paliwal also informed that the governing council was presented with the ESG’s activity calendar for the forthcoming year; the calendar including activities like film appreciation workshops, film screenings and finally, short film festivals based on documentary films, wildlife films and so on. “The ESG proposed to hold at least one event per month,” she maintained.
The ESG CEO mentioned that the government, through a notification had declared the society as the single window agency for all film-related activities in the state, including shooting of films. “The ESG is now in the process of fixing payment slabs, for various kinds of shootings in the state,” she said, pointing out “presently, we charge Rs 6,000 for each shooting day, from every film unit.”
She also informed that the ESG proposes to appoint squads for tracing film units carrying out shootings in the state, without prior permission from the society, and further contemplates penalisation for such ‘illegal’ shooting incidents.
Navhind Times, Goa Daily
