Film festivals - Advantages and Disadvantages

Film festivals – Advantages and Disadvantages

Introduction

A film festival is held in a single city to screen films from different areas at one screening venue. Film festivals in India attract a lot of people, including the foreigners. In case of an international film festival, films from different countries are screened. It promotes the idea of film making and culture of each country.

India organizes a number of film festivals each year. Recently, the 45th International Film Festival of India was held in Goa. Last month, The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy also organized the 19th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala.

Film festivals do have its own advantages and disadvantages. Let us take a look at them.

Advantages of film festivals.

1. Source of information – Film festivals provide a lot of information about the movies from different states or nations. The ideas and culture of a place are conveyed easily through films. At times, a movie may also depict the current situation of a nation.

2. Source of entertainment – Films have always been a source of good entertainment. Film festivals bring the movies of different nations together and, thus, entertain people.

3. Feedback – Film festivals get a huge coverage by the media and press. It helps the movie get a lot of feedback. A film maker can give his best next time, if he gets a proper feedback.

4. New faces – Film festivals give opportunities to new film makers. It is a platform to display their talents. It is also a platform for the new or upcoming actors to prove themselves.

5. Tourism – A lot of film directors from across the world come to watch the movies at the film festivals. It generates a lot of income for the tourism department as well as promotes the tourism of the host country.

6. Generate a theme – A film festival can promote a theme which may bring a change in the society. For example, the ninth edition of the Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival in Pune promotes the theme of “Zero Waste: Begins with us”.

Disadvantages of film festivals.

1. Biased – Only a few films from a state or nation makes its way to the film festival. Some of the good movies are rejected from screening in the festival. They are usually biased.

2. Violence – A film festival screens all genres of movies. The target audience for film festivals ranges from kids to old age people. Movies about violence and crime may have a negative effect on the kids.

3. Rivalry – In an international film festival, a lot of countries screen their movies. This creates a competition among various countries and thus, might end up in rivalry.

4. Entry of social evils – There are certain countries which have not imposed any ban on smoking or consumption of alcohol. Hence, movies from these countries may also contain scenes of smoking or consuming alcohol. The audience can easily adopt them and such social evils may enter the society.

5. Unwanted expenditure of money – A huge amount of money is spent in organizing the film festivals by film academies or the State or Central government. Once the films are screened at the film festival, within a few months, they also appear on the big screen. Hence, arranging film festivals should be avoided.

Conclusion

Film festivals provide a lot of detailed information about the films as well as the film industries. But apart from being a source of information and entertainment, film festivals also have certain negative effects on the society. Movies should be censored (if needed) before they enter film festivals. Thus, a lot of scrutiny is required before selecting a film for a film festival.