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The 29th edition of the European Union Film Festival is currently underway in Delhi right now. The festival opened on Thursday evening with the French film La Chimera. On the sidelines of the opening night, HT caught up with the European Union’s Ambassador to India, Herve Delphin, to talk about cinema’s transformative power, the festival’s success, and Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light. Excerpts:
(Also read: Payal Kapadia interview: ‘Laapata Ladies was a sensible choice for the Oscars as lobbying in Hollywood takes money’)
When discussing ties between two nations or regions, we think of politics and diplomacy. But how important is cultural exchange, such as the EU Film Festival?
A strategic partnership will truly grow legs if it’s not just in the realm of government to government or in the realm of business to business but also about people to people. And I think this is what the EU Film Festival does: it provides an opportunity for the Indian public to see European movies that otherwise they would not have access to. These are from independent filmmakers outside the major production and distribution circuits.
So if through cinema, people can meet and exchange experiences, and Indian audiences develop an interest and a taste for Europe the same way Europeans would develop a taste for India by watching Girls Will Be Girls, All We Imagine As Light, or Santosh, that that creates this kind of personal bonds of connect.
Do you think cinema has the power to change perceptions and bridge divides?
I think we should not overload cinema with too much expectation. It’s a creative it’s undertaking. It’s an artistic expression of storytelling, painting histories, and painting characters, and then the way it is received by the public varies so much. For each and every audience member, it may have a different meaning. Some topics will resonate deeply with certain audiences and maybe differently with others. But can cinema change society? I don’t think so. Can cinema enrich societies? Definitely.
Over the years, what do you think has been EUFF’s biggest achievement in its 29 years of existence?
The fact that we have 29 years of editions speaks for itself. The festival has now become a landmark in the art scene and cultural landscape here in India. People are not fools. They know when you serve quality. They come and look at the queue outside, and that speaks for itself. And I hope that next year, when we’re going to celebrate 30 years, that will be an even bigger splash.
European cinema has been popular in India for decades now. But how do you think the popularity of Indian cinema back in the European Union has changed?
When you have All We Imagine As Light receiving the grand prize at Cannes, people pay heed. It presents a different facet of Indian movies, which are not associated with the blockbusters of Bollywood, which people may or may not like. When they see that, then they enter into a new universe, the Indian universe, that they’ve never been exposed to. And I think they should. Indian filmmakers should get out of India and project themselves into the world way more than they do. And those who dare to do it realise that they can be successful.
I look at you as EU’s ambassador to India as much as India’s rep to EU. So in the same vein, which one Indian film would you recommend to everyone back home?
I mean, there are movies that touch me and expose me to Indian movies, not necessarily movies that the Indians would call the best ones because I do not know those. But The Life of Pi was something that, even though not an Indian movie, projected about India. The second was The White Tiger. These movies probably do not represent the mainstream of what people will connect to. But this is my experience.
If there is one European film that you would want every Indian to watch, which would it be
If people can stop by this year’s selection (at the EUFF), they will already have a good overview of quality movies. There are movies that speak to me, and maybe these are movies that the Indian audience wouldn’t have heard about. That’s the joy of discovering.
