MINI-INPUT, held at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) auditorium from August 23 to 25, showcased the best of world television. Seven international television films were screened over three days at MINI-INPUT, which curated some of the best of both fiction and non-fiction films. INPUT is a non-profit organisation of public television programme makers and broadcasters based in the US. Every year, it organises an annual conference in a different country, to discuss and challenge the boundaries of public TV.
The aim of the programme was to motivate the students and expose them to international films. “Our students learnt how creatives are conceived and how they are executed, internationally,” said Ashim S. Paul, a professor of electronic and digital media (EDM) at SRFTI.
After every film, there was a Skype interaction with the director. Tokyo Black Hole: Year Zero in Post-WWII was the only exception. “A producer from Japan had to send us a recorded session, against the questionnaire we had sent earlier. For all the other screenings, the directors were there. In some cases, even the executive producer joined,” added Paul.
A German drama series called Zarah — Wild Times: Titles and Tits, directed by Richard Huber, was screened on the final day of MINI-INPUT. Set in Germany of the 1960s, it revolves around Zarah Wolf, a committed journalist in her early 30s who has got a new job as deputy editor at a glossy magazine. The film goes on to show how Zarah stands up against sexism at the workplace. A Skype interaction was held with Huber in Germany, where the SRFTI students raised some key issues about feminism and patriarchy.
“MINI-INPUT was especially useful because film (and electronic and media students) had the opportunity to view world-class television content, followed by Skype interviews with the filmmakers. My own interactions with Huber revealed that in touching upon patriarchal and sexist propensities in the ’70s, he was walking on a tightrope because there was always the danger of seeming to glorify all that he was critiquing. Nevertheless, his Zarah is a magnificent creation, forthright and militant but full of doubts and fears in her mission that assumes the nature of a crusade,” says filmmaker Ashoke Viswanathan, dean of SRFTI.
SRFTI is planning to pitch India as the host for INPUT in 2021. “This was our debut, but we plan to hold MINI-INPUT for our students every fortnight now. The 2019 INPUT is being held at Bangkok and in 2020 it’s in Europe. We will pitch for it in Bangkok next year and MINI-INPUT is our effort to prove ourselves,” said Paul.
“In our country, particularly for media students, there’s no scope of seeing the best of world television. INPUT’s contribution to television is immense and if we continue to host MINI-INPUT regularly, we will get an exposure that’ll be extremely handy,” said Abhijit Dasgupta, dean of EDM, SRFTI, and the national coordinator of INPUT in India.
“I have learnt to organise an event, thanks to MINI-INPUT! The kind of movies that were shown here from around the world, I couldn’t have found them anywhere else,” said Moushumi Ghosh, a student of EDM at SRFTI.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to be a part of this. The content is really special. The topics raised in the screenings are important,” said Dhruba Sinha Ray, also a student of EDM at SRFTI.
Pictures: B. Halder
