KOCHI:
Observing that an interesting frame can be found anywhere provided one perceives it as such, celebrated filmmaker Priyadarshan said the variety of perspectives and concepts at Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2016 can be adapted to film.
A favourable shooting schedule meant the director of more than 100 films across industries and languages was able to visit the Biennale for the first time on Saturday. He termed it a “learning experience that satisfied the artist in me”.
“As a filmmaker, I think many of the ideas are adaptable in terms of medium. When I was going around and looking always at the points of view expressed by different people on similar issues, I asked myself why I didn’t think about this. This is also something we can show on screen and there were several things I thought I should try in my films,” Priyadarshan said
“Expressions of creativity are like the sea or the sky: there are no limits. There are things I understood and others that I did not, but I appreciated the aesthetic sense behind the Biennale. Unlike the boring spaces in art galleries, the KMB is the venue for these expressions,” he added.
Singling out the photography of KMB 2016 artist K.R. Sunil, Priyadarshan said, “I never thought Kerala could be shot like this. Looking at his stills of Ponnani, I felt that I had to go there immediately and find a story around the town. The looks and the ways he has framed it and the realism and story behind each photo was inspiring.”
‘Artists’ Cinema a Platform for Serious Works’: Joshy Mathew
Award-winning filmmaker Joshy Mathew also visited the Biennale recently. Besides the works on display, he appreciated the Kochi Biennale Foundation initiative to screen serious films as part of its ongoing ‘Artists’ Cinema’ series at the Pavilion in Cabral Yard, Fort Kochi.
“For filmmakers, the initiative provides a platform to promote s
erious Malayalam cinema in front of an international audience. Moreover, we can market our films more intensively in the international film festival circuit after being screened in such an internationally acclaimed art festival like the Biennale,” said Mathew, whose film Black Forest won a National award in 2012.
