The Icelandic Animation package was an attempt to introduce our talent to worldwide animated films: Ravinder Bhakar, DG, Film Division

The 17th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2022 gave filmmakers, cinema lovers, and students a peek into Iceland’s fascinating animation realm. Four films from MIFF 2022’s Icelandic Animation package were screened today as part of the special package category. The four films screened today at the MIFF 2022, were Yes People, Kitchen by Measure, Pride of Strathmoor, and Anna and the Moods. The movie Yes People directed by Gisli Darri Halldórsson was nominated last year at the Oscars. Kitchen by Measure-directed by  Sólrún Ylfa Ingimarsdóttir, Atli Arnarsson is a stop-motion film based on a short story by the Icelandic feminist author Svava Jakobsdóttir. The movie- Pride of Strathmoor-directed by Einar Baldvin and has a journal-like narrative.  Anna and the Moods- directed by Gunnar Karlsson is a movie about a girl named Anna Young who contracts a horrible illness that makes her incredibly moody.

Director-General of the Film Division, Ravinder Bhakar, while expressing his thoughts on the ‘Icelandic Animation’ package, stated that they have curated animated packages from few countries which have a kind of expertise in the animation films be it Iceland or Mexico. “For Iceland, we kept a 1-hour package in which four animated films were shown. They have a kind of creativity in their films and even in animation films so our filmmakers can benefit by seeing and learning the different kind of nuances involved in the international animated movies,” he said.

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According to Bhakar, India is fast gaining recognition as an emerging hub for the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) sector. “AVGC is contributing a lot to the post-production facility and the world is looking at us. So this was a kind of effort for our filmmakers so that they can have an exposure to the international animated films,” he informed.

He explained that Indian film makers would get first-hand experience on international animation filmmaking and the same can be incorporated in our animated films as well. “The objective is to provide a platform for our filmmakers and our cinema lovers to familiarize themselves with these kinds of films and also to learn the basics of their movie making,” he added.

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Dhvani Desai, a Mumbai-based international award-winning animation filmmaker, curator, and poet, had handpicked the four films for MIFF 2022’s Icelandic Animation package, each of which is rather unique and deals with interesting yet difficult issues. While addressing the audience before the screening, Dhvani Desai, stated, “I have been a curator of this festival for nearly ten years now. This is my fifth edition. Every time I think of getting a package of MIFF, I think of getting something different which people have never experienced at film festivals.”

MIFF-2022, organized by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, has received an overwhelming response from filmmakers across the globe. The week-long festival in Mumbai, which commenced on May 29, will continue till June 4.