What makes a great film? Is it originality, a good script, a mesmerising soundtrack or a profound message? This is a question whose bouquet of answers, but obviously, differ from person to person.
But Serbian filmmaker Goran Paskaljevi?, who's in the city for the 16th Mumbai Film Festival (MFF), knows what he's looking for. Which is a must, considering he's jury member for the competition's India Gold section. "I look for films that tell the human story like few others do. Something which is truly representative of humanity," says the acclaimed director of 16 feature films and 30 documentaries. Paskaljevi? has headed juries for international film festivals ranging from San Sebastian and Karlovy Vary to the 2013 edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Being on MFF's India Gold jury panel is particularly exciting for the Serbian auteur. "I'll get to watch some of the best Indian films. And that will help a great deal for my upcoming project," he laughs, referring to Dev Bhoomi. This Indo-Serbian co-production, spearheaded by Paskaljevi? and veteran actor Victor Banerjee, will mostly be shot in Uttarakhand.
Like Goran Paskaljevi?, Chinese-American actress Bai Ling, too is looking forward to judging the 13 feature films competing for the India Gold award. Says the artiste who has worked with the likes of Oliver Stone, Spike Lee, George Lucas, and Luc Besson: "Technical finesse should supplement a film, not overtake it. What we're looking for is substance and most importantly, something that will stay with you long after you've left the cinema hall."
Stepping into a film juror's shoes for the first time is Ritesh Batra, director of the much-acclaimed The Lunchbox. Batra, along with British film and TV director Peter Webber and Canadian documentary filmmaker Ron Mann will be judging the International Competition for the First Feature Films of Directors. "This is the only time I'll get to watch 3-4 films a day. So I'm making the most of it," he says, when asked how gruelling judging festival films can be. Batra is also writing a script for an English-Hindi bilingual, but declined to offer more details. "It's still in the works, so I can't divulge much right now," he signs off.
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