Berlinale again for Rima Das, this time as a juror
Life comes a full circle for some, but little did Rima Das know it would happen so soon! The National Award-winning filmmaker’s Bulbul Can Sing (2018) received a Special Mention in the Generation 14Plus category at the Berlin International Film Festival last year, and this year, she is on the jury for the same at the upcoming gala.
Das excitedly tells us from her native, Assam, “I cried when I got the mail about it, because I feel I’m just learning. It’s a great responsibility, and it’s amazing that everything is coming so soon.”
Among others in the jury are Iran’s Abbas Amini and South Africa’s Jenna Bass. Excited on hearing her “dear friend” Bass’ name, Das says, “I did a short film anthology (made by directors from the BRICS), and Jenna did a film from South Africa. I met her there, so it’ll be great to meet her again.”
On the importance of the category she is judging at Berlinale, Das, whose Village
Rockstars was India’s official foreign language film entry to Oscars 2019, says, “Last time, Maryanne Redpath, who heads the Generation category, explained so nicely how there is a gap between young people and adults. That Generation holds a mirror to the adults about how young people and children feel. I feel these kind of films really help and encourage young people to make movies and express their thoughts.”
As a filmmaker, Das feels a lacuna in the children’s stories space in Indian cinema. “We think we don’t have a market for such films, but I don’t think that’s true. Both my films — Village Rockstars and Bulbul Can Sing — had rural backgrounds, but so many young people from urban areas have written to me that they’re connecting with these two films. Seeing that, I feel people want such movies,” Das adds, and hopes both her critically acclaimed films get a wider reach, now that they’re available on an OTT platform.