In an interview, director Anurag Kashyap shared his view on discovering indie films, suggesting that those genuinely interested in indie cinema naturally find their way to it.
Film festivals are one of the places where cinema lovers can come together to discover new filmmakers and their stories and foster a sense of community for cinema lovers.
When asked the question- are the films screened in film festivals reaching to the general public?
The answer is simply no.
The masses need masala films that make them forget about their own struggle in their day-to-day lives and offer an escape. Art films are something that has a very selective audience. Such films also don’t reach the masses because indie films don’t have the marketing budget like mainstream films to compete on a larger scale.
The recent Cannes winner, All We Imagine As Light by Payal Kapadia, is reportedly set for a theatrical release in India soon. However, many lesser-known films that do make it to theatres often receive non-prime time slots, resulting in minimal audience turnout. Consequently, indie films struggle to perform well in theatres, despite India’s standing as one of the largest film-producing countries.
Hence, films screened in film festivals such as IFFI, DIFF, KIFF, PIFF, and MAMI, rarely find a space in the theatres for long enough for the masses to discover it.