Golda Sellam, the film producer and consultant from France is the first foreigner to adorn the position as curator of International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). She hardly got three months to select films under the world cinema section. Yet Sellam is contended over the process and has a clear plan about the task she has been entrusted with; to further take Indian cinema, especially Malayalam cinema to a global audience.
“We can begin with reaching out to international film market. The core thing lies in the selection of films. Such carefully filtered films carry the tag ‘Malayalam films’ in the international level hence the selection should be impeccable,” she notes.
According to her, collaboration with foreign companies will do good for Malayalam films in the first stage and co-production could be reserved for the next phase. “Malayalam is a tough language. Though English subtitle is there, language could come between a foriegn viewer and fine appreciation of the cinema. For some foriegn festivals, Malayalam should be translated to English and from English, to say, Spanish or French. The quality of the film could be lost in translation. This needs to be plugged,” she pointed out.
Golda Sellam hopes that subtitle issue could be addressed by bringing the issue into the notice of filmmakers and producers, providing them coaching, besides seeking the help of agencies.
This time, she particularly takes pride in the ‘The female gaze’ section under which eight films are screened including ‘A letter from Kyoto’ and ‘Tiger Stripes’. “I am delighted that we are focusing on women filmmakers and the content of the films they make,” she added.
Golda Sellam first attended IFFK as a jury member 10 years ago and was taken aback by the huge people’s response to the festival. “Now it has grown by leaps and bounds. The democratic process in the selection of films and the organization of the event makes me happy. Its an amazing experience and I am excitingly looking forward to provide more visibility to Malayalam films in the global level,” she keeps her fingers crossed.
Sellam had worked with European Commission as film consultant to launch film co-production as well as with ministry of foreign affairs for African cinema.