[Reader-list] Update on Indian film makers campaign against censorship

[Harsh Kapoor]

[Posted below is the latest news re the Indian film makers campaign 
to protest censorship at the upcoming Bombay film festival....xxx H.]

CAMPAIGN AGAINST CENSORSHIP AT MIFF

19/09/03


Dear Friends,

Most of you would have seen the newspaper reports today about the 
Minister's comments on the withdrawal of the Censorship requirements 
at MIFF2004. This is really good news.

No formal letter or notification has of course been issued, neither 
by the Ministry, or Films Division, and there is some reason 
therefore to be cautious in accepting the newspaper reports as the 
final word on the issue. We have sent a letter to the Ministry 
stating that for the Campaign Against Censorship to any take any 
further decision on the boycott call we would need a formal 
communication from them.

We will keep you posted as and when a formal letter or notice is 
issued. Until then celebrate, but with scepticism!

Meanwhile our list of signatories has increased to over 200 and the 
Campaign has been getting several  letters of solidarity from the 
international film community as well. The press coverage all over 
India has also been extensive. We will shortly be sending out to 
everyone a digest with a compilation of some of the letters of 
support.

In solidarity,

Amar Kanwar, Pankaj Butalia, Rahul Roy, Saba Dewan, Sameera Jain, Sanjay Kak
"MIFF CAMPAIGN" <miff_camapaign at rediffmail.com>


o o o o

[For those who havent seen the press coverage on the Ministers 
comments re withdrawal of censorship from MIFF. Here goes: ]

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=31831
The Indian Express, September 19, 2003

Prasad says no censor for docus
Express News Service
New Delhi, September 18: Faced with the prospect of 175 leading 
documentary filmmakers boycotting the Mumbai International Film 
Festival (MIFF) 2004, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi 
Shankar Prasad today said that there will no censorship of films.

As reported in The Indian Express, 175 documentary filmmakers had 
come together to campaign against censorship at MIFF 2004 for 
introducing a clause which requires Indian documentaries entering the 
festival to be censored. However, the foreign films entering the 
festival did not have to go through the censorship.

After giving notice to Films Division and the Ministry over a month 
ago, the campaign gathered steam forcing the Government to revise its 
rules.

Prasad said, the filmmakers will be given time to send in their 
entries to participate in the festival. ''Indian documentary 
filmmakers should not be disadvantaged in any manner and I have 
directed officials to find another alternative to obtaining 
certification from the Censor Board,'' Prasad said.

The filmmakers had argued that film festivals are arenas of 
uninhibited and creative expression. No international festival of 
repute censors films. It is strange that MIFF 2004 now wants to do 
this while it managed seven previous editions of MIFF without this 
regulation, they argued.

o o o

The Times of India, September 19, 2003
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com:80/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=189174
Docu-makers are MIFFed no more
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2003 11:36:46 PM ]

NEW DELHI: The controversy over the boycott of the eighth Mumbai 
International Film Festival (MIFF) announced by Indian documentary 
filmmakers ended on Thursday with information and broadcasting 
minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announcing that their entries would not 
be subjected to any form of pre-censorship.

The minister told reporters that he had decided on this since there 
were "apprehensions" and that he did not want the Indian competitors 
to be at a disadvantage in an international event.
With this announcement, what was widely perceived as a fallout of the 
Gujarat riots of last year has been set at rest.