Pune: Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune released a special issue of its quarterly academic journal ‘Lensight’ at Panaji, Goa, to coincide with the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Renowned filmmaker and FTII alumnus Subhash Ghai launched the October-December 2017 issue of the journal on film and media. Bhupendra Kainthola, Director FTII Pune, and Amit Tyagi (Dean Films) were also present at the launch.
“Lensight publishes articles and research papers by film scholars, researchers, academicians and various other subject experts in the field from India and abroad. There’s a need to have more such journals to broaden and deepen the understanding of cinema,” Subhash Ghai said.
Bhupendra Kainthola said, “The theme that each practitioner resonates with is the universally important question of Reality and Imagination. This is what we deal with in Cinema, where the real challenge lies and also the joy of creation. This makes it a unique exercise in understanding the process, with its pains, joys, sorrows, difficulties in a transparent and vulnerable way, opening an intimate space for dialogue between the makers, and the lovers of cinema who wish to always know more.”
Rajula Shah, FTII alumna, and a sensitive filmmaker have guest edited the issue. The special issue has diaries and notebooks of prolific makers, as a testimony of their everyday practice. It also has essays, memoirs, articles, specially written. The contributors hail from FTII’s alumni that include expats like Nandini Bedi, and important voices like RV Ramani, a musician of the high stature Moushumi Bhowmik, Hansa Thapliyal, Amit Dutta and Payal Kapadia, a current student at FTII whose film The Afternoon Clouds was India’s only entry to Cannes this summer.
Lensight was launched in 1991 initially with a focus on technical articles to enlighten technicians about new technology and equipment used in filmmaking and video productions. It was repositioned in 2008 with emphasis on film-related articles, especially on aesthetic values.
