3 IFFI jury members support Lapid's 'The Kashmir Files' comments
IFFI 2022 jury member Jinko Gotoh took to Twitter to back Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid and his comments at the closing ceremony of the film festival. Gotoh's post is also undersigned by two other jury members—Pascale Chavance and Javier Angulo Barturen. Lapid called The Kashmiri Files, "propaganda," "vulgar," and "inappropriate" for the competition category in the film festival, sparking a major uproar.
Why does this story matter?
The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, premiered earlier this year and grabbed the eyeballs of citizens. The film started off slow at the box office but picked up with word of mouth. The house was divided—one criticized the film while the other praised it. Lapid's comments sparked debate among intellectuals and Bollywood celebrities, straining relations between India and Israel.
Jury members' statement regarding Lapid's comments
The three jury members stated that they were aware of Lapid's comments as the jury chief. They said that the jury members had agreed on it. Gotoh lamented the film festival being used as a platform for politics. She also said that the jury did not take a political stance and the judgment was based on the film's artistic merit.
Check out the tweet here
Jury member Sudipto Sen's stance on the fiasco
The statement by three jury members makes director Sudipto Sen the only jury member who said that Lapid's comments were his personal opinion and not of the entire jury. He mentioned that the other four jury members attending the press conference did not mention their likes or dislikes. However, there has been no reply by Sen regarding the recent statement by other jury members.
Lapid's apology and Agnihotri's reply to him
Lapid apologized for his comments and said that it was not his intention to insult the Kashmiri Pandit sufferers. He also stated that he knows how to recognize propaganda disguised as a film. Agnihotri replied to Lapid's apology and said that he does not care and said that an apology is not an apology if it's not a heartfelt one.
