A picture is worth a thousand words, but a motion picture depicts even more! From the first feature film made in the country, to the film that inspired Dadasaheb Phalke to make the first motion picture, a number of inspiring films were showcased in the two-day Silent Era Film Festival organized in Ranchi.
The film festival, organized by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)regional Centre here, showcased 10 of the greatest silent films in the history of India, including Raja Harishchandra, the first motion picture directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, Light of Asia, the film based on the life of Buddha directed by German director Franz Osten, The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ made in France directed by Lucien Nouguet and Ferdinand Zecca which inspired Phlake to make the first film and many more. The films were curated by filmmaker, coloumnist and journalist, Suresh Sharma.
Talking about the film festival, programme assistant at IGNCA Sumedha Sengupta said, “The festival has been organized especially for the students of mass communication, film studies and journalism in order to introduce them to the first step of Indian cinema, which was the silent era.”
More than 150 students from various colleges of the city including St. Xavier’s College, Gossner College, Amity University and Central University of Jharkhand witnessed the magic of silent films in the two day festival.
The film festival was also attended by research scholars of film studies. Jayshree, a student of mass communication second year at Gossner College said, “This was a magical experience. It is shocking for someone in my generation to see how a beautiful movie can be made without a single sound.
There was such pin drop silence in the auditorium as the film played that I could hear myself breathe.”
Shrishti Raj, a first year student of St. Xavier’s College who was mesmerized by the films said, “This is my first time experience of watching silent films. Everything was so real, there was no stunt double, no overacting, no VFX and no added effects but still every film was perfect. It really showed the power of cinematography and acting.”
IGNCA focuses on research and documentation of art and culture. Regional Director of the Centre Ajay Kumar Mishra said, “In Jharkhand we are focusing on research on tribal culture, specially the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTgs) like Asur and Paharia.”