11th Mumbai Film Festival

The first film was Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth’s Altiplano. Mining in the mountains of Peru contaminates the area with mercury causing deaths in the neighboring village. The local doctors end up bearing the brunt of the villagers’ ire. One of them is killed and his widow arrives on the scene.

Late as usual. Thirty minutes of the movie had already flown by. When I am uncertain about which film to watch, I go for the film that has been made by an Indian. Not jingoism, just like that. So Sachin Kundalkar’s Gandha (not to be confused with Gandhi) it was. Luckily the film was a compendium of three short films, with no hyper linking. This meant that even latecomers like me were able to enjoy part of it.

Yesterday’s impregnable fortress looked much more relaxed today. Having already registered online, I presumed collecting my pass would be a touch-n-go affair. Not quite. The helpless helpdesk put outside served exactly two functions besides wasting space. Handing out pink forms for registration and directing you to a long queue where I was to ‘receive’ my pass.