In one of the Film society screenings a member says these films are available on net let us go out,
his friend follows silently and in another session of screenings a college student says that ‘its boring
I am unable to understand and appreciate the film let us go for canteen’ The day is not off when such situations become omnipresent
at all the film society screenings.
As staunch film society activists what skills we need to acquire to face this challenge?
What will be our changed role?
Will film clubs/societies are needed? Or will the tribes of film society activists face gradual extinction? Its rather worrying, isn’t it?
Primarily we need to be techno-savvy. In today’s digital environment ‘Film and screen’ have become antediluvian even in remote villages of India.
Audience is quite aware of the internet and downloading films online and even small towns are having access to the DVD parlors that are making available
of films of national and international repute.
We as film society activists shall continue to be material producers but with a difference.
Our programmes need to be changed and they should be prominently interactive.
Now the present generation of members is not just viewers as they were in 80’s or 90’s.
But they are exposed to the latest trends in the cinema and technology. The plethora of Indian and
foreign media invades their conscience and the internet is spreading unbelievable web of information around them.
In this wealth driven and consumerist society the material comfort and gadgets are easily available to the members
In this situation the members of film societies demand much more service from our film society activists and their programmes.
So the film society activities may not end simply with the screening of films and conducting film festivals at regular intervals,
they need to reach the members with a variety of access points like chatting, sms and by creating blogs instead of merely delivering
news letters or house journals etc.. We should master even the email language. so we have to make use of the available the technology.
Further the role of film society activist as a counselor acquires importance now. We should update our knowledge of cinema every time
and the information of film festivals and film trends must be on our finger tips and we should be ready to disseminate information at any point of time.
The film society activists should use the latest media technology and provide the critical points of film appreciation and the merits and demerits of a film.
Even the knowledge of styles of film making will also be useful to the members.
Reaching the young and student community must be the top most priority of the film societies today. The interests and likes of
present generation are quite different they need to have instant and nascent information with regard to anything on the earth.
They are the generation of mobiles and smses, mails and chats, so the film society activists should be able to tune ourselves
to reach them and get their nod for art and aesthetics of cinema.
So we need to go to campuses, but the task is not simple.
No doubt the present student tribe is trusting only seeing visuals to learn various subjects,
we have to make use of this phenomenon and percolate into the campuses. We can approach the college authorities and organize film screenings
and to add to this we have to plan for short term courses in film appreciation and film making for the students. We can also organize short
film festivals and competitions among the students and put them in the stream of good cinema.
Change in the working styles of film societies and its activists will only help them survive otherwise the society and the new generation will no sooner switch off the movement.
