On Thursday, April 12th, Thierry Fremaux, the director of Festival de Cannes unveiled his festival’s 71st official selection, which includes new films by Jean-Luc Godard, Spike Lee, David Robert Mitchell and Jafar Panahi. As the world of cinema waited more for the likely omissions than for its inclusions at the end it became clear – there was no Indian film among the 18 films playing in competition – the most exclusive section of the festival.
In 1994 Shaji Karun got the news his film ‘Swaham’ had been selected for Cannes that year. Using landline phones I sought him out in Kerala to congratulate him and interview him for Screen International. For the past 25 years, the world has not had the opportunity to see any Indian film at Cannes in the Competition section. It also pains film enthusiast that India, one of the foremost producers of films in the world, is yet to win ‘Palm d’Or’, the top prize at the festival of Cannes.