Odia movie ‘Adieu Godard’ selected as one of 5 finalists in Cardiff Film Festival

Kolkata, Oct 28: (PTI) “Adieu Godard”, an Odia movie that has won multiple awards, has been selected as a finalist in the feature film category at the Cardiff International Film Festival.
The film narrates how an elderly pornography-addicted man becomes an avid fan of Jean-Luc-Godard, considered the pioneer of the French New Wave film movement in 1960s.
The online film festival is being held in the capital of Wales from October 28 to 30.
The movie, directed by Amartya Bhattacharyya, is competing with five other international films and the results are due later this week, a statement issued by the producers said.
The name of Bhattacharya’s movie, which was released on September 2, suggests that it is a tribute to legendary French-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, but it is not a quintessential homage to the auteur.
Shot entirely in Odisha, ‘Adieu Godard’ follows the story of an old man named Ananda who is addicted to pornography and secretly watches adult films with other men in the evening.
One day, the protagonist, Choudhary Bikash Dash, accidentally brings home a DVD after assuming it to be pornography. And it turned out to be 1960’s ‘Breathless’, Godard’s debut film released in 1960.
Ananda gets attracted by the newness and gradually develops an obsession. Then, he attempts to host a film festival on Godard in their village.
The movie which received the ‘Best Indian Film’ award at the Kolkata International Film Festival held early this year, has also been selected for the 10th Asian Film Festival of Barcelona, being held from October 26 to November 6.
The film, part of the Official Panorama section of the Barcelona festival, is competing with several other Asian movies, the statement said.
Bhattacharyya said, “It is a proud moment as we succeeded in taking this film to different corners of the globe. It is a moment of pride for us and regional cinema, as well.”