At the closing ceremony of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), one of the jury members, Nadav Lapid, didn’t have pleasant remarks about Vivek Agnihotri’s film The Kashmir Files, which released in March this year. Talking about the drama based on the exodus of the Kashmiri Pundits, Lapid said, “I would like to thank the head of the festival and the director of the programming for the cinematic richness of the programme, for its diversity, for its complexity. It was intense. We saw seven films in the debutant competition, and 15 films in the international competition, the front window of the festival. 14 out of them had cinematic qualities, defaults and evoked vivid discussions.”
He added, “All of us were disturbed and shocked by the 15th film, The Kashmir Files. That felt like a propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival. I feel totally comfortable openly sharing these feelings here with you at this stage. In the spirit of this festival, we can surely also accept a critical discussion, which is essential for art and life.”
His comments have attracted massive attraction on social media, both for and against the motion. But who is Nadav Lapid?
Background and film debut
He is the son of writer Haim Lapid and film editor Era Lapid. He studied philosophy at Tel Aviv University. He returned to Israel to pursue a degree at the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem. His debut film Policeman won the Locarno Festival Special Jury Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2011.
Accolades for work
His 2014 film The Kindergarten Teacher was featured in the 2014 International Critics’ Week. Lapid was named as a member of the jury of the International Critics’ Week section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. He is also a recipient of the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. His film Synonyms won the Golden Bear award at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2019.
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