Who is Nadav Lapid? Know all about IFFI jury head who called ‘The Kashmir Files’ a ‘propaganda, vulgar movie’

At the closing ceremony of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Monday, the festival’s jury head Nadav Lapid condemned the inclusion of  Vivek Agnihotri’s “The Kashmir Files” in the list, calling it “propaganda, vulgar movie”.   In the video, Lapid can be heard saying, “All of us were disturbed and shocked by the movie The Kashmir Files. It felt to us like a propaganda, vulgar movie that was inappropriate for an artistic, competitive section of such a prestigious film festival.

I feel comfortable to share open the feelings with you since the spirit of the festival can truly accept critical discussion”, Lapid said. Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following systematic killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists. The film was also slammed as a “propaganda film” by several critics.

It stars Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi among others. Nadav Lapid made the remark in the presence of top ministers, including Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur.  After the video of his speech went viral on Twitter, Nadav Lapid has been receiving flak on social media for the comments.

Who is Nadav Lapid? Nadav Lapid is an Israeli screenwriter and film director. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1975, the director and screenwriter studied philosophy at Tel Aviv University. After military service, he moved to Paris before returning to Israel to take a degree at the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in Jerusalem.

His short film Kvish (Road) screened in the 2005 Panorama. His debut feature film Policeman won the Special Jury Prize at Locarno in 2011 while The Kindergarten Teacher featured in the 2014 Semaine de la Critique at Cannes. In 2015, Lama? (Why?) was screened in Berlinale Shorts.

He is a recipient of the French Order Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. His Filmography2003 Proyect gvul short film 2005 Kvish (Road)short film 2006 Ha-chavera shell Emile (Emile’s Girlfriend)short film 2011 Policeman 2013 Footsteps in Jerusalem documentary 2014 The Kindergarten Teacher · Love Letters to Cinema short film · Lama?short film 2016 The Diary of a Wedding Photographershort film 2019 Synonymes (Synonyme)#Breaking: #IFFI Jury says they were “disturbed and shocked” to see #NationalFilmAward winning #KashmirFiles, “a propoganda, vulgar movie” in the competition section of a prestigious festival— organised by the Govt of India. Over to @vivekagnihotri sir…@nadavlapi pic.

twitter. com/ove4xO8Ftr— Navdeep Yadav (@navdeepyadav321) November 28, 2022 IFFI was first held in 1952 and has since been held annually to provide a common platform for the best cinema at an international level and project the excellence of film art. It is organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals in Asia, an organisation under the Union ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Over the course of the 9-day festival, 280 films from 79 countries were screened. These included 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films from India in the ‘Indian Panorama’ section while 183 films were part of international programming. The Kashmir Files was selected for the Indian Panorama Section and was screened at 22 November.

The special screening was attended by Anupam Kher, who was part of the movie. The selected films for the ‘Indian Panorama’ section, with an aim for promoting film art, will also be cued in for non-profit screening at international film festivals in India and abroad, Indian Film Weeks held under Bilateral Cultural Exchange Programmes and Specialized Indian Film Festivals outside cultural exchange protocols, as well as special Indian Panorama festivals in India. The ‘Indian Panorama’ was introduced in 1978, under the IFFI umbrella, to promote Indian films along with the country’s rich culture and heritage with the help of cinematic art.

Since its inception, the ‘Indian Panorama’ has been devoted to showcasing the best of Indian cinema. (With inputs from agencies)The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri buys luxurious new apartment in Mumbai’s posh locality – here’s how much it costs.