Filmmakers cry foul over film awards
12 December 2008
The seventh national film award ceremony that doled out 28 different awards left a bad taste in the mouths of many in the film industry who say the awards were not given fairly.
A case of sour grapes and bad losers? Or are the complaints legitimate? From the 16 films reviewed, 10 different awards went to Lengo II, four went to Kushu Thara, three each went to Zhizang and Don’t Tell Mom, and two went to Tharchin while Lamtoen, Phot Pa Melong, Fate Cheats, Singye Galem, Sergel and Baakcha bagged an award each.|
Most of the awards went to art films. Kushu Thara, for example, took the awards for Best Film and Best Culture Based Film.
“The judges should have segregated art films from commercial films,” said Tshering Wangyel, Vice President of the Motion Picture Association of Bhutan (MPAB). “If this trend goes on, a day will come when commercial films will not participate in the film awards.”
Others in the film industry complained that, let alone awards, even nominations had not gone to deserving films and people.
“Fairness has never been there in giving the awards. Each judge favours a particular movie and if the judges remain the same, it will never be fair. The Best Director and the Best Art Director awards were given to the film, Don’t Tell Mom, which was a carbon copy of an Iranian film, Children of Heaven. Are our judges encouraging copying?” a filmmaker said.
Actor and producer Kencho Wangdi said that the judges should double-check the originality of films.
“My scripts were not even nominated. Technically, I felt that what I wrote was worthy of being nominated,” said scriptwriter Tshering Penjore. “If a script is judged on the mere story line, it is not fair,” he said.
A producer suggested that many filmmakers would boycott the awards in the years to come if they felt the awards continued to be unfairly decided. Meanwhile, a number of filmmakers said that the awards would be fair only if the judges were brought in from outside Bhutan.
“Bhutan is a small country and everyone knows each other, hence favouritism is rife,” said a director. However, Sherub Gyaltshen, the MPAB General Secretary, said that the film awards had been given fairly. “We can’t satisfy everyone,” he said.
He also explained that the right of nominating individuals for different categories of awards lay with all producers.
“We do have plans to bring judges from outside but we are short of funds,” he said, adding, that technical experts would be called from India to judge Bhutanese films with the help of senior filmmakers, from next year onwards.
By Tandin Pem
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just let the people vote..and give them 50%…and let Judges give 50% ..might get little better.and please..don’t claim your script was worthy of nominations….everyone thinks the same..but not everyone gets it…!!!!!!
and yea…copying should not be encouraged…..and better awards for films having song & dance scenes..running around trees stuffs…Kokaleko Kokaleko …Yuck!!
i meant “better awards for films without song & dance scenes..running around trees stuffs”thanks
Corruption everywhere…. something serious needs to be done… but who?
bhutan is a small country, full of corruption. bhutan has been adjudged 9th in the cleanest country recently as per kuensel but i feel bhutan is able to cheat international community also.
MPAB should do some good home work before anything is awarded. hope it will improve but surely not ……… corruption.
if the film industry invite judges from outside country, will they be able to understand the film? i mean the story….and yes its a corruption,it will be better if we let the people vote 50% as now Bhutan is a newly born democratic country..so it will be better to give public the right to vote.
Voting is good and fair but how n who will monitor the votes. But dont make things too commercial like the voting for Bhutan stars. After in Bhutan Happiness should take precedence over commercialism and corruptions
I don’t think only one judge made the decision and declared the winners of the awards… It can be true what was pen down in the above article if only a judge were there to take the decisions for the winner of the awards.
i want to know who are the judges selected by the MPAB? favouritism and corruption is what we got in our head but to know who are the judges for selecting, so that it will be clear.
I personally feel that there is no harm in carbon copying …provided the story,theme or the moral is good…infact people who do not understand foreign language will atleast get opportunity to watch good movie in our own language be it copied one or anything.
Bhutan is beautiful country with an unpleasing attitude people.People are still shortsighted and and can’t stand the value of appreciating the new thing’s which may be pleasing and a good way for enhancemet .i believe people should appreciate the true work & box office report’s while nominating the different categories, before reaching for the final settlement.It’s sad,when the movie industry which is just the beginner,in a poor ‘judgemental issues’.Judge’s, i guess it’s high time to be fair,alteast to judge a ‘few movies’.i don’t think you are given very complicated task,on which you have to be such a thinker and blow the charm of gracing any categories of awards.Anyways we vote the judges in the “Worst decision Maker’ of the year.