07 January , 2016
Dozens Of Students Beaten Up And Arrested In FTII
By Countercurrents.org
Dozens of students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) were beaten up inside the campus, arrested and forcefully removed from the campus. The students were protesting against arrival of Gajendra Chauhan to take charge as the chairman of India's premier film institute. Two female students and 23 male students were arrested. Shini J.K, one of the female students arrested said the female students were attacked by male police, a gross violation of human rights
27 November, 2015
Fear And Loathing In IFFI: 87 Filmmakers Stand In Solidarity With FTII Students
Press Release
As members of the filmmaking fraternity and well-wishers of cinema in India, we would like to place on record our solidarity with the students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), and our anguish at the way they continue to be treated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and its various departments. How the Directorate of Film Festivals of India has behaved with these students at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2015, currently underway in Goa is an example of this. From ex-students being arrested for exercising their democratic right to protest and false charges being framed against them, to being denied entry into the festival despite valid accreditation simply because they happen to be from FTII, to a student being put in preventive detention – these are measures that have nothing to do with the objectives that IFFI was set up fo
25 November, 2015
Fear And Loathing In Goa: Dear Fellow Film Makers,
How Can You Be So Insensitive? Boycott IFFI!
By Rakesh Sharma
To all my fellow film-makers, the official invitees to this government-controlled film festival - speak up, speak strongly and unequivocally. Your silence is an endorsement of the persecution of the FTII students, and of the stranglehold the government has tightened at the festival venues, crushing free speech and dissent, indeed, the soul of any film festival
22 November, 2015
A Student Arrested For Wearing FTII T-Shirt At IFFI, Goa
By Students’ Association, FTII
Two ex students, Kislay Gonzalvez and Shubham who have been arrested by the GOA police for chanting slogans and holding placards to register a protest against the I&B ministry in the inaugural session of IFFI 2015, are now released on Bail with a surety of 10,000/- each. Ashutosh, another current student of FTII then got arrested in the venue for wearing an FTII t-shirt which was designed during IFFI 2011 and later released on 10,000/- personal bonds. All the three, the 2 ex-students and the current student are not allowed to enter the festival venue premises for the rest of the festival days despite them having valid delegate registration and identity cards. The police have kept their wallets and cell phones with them and are being checked now
21 November , 2015
FTII Strikers Protest At IFFI: Two Arrested
By Subhash Gatade
Ultimately the roaring voice of the FTII students reached the IFFI (International Film Festival of India) inaugural held at Panaji, Goa. Two alumni of FTII found an empty block on top, where they were seated silently till the whole inaugural ceremony ended.’ Security people who were present there in large numbers pounced on the two of them – Kislay, a young film director, an alumni of FTII, who has received critical acclaim for his very first film and Shubham, another alumni of FTII – and according to a facebook post both of them have been badly beaten by the Goan police for showing the placards and shouting slogans… They are still under the police custody and being interrogated
12 Strategies The Government Is Adopting To Keep FTII Students'
Mouth Shut In IFFI, Goa
By Shini J.K.
The potential conspirators' master plan for IFFI, Goa...
17 November, 2015
Censor Board Chairman Pahlaj Nihalani Calls FTII Students 'Anti Nationals'
By Ranjit Nair
Response from an FTII Student to the Censor Board Chairman Pahlaj Nihalani
06 November, 2015
Not To Speak Out Now Is A Crime
By Saeed Mirza
When the students of the FTII rose up in revolt against the ad-hoc and arrogant imposition of the Governing Council members of their institute by the Government of India little did they realize that the cause for which they were fighting would turn out to be so much larger
24 Film Makers Return National Awards
By Countercurrents.org
Twenty-Four members of film fraternity returned their national awards to protest against “the threat to the academic culture at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)” and “the horror at people being attacked and killed for their beliefs”. The decision was announced at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday
29 October, 2015
Returning An Award
By Anand Patwardhan
It is the duty of all thinking citizens to speak out before it becomes too late. Filmmakers are thinking citizens who cannot look away. When the government attempted to foist unqualified saffron administrators on the FTII, students there went on strike. The strike has lasted an unprecedented 4 months
28 October, 2015
Ten Film Makers Return National Awards Over Growing Intolerance In The Country
By Countercurrents.org
Although the students of The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) have called off their strike and returned to their classes, the FTII row is not dying down. In a new form of protest ten film makers including Anand Patwardhan and Dibakar Banerjee returned their National Awards today. They said that they are returning their awards in protest of the governments unwillingness to resolve the FTII crisis amicably and also to protest the ‘growing intolerance’ in the country.
28 October, 2015
FTII Students End Phase I Of Their Strike To Take The Protest Nationwide
By Countercurrents.org
After 139 day long strike the students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has ended the first phase of their protest. The students has vowed to continue the protest and make it a nationwide campaign. The students will resume their academic activities from now onwards.
19 September, 2015
FTII Strike 100th Day: A Battleground To Preserve The Secular Polity Of India
By Binu Mathew
Today is the 100th day of the heroic strike of the Film and Television institute of India (FTII), Pune students. For the last nine days three students are on hunger strike. Their hunger strike is now on for 200 hours. Lives are at stake, yet the Government of India doesn’t move. The strike started by 200 odd students of FTII has spread far and wide, to every nook and corner of India and has become a movement against saffronisation of India’s secular polity
10 September, 2015
Three FTII Students Begin Indefinite Hunger Strike
By Countercurrents.org
Three students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) today began an indefinite Hunger Strike, demanding that the ensuing crisis be resolved. The students are on a 91 day long strike against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan, a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member and TV actor, as chairman of FTII, India's premier film institute, in an effort to saffronize it by Hindutva forces
19 August, 2015
Police Raid FTII Campus At Midnight, Arrest Five Students
By Countercurrents.org
A Police raid was conducted at midnight at Film And Television Institute of India ( FTII) against striking students and five students were arrested on false charges. The complaint was filed by the director of the institute , Prashant Pathrabe, after students gheraoed him on Monday protesting “irrational and unjustified” assessment of the incomplete diploma projects. Acting on a complaint filed by Mr. Pathrabe, police lodged an FIR against 15 students. The arrested students face charges of rioting under Section 353 of the IPC. Section 353 is non-bailable which means that students will be lodged in jail.
05 August, 2015
Confer Phalke Award To Gajendra Chauhan And Solve The FTII Crisis Immediately
By Ajithkumar B.
We request all proud sons and daughters of Mother India to sign this petition on Change.org to confer the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema to Sri. Gajendra Chauhan immediately. Share this message and let us reach 10000 million signatures which is the minimum number for the Government of India to take notice. If sharing and getting the signatures take time, or if the target is more than the population of earth, we still can use those click farms in Philippines that we used during the last parliament election to multiply 'like's on the Facebook page of our great Leader
13 July, 2015
Bravo Students, Only You Can Bring Truly Acche Din For India: Dr Anand Teltumbde
12 July, 2015
Gurvinder Singh Supports #FTIIStrike
11 July, 2015
10 July, 2015
Ranbir Kapoor Supports FTII Strike
10 July, 2015
Screen Patti's Spoof Of The New FTII Chairman And His Ideology Is Hilarious
Screen Patti's new talk show "Daaru Pe Charcha" features actor Rajesh Sharma in its first episode as Gajendra Chauhan, the newly appointed chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), and he is hilarious! He speaks about his appointment as the chairman of the institute and why he is the right person for the designation. He also shares his ideology behind cinema and his vision about the film institute.
01 July, 2015
Why The FTII Strike Matters
By Shini J.K
The people who asks how the appointment of FTII chairman affects the public, and those people who asks, where FTII was when saffronisation, right wing agenda and the financial repercussions of neo-colonialist interests, existed alongside, our conversation is with them
28 June, 2015
26 June, 2015
25 June, 2015
24 June, 2015
23 June, 2015
22 June, 2015
Resist Fascist Invasion Of FTII
By Shini J K
In a country, which is proud of its so called ‘culture’, we the students of its best film school, is on strike, for the last eleven days, against the cultural fascism of this Great Nation, for the existence of this institute, for the generations who made cinema, their life and politics, and definitely for ourselves
16 June, 2015
Why Are FTII Students Again On Strike?
By Ajithkumar B. and Kamal K. M.
The central government, in blatant disregard to all conventions regarding academic administration appointed Mr. Gajendra Chauhan, whose claim to glory is having acted the part of Yudhishtira in the TV series Mahabharata. He has also acted in a number of soft porn flicks. He is a ruling party man. Except four members from the film fraternity who have resigned, all other appointees to the newly constituted GC are functionaries of various organisations of the saffron brigade who have nothing to do with cinema
15 June, 2015
An Open Letter To Mr Gajendra Chauhan By An FTII Student
By An FTII Student
As protests against the appointment of Mr Gajendra Chauhan as new chairman of the Institute gather steam, with students on an indefinite strike since 12 th June and a joint protest being organised in Delhi on Tuesday at 11 am in front of I&B ministy in solidarity with the strike, here is an open letter written to the newly appointed Chairman by a FTII student. Facts are also coming to the fore that not only Mr Chauhan but four of the eight members nominated under ‘Persons of Eminence’ category to the society also have saffron connections further demonstrating how the Sangh Parivar is keen to change the very ethos and nature of these institutions and establish its regressive agenda
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