(L-R): US producer Jinko Gotoh, French documentary filmmaker Javier Angulo Barturen and French film editor Pascale Chavance said they stand by Lapid’s statement that The Kashmir Files (below) was ‘a vulgar and propaganda’ movie

Three members of the jury board of the just concluded International Film Festival of India (IFFI) have said that “they stand by” the jury head, Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, following his recent comments on The Kashmir Files. Lapid drew sharp reactions when he called it “a propaganda and vulgar movie that was inappropriate for an artistic and competitive section of such a prestigious film festival”.

In a joint statement issued through social media, BAFTA winner American producer Jinko Gotoh, French film editor Pascale Chavance and French documentary filmmaker Javier Angulo Barturen said, “We were not taking a political stance on the film’s content. We were making an artistic statement, and it saddens us to see the festival platform being used for politics.”

However, Sudipto Sen, the lone Indian in the jury, maintained that the remarks made by Lapid about the film were his personal opinion. “As a board member, I stand by that we didn’t award The Kashmir Files. We only awarded five films. This decision was unanimous. And we gave an official presentation to the NFDC and the festival authority. After that jury board’s work is done. Now after that if somebody goes in public and picks up one particular film and says something which is not expected, then that is his personal feeling. It has nothing to do with the jury board (sic),” Sen said.

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Three fellow International Film Festival of India (IFFI) jury members have come out in support of Nadav Lapid, the Israeli filmmaker who was in the eye of a storm for his remarks on The Kashmir Files.

In a joint Twitter statement, American producer Jinko Gotoh, French film editor Pascale Chavance and French filmmaker Javier Angulo Barturen, said, “We stand by his (Lapid’s) statement. And to clarify, we were not taking a political stance on the film’s content. We were making an artistic statement, and it saddens us greatly to see the festival platform being used for politics and subsequent personal attacks on Nadav,” the statement read.

Sudipto Sen, the lone Indian in the jury board, however, maintained that Lapid’s remarks were his personal opinion. “I stand by that we didn’t award The Kashmir Files. We only awarded five films. This decision was unanimous. We gave an official presentation to the NFDC and the festival authority. After that jury board’s work is done,” Sen said. “Now they (the three jury members) are not in the country. I am. So, I would’ve been the best person to defend that, but they did not include me. It means it’s not the jury board’s decision,” he added.

Lapid had termed the film “vulgar and propaganda” in his speech at the award ceremony during the closing night of the nine-day film festival, but later apologized to anyone he had offended.