The second day of the 56th International Film Festival of India in Goa was filled with creative energy, where filmmakers, writers and performers came together to talk about their craft and ideas about the future of cinema. As audiences moved between packed halls and lively lawns, the festival felt like a living conversation about the emotional power of films and the technology shaping what comes next.
The afternoon opened with ‘Unscripted’ – The Art and Emotion of Filmmaking, an intimate conversation featuring acclaimed filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra and celebrated writer Abhijat Joshi. Loosely inspired by their bestselling book Unscripted: Conversations on Life and Cinema, the session offered a rare and candid look into the minds behind some of India’s most beloved films.
Chopra and Joshi’s conversation unfolded like a memory-filled tapestry recalling the making of Parinda, the cultural impact of 3 Idiots and the heartfelt storytelling behind Shikara. The duo spoke not just about scripts and frames, but about the very nature of artistic truth. “Cinema must come from a place of honesty,” Joshi shared, while Chopra reflected on the emotional responsibility of a filmmaker. Together, they explored how their creative partnership has shaped decades of unforgettable cinema.
The audience responded warmly to their humour particularly when Chopra described filmmaking as ‘a lifelong attempt to understand human sorrow and joy through images.’ The conversation reinforced why this writer-director duo continues to be one of the industry’s most respected creative forces.
At 4:30 PM, the focus shifted from Indian cinema to the global stage with A Eurasian Festival Frontier: Do We Need to Redefine Cinema in the World of AI?, a forward-driven dialogue between Berlinale Festival Director Tricia Tuttle and IFFI Festival Director and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. The session tackled what Kapur called “the most defining shift in cinematic history since the invention of sound”—the rise of Artificial Intelligence.
Together, they examined how AI is reshaping storytelling, editing, production design and even distribution at this point. Tuttle highlighted both the opportunities and the ethical challenges of the digital era, noting that film festivals must adapt to remain cultural gatekeepers, while Kapur emphasised the need for filmmakers to stay rooted in human experience even as technology expands what is possible.
The session sparked spirited debate among attendees, many of whom viewed AI with equal parts excitement and apprehension. Tuttle proposed new festival frameworks for AI-generated works, while Kapur stressed that technology should not erase the artist but empower them and enhance the true essence of the artists. The conversation echoed a rapidly evolving global discourse: where does creativity end and computation begin?
Closing the day was a deeply immersive exploration of performance with Breath and Emotion: A Masterclass by renowned theatre guru Vinayakumar of Adishakti. Known for pioneering a unique, physicalised craft of emotional stimulation which was developed under the guidance of gurus Veenapani Chawla and Vinayakumar, the session traced the anatomy of emotion through breath.
Drawing from the ayurvedic system, the koodiyattam performances, neurobiology, mathematics, and the circadian rhythm. Vinayakumar demonstrated how every emotion in the human body corresponds with distinctive patterns of breathing. And for actors, he explained, mastering breath means mastering the architecture of inner life.
Participants listened intently as he delved into the science and spirituality of performance, illustrating how breath becomes the bridge between thought and expression. Several attendees described the masterclass as “transformative,” noting that it offered not only a performance tool but a deeper understanding of the human psyche itself.
As day two of IFFI drew to a close, it left behind a vibrant trail of ideas and if today proved anything, it is that cinema is not just a medium of entertainment but a living and evolving conversation, one that IFFI continues to amplify with passion and purpose.
