Year Ender 2023: 10 art world & film festival controversies in India and abroad this year

Sudipto Sen's The Kerala Story was criticised for straying from facts. (Photo: Wikipedia)

The incursion of Hamas into Israel on October 7 and reportedly killing 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages and the Israeli attack on Gaza that resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 people so far, including women and children, divided the world of art in the last months of 2023 with resignations and withdrawals dominating headlines at art institutions and events.

If 2022 ended with an unprecedented open letter by participating artists from India and abroad to the Kochi Biennale Foundation flagging problems that led to its postponement in December 2022, the year 2023 saw controversies closer home too. At the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Panaji in November, there was a repeat of a jury chairman's outspoken comments from the 2022 edition involving The Kashmir Files.

Here is a look at the 10 major controversies in the art world in 2023:

1. The Kerala Story

Sudipto Sen was a member of the jury for international competition at the International Film Festival of India, Panaji, when the jury chairperson and Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid criticised the inclusion of The Kashmir Files for the Golden Peacock prize. Months later, Sen himself was flayed for straying from facts in his new directorial venture, The Kerala Story, which explored radicalisation of youth in Kerala. The producers of the box office hit removed the figures showing "32,000 women" were converted to Islam.

2. Ranjit Hoskote Resignation

Art scholar-poet Ranjit Hoskote resigned as member of Documenta selection committee after being criticised for signing an "anti-semitic" protest letter. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Art scholar and poet Ranjit Hoskote resigned from the selection committee of Documenta 16 art festival after being criticised for signing an "anti-semitic" protest letter. "It is clear to me that there is no room, in this toxic atmosphere, for a nuanced discussion of the issues at stake,” Hoskote said in his resignation letter. The next edition of Documenta, which will be held in Kassel, Germany in 2027, faced trouble after two resignations of its selection committee members, including Hoskote.

3. Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival Cancelled

Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in Turkey was cancelled following protests against removal of a documentary based on the 2016 failed coup in the country (Photo: Courtesy of Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival)

Turkey's famous festival, the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, was cancelled following protests against removal of a documentary based on the 2016 failed coup in the country. The festival, which was to be held during October 7-14, ran into trouble after several jury members and filmmakers withdrew in protest. Decree by Turkish filmmaker Nejla Demirci, which documented the travails of a teacher and physician sacked during the emergency following the failed coup, dealt with more than 125,000 government employees dismissed for alleged links to the coup attempt.

4. International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam

International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam witnessed the withdrawal of 18 filmmakers from its October edition (Photo courtesy of IDFA)

The top documentary film festival in the world, which had an Indian entry in its official selection this year, witnessed the withdrawal of 18 filmmakers from its October edition. The filmmakers said they were dismayed by a statement issued by the International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam authorities against a banner carried by protesters with "From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free" written on it. The withdrawing filmmakers said they didn't agree with the festival calling the poem "anti-semitic", an explanation backed by the Indian documentary director Anand Patwardhan in his speech after he won the Best Editing award for The World is Family.

5. Béla Tarr and Communism

International Film Festival of Kerala didn't extend the tenure of its artistic director following controversial comments of celebrated Hungarian director Béla Tarr (Photo: Courtesy of Press Information Bureau)

Celebrated Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr's criticism of communism at the Left Democratic Front-ruled Kerala's top film festival, the much-loved International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), caused a stir. Tarr, known for such works as Almanac of Fall (1984) and Damnation (1988), said during the festival he believed communist leaders took refuge under their ideology to camouflage human rights violations. The statement had its fallout when IFFK artistic director Deepika Suseelan's tenure was not extended in 2023. After the Tarr incident, the IFFK was held this year without an artistic director in charge.

6. German Photo Biennale Cancelled

Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie, Germany's major photo biennale, was cancelled following a social media post in support of Palestine by Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam (centre), one of its curators (Photo: Courtesy of Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie)

The Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie, Germany's major photo biennale, scheduled to be held in three cities in March 2024, was cancelled following a social media post in support of Palestine by one its curators. Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam's Facebook post mentioned the ongoing Israeli military attack on Gaza, which the biennale authorities found "anti-semitic". Alam's compatriots and co-curators, Tanzim Wahab and Munem Wasif, supported his stance, saying "we were invited to curate the Biennale because they claimed they wanted our voice, and our perspective on how we see the world".

7. International Film Festival of India, Goa

Documentary director Arvind Sinha, the chair of jury for the Indian Panorama non-feature film section at the International Film Festival of India this year, flayed the event for focusing more on Bollywood. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Well known documentary director Arvind Sinha, the chair of jury for the Indian Panorama non-feature film section at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Panaji this year came down heavily on what he described as the "Bollywoodisation of IFFI". Sinha, who criticised the prominence given to several Bollywood directors at IFFI, said more attention should be on supporting independent filmmakers. The statement from the National Award-winning director drew outrage from the Mumbai film industry.

8. British Museum Artifacts Stolen

The British Museum said in August it had discovered that several items from its collection were missing or stolen. (Photo: Courtesy of British Museum)

In August, the British Museum said it had discovered that several items from its collection were missing or stolen. The scandal led to the resignation of its director, Hatrwig Fischer. The museum said about 2,000 artifacts had been missing, including gold jewelry, semi precious gems and glass dating back to the 15th century. It emerged that there were warnings as early as in 2021 about objects from the museum available for online sale. Fischer said the museum may not have responded to the warnings comprehensively.

9. Michelangelo's David 

A school principal was sacked in Florida, United States, after parents complained that their children were shown photographs of Michelangelo’s David statue. (Photo: Wikipedia)

A school principal was sacked in Florida, United States, after parents complained that their children were shown photographs of Michelangelo’s David statue. The parents said the 16th century statue was "pornographic". Hope Carrasquilla, the principal of Florida’s Tallahassee Classical School, was forced to resign following the protests. The incident led to the mayor of Florence, where the statue is housed, saying it was wrong to mistake art for pornography. Carrasquilla was later invited by the mayor to visit Florence.

10. World Photography Awards and AI

German photographer Boris Eldagsen returned the award he won at this year's Sony World Photography Awards saying his work was the product of Artificial Intelligence. (Photo: Wikipedia)

A photographer who won the best prize in the creative category of Sony World Photography Awards in April this year, returned the award saying his photography work was the product of Artificial Intelligence. German photographer Boris Eldagsen's entry, Pseudomnesia: The Electrician, was a black-and-white portrait of two men from different generations depicting the visual language of family portraits. Eldagsen said he used the image generator DALL-E2 developed by OpenAI.