Reel deal: Delegates queue up for hours to get passes, kits

PANAJI: Five o'clock on Monday evening, half an hour before the inaugural of Iffi 2010, everything seemed almost ready to roll. Almost.
Three queues of people at the entrance of the old GMC building were in a rush to collect their delegate passes. They produced their code number and required identity proof at counter one, paid up at counter two and finally collected their passes at counter three.Payal Rohatgi a media student from Delhi said, "I've been travelling overnight to get here, arrived exhausted and then had to get lodged. I've been waiting here for over 45 minutes."
Inside, a bunch of people sporting their delegate passes realize that there's yet another queue to get their kits. "I came all the way from Margao today to get my kit and had to stand in a long queue," said Margao-based school teacher and movie buff, Anju Kamat. While each kit came with the list of movies to be screened as part of the Indian Panorama, the list of international films was not in the bag even though a box of them were visible at the side of the counter. Asked why they were not distributed out, Iffi staff said that they had strict orders to give them out the next day.
Some people were on top of things, however, and checked the movie details online. Yet, stepping into the Inox courtyard, there were more queues. This time, it was delegates booking movie tickets. "I tried booking online this morning but I don't think the e-ticketing system is working yet. I checked this evening and I've still not received a PIN which is essential to book online," said movie buff Gustavo Vaz.
Stepping outside and Djeneba Diaby, an Abu Dhabi-based film programmer stood patiently in line to get her pass. "I've been to a lot of film festivals around the world and this is as best as it gets anywhere," she quipped, referring to the long wait. "I've been waiting for almost 30 minutes but it's the same everywhere," she added.
It was almost 5.30pm outside Kala Academy and big white cars stopped by the entrance as international film folk stepped onto the red carpet, smiles on their faces, with new meetings and happy greetings.
The show must go on.