Another film festival season has arrived. The film loving minds who parted on the promise of meeting again at the next fair are coming back to Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala International Film Festival has opened up the world cinema to the Malayalees. At a time when films in all the languages of the world were not available at our fingertips, the film festival was the gateway to world cinema for Malayali.
At that time when there were no OTTs and other possibilities, IFFK fulfilled the cultural mission of bringing the latest trends in world cinema to movie lovers for a week. The film festival is a democratic festival of cinema which is so intertwined with the lives of Malayali.
The fairs of the past years were held in the face of crises such as floods and epidemics. Therefore, the film festival did not reach its full potential. All the dates in the festival calendar have changed from previous years’ fair.
The 27th film festival is being held from December 9th to 16th to recapture the past and restore the lost glory. More than ten thousand delegates will be reached. The main attractions are rare films that evoke the beauty of silence in world cinema and Serbian films on the theme of war and survival.
There are six films from Serbia in the ‘Country Focus’ category. 184 films will be screened in 17 categories including international competition section, world cinema section which includes the latest films that mark the movements of the world, special section of latest films by famous directors, recovery of classics, Indian Cinema Now, Malayalam Cinema Today and Homage. Out of which 90 films are first screened in India.
Special packages featuring images by Emir Kusturica, Bela Tarr, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Paul Schrader round out the fair. A screening of five silent films with live music played on the grand piano by Johnny Best, British Film Institute pianist, renowned music director and director of many silent film festivals. All the five films are at Tagore Theater at 6 pm. Master director Murno’s “Nosferatu”, which is considered a classic in world cinema, will also be seen accompanied by live music. It also has the distinction of being screened in the 100th year of the film.
IFFK’s popular director Kim Ki-dook’s last film ‘Call of God’, Godard’s Band of Outsiders and Harkha, a glimpse of the Arab Spring, will have a large line-up of films that will appeal to film lovers. Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Mammootty film Nan Pagal Nerath Mayakkum and Mahesh Narayanan–Kunchako Boban team’s announcement representing Malayalam are competing. G Aravind’s Thumb and Satyajit Ray’s Pratidhvanti are featured in the Classics Redemption section. Swayamvaram will also be screened to pay homage to Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s half-century-long life.
The Lifetime Achievement Award will be the same as Kerala’s recognition of renowned Hungarian director Bela Thar’s film career. The Spirit of Cinema Award goes to Iranian director Mahanaz Mahani, who has been fighting throughout her life using cinema as a weapon of struggle. Along with screenings, the festival also features popular platforms for debate, including face-to-face and open forums, making the festival a breeding ground for exchange of ideas and freedom of expression. The fair also provides a platform to listen to the testimonies of filmmakers who inspire the future generation of filmmakers by narrating their experiences and the ways in which their films came to be. The Mela is becoming an annual festival of secularism that calls for a new age through the integration of various streams beyond the visual in cinema.
This is a mission
Prem Kumar (Vice Chairman, Kerala Film Academy)
The Mela introduces Malayali to all the experiments and new waves in world cinema. There are films from around 70 countries this time. Through this you can get to know all these countries closely. A film marks various aspects of that country like culture, way of life, topography and history. Cinema is also a comprehensive marking of history for tomorrow beyond vision. All these films deal with contemporary issues and have a survival theme. IFFK is somehow united with human struggle and resistance. The film academy undertakes such a mission beyond entertainment.
Folk culture festival
C Ajoy (Secretary, Kerala Film Academy)
Many major film festivals have been canceled or postponed in many countries due to Covid. But we held the fair without any interruption. The 26th fair was held in March. It is also special that two IFFKs are being held this year. This was made possible by the support of the Government and the Department of Culture. This time the fair is being held as per the festival calendar as usual. After Ko Vid, the fair is in full swing in every sense. Around 200 representatives from the films to be screened will come to the fair. 40 of them are from abroad. The representative pass got a huge response.
Keeping in mind the new film talent
Deepika Sushilan (Festival Director)
This is the time when the question arises as to what is the relevance of film festivals. The advent of OTTs and the easy availability of foreign films are adding momentum to this question. The likes of Mubi are doing the same package for foreign fairs. The theatrical experience is important for the film. Apart from showing films, film festivals also aim to provide film education to the new generation. The festival is being prepared keeping in mind new film talents. Apart from the film, various sessions are also being prepared. This time, the resident pianist at the British Film Institute, Johnny Best, will be doing the live music. He was brought to the 50th Goan Mela. That day I told Johnny Best that I wanted to bring him to Kerala. The first thing he did when he took over as the director of the fair was to bring him to IFAFK. This movie viewing will be a once in a lifetime experience.
Looking forward to watching the movie
Don Palathara (Director)
When I saw the list of the movie, I was very excited. Films by Bela Thar, which I like a lot, are being screened in the ‘Retrospective’ section. Six films of Bela Thar are being screened. Five silent films are screened with live orchestra. Auteur Odds category has films by famous directors. The list of movies to watch has already been prepared.
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