THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The second day of the International Documentary and Short film Festival of Kerala witnessed the screening of some good films which portrayed complex human lives.
Among the noted films in campus film category were Vivek Joseph Varughese’s ‘Fugue’ which portrayed the entry of a stranger to Ashley, who was living alone, and Vishnu K Madhav’s ‘Exodus,’ which was about human wishes.
Manoj C Haridas’ ‘Arrow of Time’ too received acclaim.
Harshid Pachaury’s ‘Bleeding Heart’ spoke about the complexities of homosexuality.
Freedom of screening
None has the right to prevent screening of films in public spaces, said Anupama Chandra, co-director of ‘The Books We Made.’ Three films were denied permission for screening at the festival. The number may go up in future. The state government should make strong intervention to prevent such incidents in future, she said.Santhosh Karthikeyan, director of ‘Arakalkakathu’ said the best way to protest against the ban was to screen the films.
Not just documentation
Documentary films are not just documentation of original incidents, Palestinian director Mai Masri said.
In an interaction with Beena Paul, she said documentaries should address issues naturally.
“Documentary directors are preservers of tradition and history. Several Palestinian incidents which weren’t recorded in written history were preserved through documentaries,” she said.
The Palestinian Government does not give any financial assistance to film makers. Masri produces films with the assistance from countries in the Middle East and Europe.Masri said internet and digital technology has helped in democratisation of cinema.
Masri’s five documentaries are screened at the festival under the ‘Filmmaker in Focus’ category.