THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The International Children's Film festival of Kerala(ICFFK) has been an unexpected hit since its first edition and was much celebrated like the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
The films screened were entertaining and informative. At IFFK, many young film enthusiasts below 18 years were denied a delegate pass. Complaints were taken up with the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW) and the department decided to conduct a film festival exclusively for children.
Last year, when the first ICFFK threw open its doors, children barged in. Like IFFK, ICFFK also saw the participation of delegates across the state who swarmed to the festival grounds to celebrate and discuss children's films. ICFFK has become the 'IFFK' for children and has been raised to a level where more than 160 films have been screened with the participation of filmmakers, theatre artists and singers from the film industry.
Organised by the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare in association with Kerala Chalachitra Academy and Kerala State Film Development Corporation, ICFFK has been screening films dealing with different themes, bringing in some of the finest movies for the young movie buffs on the big screen.
A total of 160 films are being screened across five venues- Kairali, Sree, Nila, Kalabhavan and Tagore, out of which 20 are international films.
"The second edition of the ICFFK was a huge success like the first edition. We had been planning to conduct a film festival for children along the lines of IFFK for a long time to introduce children to world cinema. One can see the participation of children ranging from directing films to playing the lead characters solely at this festival," said Deepak S P, the general convenor of the festival.
Producer Arun Sol said, “ I have been part of many festivals held across the globe but have never witnessed a festival which involves the participation of children to such an extent like the ICFFK. Ten years back, the joy and enthusiasm I felt while attending IFFK is not the same that I felt this time. It has become more formal. But, ICFFK has been successful in introducing young film enthusiasts to the cinema world.”
His daughter, Thamanna has made a short film 'Lunch break' which is currently competing in a film category at the ICFFK.