State Film Awards jury chairman I V Sasi said that there was tough competition in all the main categories of the state awards.
“There were a lot of experimental movies, many of them marking a strong deviation from the conventional style of filmmaking. We also observed the emergence of a flock of debutant filmmakers. While a handful of films were highly promising in quality and content wise, the majority were unbearable,” he said.
The jury recommended that special awards be introduced for live recording and special visual effects. It also suggested to set up a panel for a first round selection of the films if the entries exceed 50.
“The prints of many entries were substandard. It shows the lack of seriousness in filmmaking. Some of the prints looked as if they were shot using a mobile camera,” he said. He also added that songs and complete lyrics should be submitted before the jury to be considered for the awards. “This time we had to buy the CDs and get the lyrics. In the future such entries should not be accepted,” he said.
Minister K B Ganesh Kumar said that the Academy rules would be amended so that there would be a preliminary-level screening if the entries were more than 50. He was speaking to mediapersons after declaring the Awards. He also said that the Academy was considering introduction of an entry fee for films from next year onwards.
“All recommendations of the jury will be considered,” he said.