KOCHI: The 28th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), the week-long movie extravaganza, will kick off in the capital city on Friday. The festival, held at 15 venues, will feature around 175 movies from 81 countries across the world.
This year, the organiser, Kerala State Chalachithra Academy, has decided to restrict participation to ensure a smooth and safe festival. The development comes in the wake of a stampede that claimed four lives at a music concert on a university campus in Kochi.
“Last year, around 15,000 had participated in the festival. This year, we have restricted the number to 11,000. We have strict orders from the police department not to allow entry beyond the seating capacity at the venues. Also, we hope not to repeat the few issues we had regarding crowd management this year,” says Ajoy Chandran, the secretary of Chalachithra Academy.
For effective crowd management, especially for cultural events held in connection with the IFFK, the Academy has decided to relocate the venue of such programmes to Manaveeyam Veedhi.“We hosted the event inside Tagore Theatre. Fortunately, no mishap occurred. This year, we decided to move the cultural events to Manaveeyam Veedhi so that everyone can enjoy the cultural events,” Ajoy adds.
To ensure the smooth conduct of the festival, the Academy has recruited around 350 volunteers. “We are giving special training for the volunteers for effective crowd management. A majority of them will be deployed at theatre venues for managing and guiding the delegates,” says an organiser.
Last year, violence erupted at the venues during the screening of some movies, including Mammootty-starrer Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam and Tovino movie Vazhakku. Irked delegates staged a protest for not being granted entry to the screening venue, which led to police intervention and the detaining of a few.
“Last year, Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam premiered at IFFK. That is one of the reasons for the ruckus. This year, a clutch of Malayalam movies are being screened, including Kaathal - The Core. As these movies are already out in theatres, we don’t think there would be much of a crowd,” says an organiser.
30% unreserved seats
For the past three years, the Academy has introduced 100% reservation for seats in theatre venues at the festival. While the move made sense during the waning years of the Covid pandemic, there have been widespread complaints against the system recently. It has been pointed out that the elderly and movie lovers are finding this system difficult.
“We have decided to give 30% of seats for unreserved entry. There will be a separate queue at the venues for delegates with and without reservation. We will not allow people inside the venue beyond the seating capacity,” says an official.
Many feel that it’s going to be a herculean task for the organisers to manage the crowd this year as there is a chance for more crowding at the venues for unreserved seats. According to the organisers, there are only 8,000 seats at all 15 venues, and the participation will be around 12,000.
“There is going to be crowding, and it will be a task to manage these crowds, especially the youngsters. Last year, they came en masse for the movies, and there were issues at the venues as they come in large groups, and it’s impossible to allow entry for all,” says an official.
An official said that there are behavioural changes among the crowd attending the festival. “In the last couple of years, there has been a generational shift in the delegates attending the festival. Managing them is no easy task as they are too young,” says an organiser.
“We are seriously considering seeking the help of professional counsellors from next year onwards to sensitise such a crowd. They are mostly young, and they get unruly when things don’t go their way, or they get upset when they are unable to watch the same movie with full gang,” he further explains.
Riding over financial crisis
With the financial crisis looming large, the Kerala State Chalachithra Academy is planning to raise funds from sponsorship to reduce the financial burden on the state government. Every year, an average of Rs 7 to 8 crore is required for conducting the festival.
Last year, the academy raised funds to the tune of Rs 50 lakh through sponsorship. “In the coming years, we will be looking for more sponsorship to conduct the festival. The government is very positive. This year, they have promised adequate funds. We are also trying for sponsorships too,” says an Academy official.The academy spent Rs 1.25 crore on renting out the venues for hosting the festival. This year, there will be 445 screenings.
Festival infrastructure from scraps
To make the IFFK more cost-effective, this year, the festival office and all associated infrastructure at all the venues are made from scrap materials. “We are using scrap materials for the construction of infrastructure for the IFFK. Around Rs 12 lakh is required for the setting up of the infrastructure for the IFFK,” says an official.
Free bus rides
The Academy has introduced free bus rides for delegates. The intiative, supported by KSRTC, was a big hit last year.