There might be confusion, defective planning and stampede, but all the delegates who attended the 19th edition of IFFK are happy about one thing - the selection of films. “Films selected in all the ten sections were good. And most of the films were worth waiting in the long queues,” says Sasidharan, a delegate.
Even on the last day of the festival there was a massive crowd for ‘The President’ which was screened at Kairali. The film directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf is about a dictator who is overthrown from power. “The President’ and ‘One for the Road’ by Jack Zagha Kababie are the best films I watched this year,” says Saranya, a delegate.
Four films in the International Competition section - ‘Zahir’, ‘Oblivion Season’, ‘The Bright Day’ and ‘Refugiado’ - were screened at packed houses for the fourth time. ‘Zahir’ directed by Sidhartha Siva portrays the life of a man in love with a mannequin. ‘Oblivion Season’ by noted Iranian filmmaker Abbas Rafei is woven around the life of an ex prostitute who enters matrimony craving for a normal life. The film shows her struggles in an unfriendly society. ‘The Bright Day’, another Iranian film by Hossein Shahabi, is about Rosahan who works as a kindergarten teacher. At one point she becomes a witness of an unintentional homicide. Argentinian film ‘Refugiado’ by Diego Lerman is about seven-year-old Matias and his mother who fall victims to a tragic incident.
‘Unto the Dusk’ is another film in the International Competition Section’ which was screened at a jam packed theatre. The glass panes in front of the New theatre were broken during the first screening as delegates rushed inside. The film follows a former seminary student who sets off on a journey which turns out to one of self discovery.
Crowd went out of control for the screening of a couple of films that include French thriller ‘Blue Room’ and Ukrainian film ‘The Tribe’. The scuffle between delegates and volunteers created quite a ruckus at Kairali and Sree before show time. “Delegates started queuing up for the films more than three hours before the screening time.
When some delegates refused to leave the hall after the 6.30 film security staff and police had a really difficult time,” says a delegate.
Another crowd pulling event during the festival was In Conversation sessions. The theatres were packed to capacity when renowned filmmakers like Marco Bellocchio and Nuri Bilge Ceylan interacted with the delegates.