THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 24th edition of International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will begin at the Nishagandhi Auditorium here on December 6. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the festival at 6 pm and thrice National Award-winning actress Sharada will be the guest of honour.
Turkish film ‘Passed by Censor’, a thriller by Serhat Karaasian, which lays special focus on the conflict between freedom and censorship in an increasingly authoritarian society, will be the opening film. It depicts the story of a prison employee who steals the photo of an inmate’s wife from a letter and becomes obsessed with her.
Minister for Cultural Affairs A K Balan will preside and Minister for Cooperation Kadakampally Surendran will be the chief guest. Shashi Tharoor, MP, will officially release the festival handbook by handing over a copy to Mayor K Sreekumar. V K Prashanth, MLA, will release the festival bulletin which will be received by district panchayat president V K Madhu. KSFDC chairman Shaji N Karun and KTDC chairman M Vijayakumar will attend.
A total of 186 films from over 70 countries will be screened in 15 categories at the festival. And 14 theatres, with a combined seating capacity of 12,000, situated across the city have been selected as venues for the mega event.
Focus on Masters
Films of Swedish filmmaker Roy Andersson and French director Tony Gatlif will be screened as the award-winning directors have been chosen as the ‘Contemporary Masters in Focus’ this year.
Andersson has a unique style, characterised by long takes, absurdist comedy and stiff caricaturing of Swedish culture which is fantastically comical. His films such as ‘About Endless’, ‘A pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence’, ‘You’, ‘The living’, and ‘Songs From the Second Floor’ will be screened. Tony Gatlif’s ‘Geronimo’, ‘Djam’ and ‘Indignados’ will be screened.
‘Door Lock’ chosen for midnight screening
‘Door Lock’, the thriller directed by South Korean filmmaker Lee Kwon, has been selected for this year’s midnight screening at the Nishagandhi open-air auditorium. ‘Door Lock’ narrates the story of a murder. The film shows the insecurity women face in the real world and their experiences in daily life.
‘Country Focus’ on China
IFFK will feature a section dedicated to modern Chinese films under the ‘Country Focus’ category, which includes four films by Xei Fei and Wang Quan’an.