THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nearly two months after the UDF government took charge, top posts of film bodies, including that of the Chalachithra Academy chairperson, remain vacant. With the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) usually held in July and the announcement of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) coming up in early August, concerns have been raised about the proper conduct of the key events given the delays in appointment.
Sources with the academy said the documentary festival is likely to be postponed to late September or early October, but IFFK will take place on schedule.
Meanwhile, Minister for Culture P C Vishnunadh told TNIE that key details of the events, including dates, will be announced this month.
Academy sources revealed that close to 650 films were received in each of the five competition categories, which now need to be screened by the selection committee.
“Since the executive committee of the academy is not there, the list of selection committee members had to be sent to the government, approval of which is expected this week. The selection procedure will take up to two months, pushing the documentary festival’s dates by at least two months,” an official said.
However, this will not affect the dates of IFFK as the academy is working on it simultaneously, he pointed out. Senior officials, who earlier worked with the academy, said though the system is effective to keep the ball rolling, the absence of top officials slows the process down. Vishnunadh said measures have already been taken to ensure the smooth conduct of the two events. “It is a wrong impression that the functioning of these film bodies has frozen because of the absence of a top office-bearer. The Chalachithra Academy has a system, which is continuously working,” the minister said.
On the controversies surrounding the appointment of the previous academy chairperson, Rasool Pookkutty, Vishnunadh said the government is keeping a close watch to ensure the immediate appointment of the right candidate to the post. Notably, the names of prominent Congress-affiliated film personalities, including actors Jagadish and Premkumar, are doing the rounds among official circles for the post.