International Film Festival of Kerala all set to begin
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Film buffs all over the state are eagerly awaiting the start of the 22nd edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala(IFFK). The preparations for the eight-day mega event which begins on December 8 is almost over. However, the havoc wrought by cyclone Ockhi has cast a pall of gloom over the event and the celebrations will be scaled-down.
Vice Chairperson
Beena Paul at
Tagore Theatre
Negating rumours about the postponement of the festival, Kerala Chalachitra Academy authorities said, the festival will be held as per schedule even though the celebrations will be toned down. But the movie buffs needn’t feel dejected since over 190 films from around 65 countries will be screened at the festival.
Four Indian films to vie for the Golden Crow Pheasant Award
Fourteen acclaimed films will vie with one another for the Golden Crow Pheasant Award at this year’s IFFK. Four Indian films - Kadvi Hawa (Dark Wind) and Newton, both Hindi films, and Malayalam films Randuper and Aedan will be vying for the award.
Prem Shankar’s Randuper (Two Persons) delves into the burning issue of gender politics and relationships amid the hardships of demonetization. Aedan (Garden of Desire), directed by Sanju Surendran, takes the viewers on a journey into the contrasting worlds of love and death.
Amit V Masurkar’s Newton highlights the challenges of organising just and liberal elections in far-flung hamlets of India. The other Hindi film Kadvi Hawa, directed by Nila Madhab Panda, portrays the plight of the farmers in rural Rajasthan.
The other films vying for top honours include Candelaria by Jhonny Hendrix, Returnee by Sabit Kurmanbekov, Grain by Semih Kaplanoglu, I Still Hide to Smoke by Rayhana, Malila - The Farewell Flower by Anucha Boonyawatana, Pomegranate Orchard by Ilgar Najaf, Symphony for Ana by Ernesto Ardito, The World of Which We Dream Doesn’t Exist by Ayoub Qanir, Wajib by Annemarie Jacir, and White Bridge by Ali Ghavitan.
Homage
IFFK will pay homage to directors I V Sasi and K R Mohanan. These filmmakers, who brought before the viewers a whole new dimension of the society and social commitment, will be honoured on December 9 at Sree Theatre Complex. P V Gangadharan, T V Chandran, K P Kumaran, V K Sreeraman, Satyan Anthikad and Seema will attend the function which will be held at 6 pm.
V Sasi’s ‘Aaroodam’, ‘1921’, ‘Aalkkoottathil Thaniye’, ‘Mrugaya’, ‘Itha Ivide Vare’, and K R Mohanan’s ‘Ashwathama’, ‘Purushartham’, and ‘Swaroopam’ will also be screened.
Chalachithra Academy chairperson
Kamal at Tagore Theatre
Five acclaimed films by Alexander Sokurov are the major highlights of the festival. These will be screened in the section a Retrospective on Alexander Sokurov films. The movies that have been picked for screening are ‘Father and Son’, ‘Faust’, ‘Francofonia’, ‘Mother and Son’ and ‘Russian Ark’.
‘The Voice of Sokurov’, a biography of Sokurov directed by Leena Kilpeläinen, which portrays the filmmaker’s achievements will also be screened. Alexander Sokurov will be bestowed with the Life Time Achievement award at IFFK.
Portraying life of downtrodden
International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will see the screening of films that narrate the plight of the downtrodden souls under various categories. As many as 47 films, that portray the lives of the downtrodden, have been handpicked to be screened under categories such as Indian Cinema Now, Malayalam Cinema Now, Uprooted: Films on Identity and Space, Homage, and the Competition section. Under the Indian Cinema Now category seven movies will be screened.
They are: Sanjib Dey’s ‘III Smoking Barrels’ which portrays the socio-political scenario of the North East; Prasad Oak’s ‘Kachcha Limbu’, Dar Gai’s ‘Teen Aur Aadha’, Assamese filmmaker Rima Das’s ‘Village Rockstars’, Dipesh Jain’s ‘Gaali Guliyan’, Ravi Jadhav’s ‘Nude’ and Nikhil Allug’s ‘Shehjar. Liar’s Dice, a character-driven road movie directed by Geethu Mohandas, will be screened under the Uprooted: Film on Identity and Space category.
These apart, the festival will also screen Satyajit Ray’s ‘Charulata’, Aparna Sen’s ‘Sonata’ and Y M Movies’ ‘One Heart: The A R Rahman Concert’. The latter is a journey through the life and music of A R Rahman. The Homage Category will feature films by I V Sasi, K R Mohanan, Om Puri, Kundan Shah, Jayalalitha, Gita Sen, and Ramananda Sen Gupta.
Among the I V Sasi films ‘1921’, ‘Aalkkoottathil Thaniye’, ‘Aaroodam’, ‘Itha Ivide Vare’ and ‘Mrugaya’, will be screened. K R Mohanan’s ‘Purushartham’, ‘Swaroopam’ and ‘Ashwathaama’ will also be screened in this section. Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and actress Jayalalithaa’s ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’, Om Puri’s ‘Ardh Satya’ and Gita Sen’s and Ramananda Sengupta’s ‘Naagarik’ are the other films to be screened in the Homage category.
IFFK: Seminar,
Symposium, Presentation and Discussion
As part of IFFK 2017, a technical workshop will be held on Challenges of Sync Sound Recording on 9 December, at, Hotel Hycinth. Resul Pookutty will deliver the keynote address. Speakers at the event are Manish Mundra (Drishyam Films) Bishwadeep (sound recordist), and Anwar Rasheed (filmmaker).
At the Sree Theatre homages will be paid to K R Mohanan and I V Sasi on December 9.
Speakers: P V Gangadharan, K P Kumaran, T V Chandran, Sathyan Anthikkad, Seema, V K Sreeraman
December 10: Nila Theatre Aravindan Memorial Lecture by Aparna Sen
December 12 and 13: Workshop for women filmmakers will be held at 10:00 am at Hotel Apollo Dimora.
December 14: P K Nair Colloquium: Tradition of Dissent at 11.00 am at Hotel Hycinth. Speakers: N S Madhavan, Anita Dubey, Deepa Dhanraj
December 9 to 14: Meet the Directors from 4:00 to 5:00 pm at V C Harris Pavilion (Tagore Theatre)