IFFK to commence on Friday

The 24th International Film festival of Kerala (IFFK), which will begin on Friday, will screen 156 movies from 73 countries.
Delegates at the IFFK venue  Nandhakumar V H
Delegates at the IFFK venue  Nandhakumar V H

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 24th International Film festival of Kerala (IFFK), which will begin on Friday, will screen 156 movies from 73 countries. The delegate cell of the festival was inaugurated by Minister for Cultural Affairs A K Balan at Tagore Theatre on Wednesday. About 10,500 delegates have already registered for IFFK. “Facilities for the differently-abled, elderly and women will be available across all venues of the fest,’’ said A K Balan. This time, there will be a film market for marketing Malayalam cinemas. “Marketing centres will be set up between December 8 and December 11,” said Balan. 

National and international online movie streaming channels and sales agencies will participate in the four-day marketing programme. Films which were completed between September 1, 2018 and August 31, 2019 can make use of the centres. A discussion between film directors and promoters will also be held.

Delegates rushed to the ten ticket counters set up outside Tagore Theatre on Wednesday. A group of foreigners were also present among the crowd. Frances Andrews, who came all the way from Australia to attend the fest, said, “I have only watched film festivals in my country. Though I have visited Kerala before, this will be my first time at IFFK.” 

Some youngsters hoped that IFFK would be better organised this time. “There were screening issues last time. Hope that has been taken care of this time,” said Arun Krishna. Rajaneesh A K, a delegate who has been attending the fest for the past five years, expressed his unhappiness regarding the price of the pass. “Last year, the price was increased to `2,000 because of the flood. Before that, the price was just `500. So, there has not been a reduction,” he said. Of the 53 un-released films which will be screened during the fest, 27 are by women filmmakers.

There are 15 film categories, including Competition, Indian Cinema and World Cinema. The latest movies of Pedro Almodóvar, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Michael Haneke, Ken Loach, Fatih Akin and Costa-Gavras will be screened. Films which were shown at the Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Rotterdam, Busan and San Sebastian film festivals will also be screened. Five films depicting life in modern China, Malayalam films like ‘Moothon’ and ‘Kanthan’, and Yugoslavian films made after partition have also been lined up for the fest. 

All venues together can hold a total audience of 8,998, with Nishagandhi alone having a seating capacity of 3,500. Apart from showing movies, the festival will be filled with discussion programmes. IFFK also has an international jury to evaluate movies. The jury for international cinema include Egyptian filmmaker Khairy Beshara, Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Kazakhstan fimmaker Amir Karakulov, filmmakers Rajiv Menon and Nagraj Manjule.

Asian and Malayalam films will be judged by Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage, Rolando B Tolentino, faculty of University of the Philippines Film Institute, and Raman Chawla, managing trustee at NetPack India. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the festival on Friday at Nishagandhi Auditorium. The film ‘Past By Censor’ by Turkish filmmaker Serhaat Karaaslan, will be the opening movie of the festival.

insufficient seats
Film enthusiasts at Tagore Theatre are eager to attend the eight-day festival. Some are even confused about the availability of seats, as all passes are being sold at full tilt for a lesser price than last year. According to Venkitachalam, a senior citizen and delegate since last year, “There will be more delegates in number, so I strongly doubt the availability of seats for good movies.” He also mentioned that about 10,500 passes have been registered already. “I’m glad that the conveners are providing special preference to senior citizens this time” he added. Manoj, a first time delegate, is excited to watch Hollywood movies which are yet to be screened this time. “I usually enjoy watching English movies. I watch world movies as well” he said. Youngsters are more thrilled about meeting new people at the festival. A woman, who is in her mid-twenties, said that for her, IFFK is more like a celebration with her friends. “I’m not a movie buff, but I like to watch movies with my friends and that’s why I’m here,” she said.

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