THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Veteran filmmaker Pankaj Rishi Kumar sought to dispel the notion about film making being rocket science. Instead, making films is the simplest thing in the world, Pankaj, who is chairperson of the documentary selection committee at the ongoing 13th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), said on ‘In Conversation’ with Rajesh James at Aries Plex theatre on day three of the fete. Pankaj Rishi Kumar, who has made documentaries in various Indian languages, opined that though film schools tell a different story, technology makes filmmaking pretty cheap. He also observed that his films are conspicuous by the absence of something. “That is why most of my films do not have women,” he added.
Meanwhile, young filmmakers expressed their love for online platforms in the pandemic’s wake. The 10 grooming young talents in the film industry, who attended the ‘Meet the Director’ session, agreed that regional languages and subjects acquire an overseas audience through platforms like OTT.
Eyeing a weekend audience, as many as 70 films will be screened on Sunday. IDSFFK will pay homage to filmmaker Sumitra Bhave, who passed away early this year. ‘Sumitra Bhave - A Parallel Journey’, directed by Santosh Gajanan Patare will be screened. The film depicts Sumitra Bhave’s film career and explores the basic values and ideas of her film world. The short story section will feature Punjabi film, ‘The Salon’, ‘Chuttu’ telling the story of the door to memories, and a ‘Marathi film Weekend’, which symbolises silent protests against gender and caste systems.