THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will bring together landmark works of three celebrated filmmakers — Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Garin Nugroho, and Youssef Chahine — through Retrospective and Special Focus sections, from December 12 to 19.
Three films by Saeed, one of the leading voices of Indian Parallel Cinema, will be screened in the Retrospective section.
They include Naseem (1996), which won two National Film Awards and portrays the growing communal tensions before the Babri Masjid demolition through the tender bond between a teenage girl and her grandfather.
Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, which received the National Award for Best Hindi Film, examines the marginalisation of Muslims in urban India through the life of Salim Pasha, a young man with a physical disability, while Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan explores the purposeless existence of a privileged businessman’s son.
Saeed, an FTII graduate and currently the chairperson of the K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, is known for films rooted in progressive political thought.
Garin Nugroho in focus
The Contemporary Filmmaker in Focus section will highlight five films by acclaimed Indonesian director Garin Nugroho, regarded as one of the most influential voices in Southeast Asian cinema.
His works have been showcased at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno.
The films selected are Bird Man Tale, which follows a teenager’s pursuit of love against the backdrop of Papua’s independence struggle; A Poet: Unconcealed Poetry, an award-winning black-and-white prison drama that exposes Indonesia’s political repression; Samsara (2024), a silent love story set in 1930s Bali that explores ritual and desire; Whispers in the Dabdas, which critiques corruption in the justice system; and Letter to an Angel (1994), a lyrical tale of a boy’s faith in an angel, notable as the first film shot on Sumba Island.
Tribute to Youssef Chahine
Commemorating the birth centenary of Egyptian master Youssef Chahine, IFFK will present three of his finest works — Cairo Station (1958), which tells the tragic story of a differently abled newspaper vendor consumed by obsession; Alexandria Again and Forever (1989), an autobiographical reflection set against a hunger strike in Egypt’s film industry; and The Other (1999), which boldly explores the themes of globalisation, consumerism, and intolerance.
Chahine, a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at Cannes, was a towering figure in Arab cinema who introduced Omar Sharif to the world and brought Egyptian cinema to international prominence.
Films of Saeed Akhtar Mirza
Naseem
Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro
Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan