KOZHIKODE: Director Vidhu Vincent, whose Manhole won the state award for the best film in 2017, has withdrawn her new film Viral Sebi from the Women's International Film Festival (WIFF) in Kozhikode.
The film was scheduled to be screened at 10 am on Sunday, the second day of the festival. It was taken back by the director herself, extending solidarity to director Kunjila Mascillamani who was arrested on Saturday for protesting against the harsh attitude of the festival authorities.
"Excluding Kunjila from the festival citing lame reasons is an injustice towards a creative filmmaker who has put her blood and sweat to bring this film to a reality. This action by the festival authorities will eventually erode a director’s ability to make more films," Vidhu told The New Indian Express.
She said all the demands and questions raised by Kunjila regarding the criteria for selecting a movie for the festival are significant. The move by the police department, government and also the festival authorities is a fascist act, she alleged.
On the first day of the festival, director Kunjila protested saying that her film Asangadithar was deliberately excluded from the festival. She was forcibly removed by the police from the Kairali theatre, the venue for the inaugural ceremony, and later taken to the women’s police station in Kozhikode.
In a Facebook post, Vidhu said, "I want to stand with Kunjila in this issue as whatever she has tried to raise is true. These were indeed things that raised questions among people like me working in the film industry."
She said filmmakers from Kozhikode were completely ignored by the festival authorities citing the ceremony was intended to honour female actors from the region. "How can festival authorities not recognise women who decide to make movies," she asked.
She also wondered if Kunjila’s film was excluded from the festival citing it is short, as it was part of an anthology. "Then why would they not include it in the short fiction category? In short, the festival conducted to promote women filmmakers has completely gone against its message and instead is behind promoting big and international movies," Vidhu added.