The conduct of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in multiple locations remains impractical in view of the logistical hurdles in organising it, according to the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.
The pandemic crisis had triggered the decision to hold the 25th edition of the festival in four districts. “But it is a challenge for the academy considering the fact that it has only minimal staff to carry out the preparations. We have to bring the support systems from one place to another,” said Kamal, chairman of the academy.
Bina Paul, vice chairperson of the academy and artistic director of the IFFK, said it was a difficult task to shift the festival from one location to another. “It was only because of COVID-19 that we had to shift it out of Thiruvananthapuram,” she said.
Fewer films
On the selection of movies this time, Ms. Paul said the number of films was fewer (nearly 80 to 85) compared to normal occasions when it would be around 200 in view of the pandemic situation. “Certainly, the focus on the World Cinema category was to show films that are really known and those people are looking forward to watching,” she said.
Stating that it was a tight selection process this time, Ms. Paul recalled that smaller and undiscovered films were usually included in the normal editions. “We have now focussed on providing the best of festivals’ kind of approach. In the competition section, we have films by new, young filmmakers. These films were highly appreciated in Thiruvananthapuram. We hope that the Kochi audience would also embrace them,” she said.
