The 15th edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) opened in the capital on Friday, with a fare of over 300 documentaries and short films from across the world to be screened over a period of six days.
Inaugurating the festival at the Kairali theatre complex, Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian said that over the past 15 years, the IDSFFK has earned the reputation as one of the best documentary and short film festivals in the country.
“The festival provides a platform for talented filmmakers not just to showcase their works, but also a space to express their political views. The documentaries and short films that are screened here talk about the burning issues of our time, from the struggles of farmers and women to those around religion and environment. The IDSFFK has a history of approaching the courts to protect its democratic character when censor clearance was denied to some of the selected films in the previous years,” said Mr. Cherian.
He said the State government is currently working on a film policy which would enable Kerala’s film sector to scale even greater heights and also protect the rights of those working in the sector. The Department for Cultural Affairs would hold a two-day conclave with those from the industry to discuss the draft policy.
Filmmaker T.V. Chandran, the chief guest at the function, sounded a note of warning to emerging documentary filmmakers to be wary of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which the Union government is “weaponising against its detractors.”
“In 2004, Rakesh Sharma made the documentary Final Solution on the Gujarat riots. He could show that film and it could win some awards because the ED was not ruling the country then. Now, we live in a country ruled by the ED. When the BBC recently made a documentary, which reused some of the material from Final Solution, it had to face the heat from the agencies,” said Mr. Chandran.
Mr. Chandran released the IDSFFK festival booklet by handing over a copy to filmmaker and screenwriter Kanu Behl, who is heading the Fiction category jury at this year’s IDSFFK. The jury also includes director Don Palathara and actor Tillotama Shome. In the Non-fiction category, the jury comprises filmmakers Shirley Abraham, Sarvnik Kaur, and Shaunak Sen whose works have garnered admiration and accolades on the global stage.
After the ceremony, the opening film Seven Winters in Tehran, directed by German filmmaker Steffi Niederzel, was screened. The documentary, which won the Compass-Perspektive Award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, highlights the entrenched misogyny in the Iranian justice system which sentences a rape victim to death for acting in self-defence against the rapist.
