THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has decided to shake up the Kerala State Film Awards system. The jury will be expanded, prize money increased, some awards done away with and new ones introduced.
The reforms are based on the report of the panel headed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Considering the huge controversies surrounding the jury, the most drastic change will be effected in the composition of the jury.
A 10-member jury will replace the existing eight-member one. There should be three mandatory directors and three technical experts in the jury.
However, if there are more than 50 films in the competition, which is normally the case in the state, the jury will be divided into three sub-committees with each having a director, technical expert and critic as members to do the preliminary screening.
After the winnowing process, the final list will not have more than 21 films. “In short, we will derive a shortlist of sorts from the 70-80-odd films that apply for awards,” a top official said.
The jury chairman and at least four members of the jury together will have the right to recall a film that had been rejected by a sub-committee. With the competition films pared down to 21, it has been mandated that all jury members should watch the films in the final list.
From next year on, there will be two awards for screenplay. Like in the Oscars, an award for adapted screenplay will be introduced. The award for the best comedian will be scrapped.
The second best actor awards will be rechristened as award for best character actor (male and female).
