International Film Festival of Kerala begins today, to remember Ockhi victims
Thiruvananthapuram: The International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), the annual film lovers’ pilgrimage, begins on Friday. The festival which has spawned filmmakers out of common men and women will show 190 films from 65 countries. The festival will continue to be the festival of masses, said IFFK director Kamal. As the state capital is still reeling from the shock of a devastating cyclone, the 22nd edition of International Film Festival of Kerala will start by remembering the victims of Ockhi tragedy.
The condolence meet at Nishangandhi auditorium will be followed by the screening of The Insult, an Arabic film set in Lebanon by Ziad Doueiri, at 6 pm. Actors Madhabi Banerji and Prakash Raj will be present. Tagore, Kalabhavan, Kairali, Sree and Nila will start screening films on Friday morning. King of Peking will be shown at Tagore Theatre at 10 am. At 10.15 am, ‘Woodpeckers’ will be shown at Kalabhavan, while Sree will show Dogs and Fools. Nila will screen The Blessed at 10.30 am.
The festival honours Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov with ‘Lifetime Acheivement Award’, whose films have received critical acclaim, even as the Soviet Union authorities had little to agree with him. For the first time, the festival features a section dedicated to Japanese animation films, popularly referred to as anime. Children might recognise the style of the animation, as cartoon series like Pokemon uses it. However the content is usually targeted at adults. There will be 445 screenings at 14 theatres. Delegates can reserve their seats a day before through IFFK website or mobile application. There will be help desks at venues to facilitate reservations. There are 35 women film makers, whose works will be shown at the festival. In fact four of the 14 films in International competition are made by women.
