Thiruvananthapuram: The state government plans to start work on 25 modern film screening centres in 15 panchayats this fiscal.
Already, proposals have been received from 39 local bodies expressing willingness to part with land for the theatre project. Budget 2017-18 has earmarked Rs 100 crore for the first phase of the project through KIIF-B.
“A team of experts from Kerala State Film Development Corporation has already conducted an inspection of the areas local bodies have set apart for the purpose, and they are currently holding talks with local body representatives and officials to eventually transfer these lands to KSFDC,” culture minister A.K. Balan said. “In fact, certain local bodies have by now handed over a draft transfer agreement to KSFDC. We have asked them to begin work on preparing the detailed project report to be submitted to KIIF-B,” he added.
Mr Balan said that most of these screening centres would be two-theatre complexes. “Each of these theatres would provide direct employment to 10 people and indirect employment to 12,” the minister said. “However, if the theatres turn out to be larger than in the initial estimate, the scope of employment will widen,” he added.
There are also plans to involve Kudumbashree in a big way to popularise film culture in villages.
“One of the briefs I was given by culture minister A.K. Balan when I took over as Academy chairman was that films should be taken to the villages in a big way,” Kamal said.
It is felt that Kudumbashree, with its amazing reach among rural women, could give film education a big fillip in rural areas. If successful, this could even work parallel to the film society movement. “Film societies are still very active in our state,” Kamal said. “However, these societies are peopled with a regular set of faces with a high level of cinema intelligence. It is virtually impossible for the common man, especially rural working men and women, to break into this high-brow society movement,” Kamal said.
