12Th IDSFFK Festival Book
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FESTIVAL BOOK Organised by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Kerala CREDITS Chairman & Festival Director: Kamal Vice-Chairperson & Artistic Director: Bina Paul Secretary & Executive Director: Mahesh Panju Treasurer: Santhosh Jacob K Deputy Director (Festival): H Shaji Deputy Director (Programmes): N P Sajeesh Programme Manager (Festival): Gopeekrishna S Programme Manager (Finance): Sajith C C Programme Manager (Programmes): Vimal Kumar V P Print Unit Coordinator: P S Siva Kumar Programme Assistants: Tony Xavier, Saiyed Farooq Festival Assistants: Madhavi Madhupal, Sree Vidya J Cashier: Manu S T Festival Cell: Mary Ninan, Rijoy K J, Sarath M, Abhilash N S, K Harikumar, Shiju Lukose, Jaya L, G Sasikala, K Velayudhan Nair, K John Kurian, Lizy M, Nishanth S T, Shamlal S, Nithin, Abdulla K, Manu Madhavan, Naveen L Johnson, K Venukuttan Nair, Vijayamohan B, K Ravikumar, Arun R, A Maheshkumar Design: Priyaranjanlal FESTIVAL BOOK Chief Editor: Mahesh Panju Executive Editor: H Shaji Associate Editors: Vinayakumar V, Sooraj S Word Processing & Page Setting: Sivaprasad B Academy is grateful to various film journals, festival publications, film festival websites from which we have borrowed content to put together this book. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily that of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy or the Editors. Last minute changes to the programme have not been included in this book. Published by: Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, Centre for International Film Research & Archives (CIFRA) (Sathyan Smarakam), Kinfra Film & Video Park, Chanthavila, Kazhakuttom, Sainik School PO, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 585 www.idsffk.in Processed and Printed at: Akshara, Thiruvananthapuram 2 MESSAGE I am very happy to know that the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy is organising the 12th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, from 21st to 26th June 2019 at Thiruvananthapuram. It is commendable that the Festival which attracts delegates from all over the country would showcase some of the best celluloid works of our times. I am happy that the Festival gives due importance to campus films, animation and music videos to attract the youth. I compliment the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy for organising this event and wish the Festival all success Justice (Retd.) P. Sathasivam Hon'ble Governor of Kerala 3 MESSAGE I wholeheartedly welcome film enthusiasts to the 12th edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. The Festival has been able to showcase the major works in the documentary and short film domains to the large number of delegates who see IDSFFK as a key platform for non feature films in the country. The documentaries and short films from across the globe are trying to portray myriad lives in all its varying hues. The films are reflecting the unflinching struggle of humans against forces of oppression the world over. The voices for equality and social justice are amplified through the works screened at IDSFFK. I wish that the Festival offers avenues to widen our world view thus evolving respect and tolerance towards the Other. While every effort is made to create an alien Other, the humanising effect at the soul of every art should be highlighted at the festival. I hope the Festival turns out to be an opportunity for us to look inward and liberate our minds from our preconceived notions. Pinarayi Vijayan Hon'ble Chief Minister of Kerala MESSAGE The International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy remains the most significant documentary, short film festival in the country. The festival, noted for the active participation of the youth and live debates, has also acquired special character as a cultural collective of resistance. This is a place for new comers who enter the documentary, short film world with novel ideas and treatment to test their talents. The festival provides the college students in Kerala an opportunity to nourish their cinematic sensibility. The festival, screening documentaries and short films which were produced across the world within the past year, will provide deep insights into the contemporary human situation. I congratulate those who worked behind those films that were chosen for the IDSFFK and wish that the delegates are served with a rich visual fare. A.K.Balan Hon’ble Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, Law, Culture and Parliamentary Affairs WELCOME NOTE With the boom of technology, many young filmmakers have been bold in bringing about radical changes in the field of short films and documentaries. The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy is more than happy to lend a platform to showcase such new trends through the 12th edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala. The festival over the years has been an opportunity to promote diverse voices by sharing narratives from across the world. This year too we have taken the efforts to uphold this practice of enriching your experience by presenting more than 200 short films and documentaries. The various experiments and efforts by these filmmakers in expressing creativity and resistance often spur thoughts and discussions. With this thought in mind, the Academy has decided to increase the duration of the festival by one day, i.e., total six days. With the hope of kindling new and exciting discourse, I, on behalf of the Academy welcomes the delegates and the filmmakers to the 12th IDSFFK to meet, share and connect through the visual experiences offered to you by the IDSFFK. Kamal Festival Director, IDSFFK Chairman, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy CHIEF EDITOR'S NOTE Our country is experiencing a sociopolitical scenario where documentaries and short films are of much significance. Documentaries are a powerful weapon of protest in a period of post-truth politics that tries to conceal facts and distort truths in order to perpetuate totalitarianism. Presenting the latest film of directors who have weaponized the camera and initiating discussions on it is a very significant sociopolitical activity of the IDSFFK. The festival also opens ups an arena of competition for the short filmmakers who successfully accomplish the task of conveying content and ideas to the utmost with the least amount of visuals. The increase in the number of delegates with each edition is a sign of the growing popularity of the festival. I wish that the IDSFFK which presents its audience with the issues and hardships faced by the contemporary world will again offer a unique visual experience to all the delegates this year. Mahesh Panju Executive Director, IDSFFK Secretary, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy A NOTE ON PROGRAMMING Welcome back to the 12th IDSFFK, the vibrant annual meeting point in Kerala. Every year the programme team attempts to bring to the audience work that reflects current concerns both with content and form. The internet has opened up a space like never before for creators to share discuss and evaluate their work. What place does a festival have in such an atmosphere? I think two things that make this annual event significant are: curation and audience creation. Both are crucial elements to the planning and execution of the IDSFFK. We would prefer to look at this one week not as an ‘event’ but rather as a forum for the creation of discourse on current concerns. This year we lost three significant women who contributed to this discourse: Agnes Varda, Jocelyn Saab and Vijaya Mulay – three giants to whom we humbly pay tribute. The subject of documentary films is often based on the research and activity of numerous others. The filmmaker becomes a vehicle for the interpretation and propagation of ideas. P Sainath has dedicated his life to working with the marginalised. We screen The Dispossessed and hear him speak on his current work. Madhusree Dutta is being presented the Lifetime Achievement Award, acknowledging her magnificent contribution not only to filmmaking but also her engagement with the ideas of filmmaking. We continue to keep the Competition restricted to films produced in India as this is one of the rare platforms that filmmakers get within the country to actually meet and share with audiences. The noise of the visual overtakes us today, but at the IDSFFK we hope it is a moment to pause and reflect. As we go to press the loss of another giant reaches us: Girish Karnad. Another big tree falls, shaking us at the core! Bina Paul Artistic Director, IDSFFK Vice Chairperson, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL FILM RESEARCH AND ARCHIVES (CIFRA) The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy has relocated to the newly built Centre for International Film Research and Archives (CIFRA) at KINFRA Film, Video & IT Park, Kazhakuttom, Thiruvananthapuram. The Centre also houses a library for research, archives of films, mini theatres and conference hall. It houses a comprehensive collection of noteworthy photographs relating to Malayalam Cinema. The CIFRA has a collection of more than 8,000 films. It will house assorted memorabilia like photographs, old film publications, notices, song books, posters, and letters written by film personalities and so on. The centre can be seen as the initiation of the great task of preserving the rich history of Malayalam cinema for the ABOUT US future generations. Activities Kerala State Chalachitra Academy International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) In a pioneering initiative, the Government of International Short & Documentary Film Festival Kerala set up Kerala State Chalachitra Academy of Kerala (IDSFFK) (Motion Picture Academy of the Kerala State) in August 1998. The first of its kind in the IDSFFK is an initiative which was kick started country, the Academy is an effort to counter in 2008. It aims to catalyse a vibrant short and the gross commoditisation of the film medium documentary film movement.