Curtains fall for the film gala tomorrow (Dec 13)

After a week of exquisite Cinema experience for cinephiles, the 23^rd edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) is coming to a close tomorrow (Dec 13). The capital city witnessed over160 internationally acclaimed films, screened at 13 theatres.

The fest, like last years, turned to be a forum to exchange ideas of socio-cultural and political views. The ‘In Conversation’ sessions with eminent craftspeople, proved to be an arena for the audience to know in detail of what the masters behind the art are made of, as the ‘Open Forums’ and ‘Meet the Press’ sessions, became a platform for debates and discussions on Cinema.

The Opening Film of the fete was Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s ‘Everybody Knows’. 14 films including four from India, participated in the International Competition. With a mélange of films from various parts of the country, ‘Potpourri India’ was introduced. Six films were screened under the package. With a message of optimism, to the state in its recovery-phase from the unprecedented calamity, ‘The Human Spirit: Films on Hope and Rebuilding’ brought to the audience six films. Under ‘Remembering the Master: Milos Forman’, six of his creations were canvassed. As the year marks the birth centenary of the Swedish filmmaker, ‘Celebrating Ingmar Bergman’, a package with eight of his films, and a documentary which narrates his life, was included. ‘Lenin Rajendran: Chronicler of our Times’ brought to screens six of the filmmaker’s works. Seven flicks under ‘Indian Cinema Now’ and twelve in ‘Malayalam Cinema Today’ were screened. Around 90 films reached the cinephiles from around the world, in ‘World Cinema’.

Films by the festival jury headed by Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi were presented under ‘Jury Films’ category. ‘Tumbbad’ was screened on December 8, as the ‘Midnight Screening’ to a house-full audience at the Nishagandhi Auditorium.

The cinematography Master Class led by Anil Mehta shed light on the technical and creative elements of the art. Film students and enthusiasts attended the workshop in large numbers.  

As a tribute to the late violinist Bala Bhaskar, musical evenings were organized at the Bala Bhaskar Smrithi Mandapam, at Tagore Theatre. On December 10, ‘Big Band’, the music group formed by Bala himself, performed to the audience, taking them on a trip down the memory lane.