Filmmaker Kunjila Mascillamani detained for protesting at International Women’s Film Festival in Kozhikode

The third International Women's Film Festival, organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in Kozhikode, has courted controversy due to a protest by filmmaker Kunjila Mascillamani on 17 July. The filmmaker protested against the fact that her film, Asanghatithar, which is part of the five-part anthology Malayalam movie Freedom Fight (2022), was not included in the festival.

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On her blog, Kunjila gave her account of the incident. She stated that she entered the hall where the inaugural ceremony was to be held, sat on s chair meant for s minister, putting her feet up on it and waited to make a speech. Police personnel then asked her to sit amongst the audience and on her refusal to do so, forcibly removed her from the chair.

Describing the events that unfolded at the event, she said at the end of her post, “I wish to make it clear that I was physically assaulted by Kerala police and this included a male officer. They abused me verbally. Threatened me when I tried to shoot their brutality and used force to take my phone away from me to stop me from shooting.” She also posted an image of her wearing the station CI’s cap. The filmmaker was taken for a medical examination and to a police station and later released.

According to the website Onmanorama.com, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman Ranjith dismissed Kunjila's protest as mischief, explaining that her film was not included in the selection as it is part of an anthology. He was quoted as saying, “Her film is just a cinema from an anthology. She approached the Academy with a request and it was made clear that it was technically difficult to just show one film from an anthology at the festival.”

Meanwhile, support has come in from many quarters for the filmmaker. As reported by TheNewsMInute.com, directors Vidhu Vincent and Jeo Baby — who also contributed a segment to Freedom Fight — and Bijukumar Damodaran are among those who have supported Kunjila, demanding the criteria for films being selected at the festival be made transparent, while also criticizing the Academy.

The International Women's Film Festival was organized in Kozhikode from 16 to 18 July as part of the Samam project of the Kerala government's department of cultural affairs.