26th edition of International Film Festival of Kerala comes to a close

The prestigious International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), an annual event that garners international attention, came to a close on Friday. This time, it was held under the leadership of director Ranjith, who was recently elected chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy. As always, Beena Paul, the artistic director of the festival, was an integral part of the core team of organizers. 

Though the pandemic posed challenges, everything eventually fell into place. Like last year, the IFFK was not held in December. However, this time, IFFK was organized in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram instead of four separate venues.

This time, the festival expressed solidarity with women in general and women filmmakers in particular, right from the choice of films to the guests invited to the inaugural function. When the talented actress Bhavana, a sexual assault survivor, was presented as the surprise guest, it was considered a bold and paradigmatic move on the part of the organizers.

Similarly, the presence of the ISIS terror survivor Lisa Çalan, along with the chief guest Anurag Kashyap, was welcomed with deafening applause by the audience who filled every nook and corner of Nishagandhi Auditorium. Çalan, a Kurdish filmmaker who lost both her legs in an ISIS bombing attack while she was participating in a political rally, was honoured with the Spirit of Cinema Award. 

With 173 films, 15 venues and 15 categories, the eight-day long IFFK saw a surge of film enthusiasts who were mostly youngsters. The Suvarna Chakoram for Best Film was bagged by Clara Sola directed by Costa Rican-Swedish screenwriter-director Nathalie Alvarez Mesen. She also won the Rajata Chakoram for Best Debut Director. Ines Maria Barrionuevo won the  Rajata Chakoram for Best Director for Camila Saldra Esta Noch. The Vinoth Raj directorial Koozhangal was selected as the best film through Audience Poll and also won the NETPAC Award for the Best Asian Film as well as the Jury Prize.

Dina Amer’s You Resemble Me picked up the FIPRESCI Award for Best International Film. The FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in Malayalam was won by Krishand’s Aavasavyuham. Be Ches Ne Veth (I'm Not The River Jhelum) by Prabhash Chandra bagged the FFSI KR Mohanan Award for Best Debut Director from India. Tara Ramanujam also won the same award for Nishiddho. 

Aparna Sen’s The Rapist was screened at midnight in the Nishagandhi auditorium where the film was received well by the huge crowd that turned up for the show. 

The closing ceremony of IFFK had the popular actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the chief guest, and the organizers shared photographs from the ceremony on Twitter.