It is again time to experience short, yet deep, glimpses into stories from around the world, with the 10th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) set to begin on Friday.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the festival, being organised by the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, at the Kairali Theatre at 6 p.m. Minister for Culture A. K. Balan will preside over the function.
A total of 210 films will be screened in various categories at the festival, which will be held at the Kairali, Sree and Nila theatres. The festival will be opened with Bengali short film ‘Sakhisona’ and American documentary ‘Life, animated.’
The competition category, which includes animation, campus film, long documentary, short documentary and short fiction, has 77 films.
Five films of noted German film maker Wim Wenders will be screened in the Maestro section, which honours veteran film makers, while the works of Palestinian Mai Masri and Malayali Vipin Vijay will be screened in the ‘Film maker in Focus’ section.
The festival will pay tribute to screenwriter, novelist and poet John Berger and documentary maker and film activist Chalam Bennurkar, both of whom passed away earlier this year, by screening one of each of their films. A special screening of a documentary based on the career and life of Malayali film maker K. G. George will also be held.
Films which were awarded at the Vienna Short Film Festival will be screened in the Vienna Shorts section of the festival. Sound Files, an experimental film that presents just the audio of conversations between artistes, film makers and radio practitioners, is another highlight of the fete.
The festival will feature a variety of international films including noted non-fiction works ‘War Memorial', a compendium of video footages recorded by British soldiers for their families, ‘The revolution won't be televised,’ which records the protests held in Senegal against the then President’s unconstitutional move to ensure a third term in power in 2011, ‘I am not your Negro,’ a historical exploration into the plight of Blacks in America, and ‘Happily ever after’, a documentary on the filmmaker’s tumultuous romantic relationship during the Arab spring in Egypt.
Some of the attractions in the fiction category include ‘Waiting for Hassana’, a documentary that shares the story of a student from whose school 276 girls were kidnapped by the extremist organisation Boko Haram, ‘Brave Bunch’, which presents from the perspective of children the 63-day long struggle to free the city of Warsaw from Nazi invasion during World War II, and ‘Son of Kali’, which depicts an evening of festivities in Kolkata as experienced in the company of a Muslim friend by a Hindu man, who has escaped a genocide against Hindus in Bangladesh.
Master classes by cinematographer Ranjan Palit and Australian film maker Andrew Vial are also part of the schedule.
As part of the fete, cultural programmes including performances by ASIMA, a male vocal and percussion ensemble, playback singer Pushpavathy, and a documentary theatre performance by Anuja Ghosalkar will be held.
The festival will conclude on June 20.