ICFFK: Spotlight on international films
Tearing down language barriers and breaking taboos, foreign films screened at the International Children's Film Festival of Kerala have proved to be a big hit with the young audience.
Published: 19th May 2018 06:24 AM | Last Updated: 19th May 2018 06:24 AM | A+A A-
Delegates singing folk songs at Kairali Theatre, the main venue of the International Children’s Film Festival of Kerala (File | EPS)
KOCHI: Tearing down language barriers and breaking taboos, foreign films screened at the International Children's Film Festival of Kerala (ICFFK) have proved to be a big hit with the young audience.
Of the 140 films that are being screened at the first edition of ICFFK, over 50 are from abroad, and include classics such as 'Bicycle Thieves,' 'Sound of Music,' 'The Jungle Book' and 'The Great Dictator' and some fine productions from countries such as China, South Korea, Colombia and Iran.
"Foreign movies heighten our sense of imagination and pique our curiosity," said 17-year-old Gauri Nandana, a student of Lourdes Mount Higher Secondary School, Vattappara. "I got to see a foreign movie for the first time, and I thank ICFFK for providing me with that platform."
Despite the hurdles posed by language, Swedish film 'Cloudboy' and Dutch movie 'Eep' won applauses and gleeful whistles from the children. Other productions include 'The World of Us' directed by Ga-eun Yoon of South Korea, Henry Rincon's 'Hero Steps' from Colombia and 'Ballad from Tibet' from China directed by Wei Zhang. "If you ask me, even the silent movies do convey messages. So language doesn't matter," said 14-year-old Karthik J S, a student of Government High School Anappara.
Apparently, 'Children of Heaven,' an Iranian movie by Majid Majidi on brother-sister bonding, has turned out to be the best-loved movie at the ICFFK. Foreign films help the children learn about lifestyles in other parts of the world, said G P Ramachandran, academic general councillor of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, one of the organisers of the ICFFK and a popular film critic. Screening Indian movies alone will not help children to break the shell and perceive the outside world, he added.
International films are being screened in all the five theatres (Kairali, Sree, Nila, Kalabhavan and Tagore) that host the ICFFK. "These international films create different perspectives in us and enable us to think out of the box," said Ananthara S, 14, of Carmel Girls' Higher Secondary School. Besides, Indian movies are readily available unlike foreign ones, she added.
