Survival, revenge, social identities, the middle class, and the past are some of the themes of the 18 short films from young Iranian filmmakers that will be screened at the 11th edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK).
The ‘Persian Tales’ package, curated by award-winning filmmaker Amir Masoud Soheili and film critic Hadi Alipanah, has all the ingredients that Iranian cinema is known for.
The films have very engaging themes - mechanisms of survival, color blindness, rejection of imposed societal identity, Iranian middle-class family crisis, reminiscences of the past, and delusions of revenge.
The festival also has a package produced by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust called ‘Engaging with Sexuality.’ The five films in it deal with unexplored and little-discussed aspects of sexuality. A Safe Person to Talk to, by Navdeep Sharma, focusses on the importance of a supportive environment around an adolescent in a world of bullying and isolation. The intersections between identity, sexuality, and mental health are brought out in Breathe by Madhuri Mohindar. I’m Not There, Ajita Banerjie’s debut documentary, dwells on migration as a journey to a new space, leaving behind an identity that one doesn’t relate with. Please Mind the Gap by Mitali Trivedi and Gagandeep Singh brings to screen the tale of Anshuman, a transman, and his journey in the Delhi Metro. Zara Nazar Utha Ke Dekho by Anindya Shankar Das presents the complexities in the life of the LGBTIQ community.
The films in the package will be screened on from 3.30 p.m. on Sunday.
Passes
Delegate passes and festival kits can be collected from the delegate cell at the Kairali cinema. The delegate passes are made from jute in an effort to make the fete eco-friendly. Registration is open and can be done on the official site www.idsffk.in.