Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

More space likely for mainstream cinema

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Without inviting the gripe of festival enthusiasts, the organisers of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) are exploring the option of giving due importance to mainstream cinema from the next edition onwards.

The rapid growth of the festival over the years, in terms of participation and quality of content, has gained it a pride of place in the international circuit. The prominent presence of youngsters and the manner in which the festival is conducted have evoked considerable interest among the fraternity and many of the major players have evinced interest in getting a notable space to showcase the best of their creations to the delegates.

A section of the delegates as well as members of fraternal organisations of Malayalam cinema are understood to have sought a better deal for good films which do not find a place in the festival slots. Some of the filmmakers, once their films are edged out of the race for the competition or other segments, are deprived of a chance to screen their works before a discerning audience. Hence, it has become imperative for the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy as well as the Department of Culture to provide a prominent slot for good films that are being produced in different languages across the country. Their success at the box-office should not be an impediment to screenings at the festival, it was felt.

Those who expressed interest in screening their films also mooted a thorough selection procedure to pick up entries. The academy should take the initiative to form a panel comprising prominent producers, directors, technicians and artistes to select films from each language. After short-listing the good films made during a year, they should pick the outstanding ones to be shown at the IFFK. The organisers should spare one theatre exclusively for screening the selected films. This would provide an opportunity to screen 35 films during the whole week. Artistes, technicians, directors, music directors, lyricists and producers too will be present at the venue to interact with the audience and share their opinion about the films. The international buyers will also get a chance to secure the rights of such films.

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