Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

IFFK unravels miracles of short films

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was a day of short films at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) on Tuesday.

It was also a rare occasion for the audience to get convinced that watching even a seven minute film can be as moving and intense as a full length feature film. This seven minute Spanish film ‘Before and After Kissing Maria’ directed by Ramon Alos was a big draw among the festival audience.

The film deals with the innocent attempts of a nine-year-old boy to kiss a girl. He is not able to steal a kiss despite several overtures. Finally, he is able to kiss only the dead body. The director is able to demonstrate through the film that even a small story can be presented beautifully. The documentary ‘City of photographers’ from Chile directed by Sebastian Moreno demonstrates the possibilities of camera in aiding resistance. It is a lucid mixture of history and politics, telling the story of photographers in Chile under the reign of Pinochet.

Malayalam short film ‘Kaliyorukkam’ directed by S. Sunil deals with the preparations for games that the children make for the summer vacation. ‘Pig and Shakespeare’ from South Korea, directed by Geon Kim, is about the story of a farmer who is crazy about theatre.

`Teeth of Love’, loved by the audience, had repeat screening on Tuesday. The Iranian film `Unfinished story’ deals about the unfinished story of three women from Iran.

`Kayyoppu’ and ‘Thakarachenda’ were screened in the Malayalam film section.

‘Ponthanmada’ was screened as a tribute to the late C.V. Sreerman and `Irutinte Atmavu’ in memory of the late P. Bhaskaran.

Earlier, participating in the Open Forum, film-maker K.G. George said Malayalam cinema was facing the ordeals of excessive presence of superstars. He appealed to film-makers to produce films which responded to the changes of time.

He said the advent of the `multiplex’ theatres would lead to a situation where few members of the audience would have to see films at higher cost.

Theatres would change their nature from screening centres to commercial and industrial complexes, he said.

Director Roshan Andrews said while the cinema of the past dealt with several social issues, the present day works were dealing with more personal issues.

The impact of globalisation could be one factor for that change. Director Shyama Prasad said the treatment of the films would have to change in accordance with the changes in the aptitude of the people.

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