Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

VS calls for reviving film societies

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has stressed the need for reviving the film society movement to take the best films to the masses who do not have access to such films.

Inaugurating the valedictory function of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) here on Friday evening, Mr. Achuthanandan said the Chalachitra Academy should take the lead in reviving the movement so that such films can be shown in the districts too.

Cinema, being a reflection of life and society, propelled discussions among cineastes on political, environmental and social issues. Such discussions had a political nature and cinema too was essentially political. The IFFK, which was registering an impressive growth every year in terms of the number of delegates and guests, had emerged as the main cultural event of the State. It had become a gathering of people representing various nations, cultures and languages. This was bound to grow in the coming years, he said.

Minister for Culture M.A. Baby, in his presidential address, said the 14th edition of the festival would stand out from others owing to the participation of internationally reputed filmmakers such as Mrinal Sen, who was awarded the first IFFK award for lifetime achievement. The festival had developed a culture of its own and had its own committed audience. The packages like the one for Cuban films that was included in this edition were inspiring, he said.

Cuban Ambassador to India Miguel Angel Ramirez Ramos said he was enthused to see that cinema had a great influence on the people of Kerala. Cuban cinema too had come of age and was trying to liberate itself from the influence of Hollywood. Instead of using sex and violence for its own sake, Cuban films used it judiciously, as demanded by the theme. Those were intelligent films and not just commercial. Cinema should help to make life better and lead to a social transformation by leaving a message of hope.

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