T.P. Surej, director of the signature film of the 17th edition of the IFFK, talks about the concept behind the 34-second animated film
Masters at work
“Each festival has a theme and the signature film is supposed to summarise in less than a minute the festival’s motto. Moreover, one also tries to incorporate elements of local culture and the context in which the festival is placed; a kind of local perspective to locate the festival,” explains filmmaker Shaji N. Karun, whose 30-second animated signature film for the International Film Festival of India has been chosen as the permanent signature film. Made last year, the poetic visual haiku on reel was chosen as the signature film this year too. He has also directed and conceptualised the signature film for the tenth edition of the IFFK.
“I made the signature film for the International Film Festival of India when it first came to Kerala. The late G. Aravindan chose the logo of the shadow puppet and my film was on that because it is our indigenous form of cinema. The story is enacted on a screen through a play of light and shadow – a precursor of cinema itself.”
Ad and feature filmmaker V.K. Prakash says that he considered it a great honour to make the signature film on the behest of Adoor Gopalakrishnan. “It is played before every single screening at the IFFK and so I was determined to make a mark with my animated film that featured the crow pheasant, the logo of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy that organises the festival in association with the Kerala government. Right from the first screening, it was liked by everyone and that was a real boost,” says the director.
