T.V. Chandran, film-maker, said here on Tuesday that there were earnest efforts to make meaningful films in Malayalam cinema today.
At a meet-the-press programme organised on the sidelines of the 15th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), Mr. Chandran said that he always kept a tab on new Malayalam films and was pleased to find that so many young people were trying to make films with a difference.
Mr. Chandran said the presence of Werner Herzog, German film-maker, had added to the significance of the IFFK and had brought great expectations for Malayalam cinema.
“I will always preserve the image of a smiling Herzog who went through heaven and hell to come into cinema. Whatever element of unnecessary ego was there got washed away after meeting this great film-maker and watching his films,” he said.
The directors Shyamaprasad, Onir, Alejandra Szeplaki from Venezuela and Chilean actress Paola Lattus Ramoz were present at the programme.
Breaking dimensions
Mr. Shyamaprasad was elated by the response to his film Elektra , which was premiered at the festival. The film is based on the story of Electra in Greek mythology. “I grew with the text of Electra right from my drama school days. So it is a very personal film for me and I am satisfied with the film,” he said.
Asked about the significance of recreating a Greek mythology in Malayalam, Mr. Shayamaprasad said that stories such as Electra, which continued to stir human emotions even after all these years, had relevance beyond, time, space and civilisation.
Mr. Onir, director of the Hindi film Iam- Afia Megha Abhimanyu Omar , said that he did not identify himself as a Bollywood director as all his films were made independently. “It is difficult to make and finance my kind of films which are not typical popcorn films. If you depend on the financing bodies in Bollywood, you will have to work on certain kinds of scripts and actors. That is why I decided to make this film independently by raising money from the audience and through social networking sites,” he said.
Mr. Onir said he was touched by the response of the IFFK audience to his film.
Mr. Shyamaprasad said that finding funds for typically non-commercial films was a global issue. Even television channels were only interested in buying superstar films, he added.
Colour theme
Alejandra Szeplaki, Venezuelan film-maker, said that the most important feature of the IFFK was the diversity of films and participating countries. Talking about the use of vivid colours in her film The Day in Orange , Ms. Szeplaki said that she had done so to differentiate and identify the three central characters of the film — three women from different countries.
Paula, actor, whose film Optical Illusions was being screened in the competition section, said that she was grateful to be in the festival and hoped to be back here with another film very soon.
