All around the city and beyond posters stand tall, colourfully proclaiming to the world that the 18th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) begins today. In focus is a crow pheasant – the fete’s symbol – perched on and peering into an hourglass that holds colourful film reels. The entire art work of IFFK has been conceptualised by documentary filmmaker Sajin P.J. and artist Ceepee, both of who have been associated with the fete as delegates and later in various capacities for around 10 years now.
The multicolour hues for the art work were a deliberate choice, say the duo. “The art work celebrates 75 years of Malayalam cinema and 100 years of Indian cinema in all its variety and diversity; it celebrates the colourful nature of our cinema. The hourglass is meant to suggest the passage of time, our wonderful heritage on reel. The crow pheasant, meanwhile, has been pictured as peering into the hourglass because it is looking for the best of Malayalam, Indian and world cinema that IFFK always has on offer.”
DAILY MAIL
Sajin and Ceepee are also in charge of the popular daily bulletin of the fete. This year the daily bulletin too is based on the same theme – 75 years of Malayalam cinema and 100 years of Indian cinema. Apart from regular movie reviews and focus pieces on filmmakers and movies, this year the daily bulletin will feature two new columns – ‘Century Reels’ written by film critic C.S. Venkiteswaran, and ‘God’s Own Reels’, written by journalist K.P. Jayakumar, on Indian cinema and Malayalam cinema, respectively. Says Sajin: “This year’s bulletin will also be focussing more on Malayalam cinema and will be exploring its links with other mediums such as poetry, novels, travelogues, philosophy and so on, with each article being written by stalwarts of each medium. As such poet S. Joseph will be writing on ‘Kaviyum Cinemayum’, author Sara Joseph on ‘Novelum Cinemayum’, actor-director P. Balachandran on ‘Natakavum cinemayum’, noted travel writer Musafir Ahmed on ‘Yathrikanum Cinemayum’ and film critic P.S. Radhakrishnan on ‘Siddhanthavum Cinemayum’.”
