A six-day fete of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s movies has begun at Fine Arts College as part of ‘Pasolini Films Retro’ programme organised jointly by the film club of the college and Kerala Chalachitra Academy.
The legendary post-war Italian filmmaker, writer, poet and painter is one of the most studied artists of the 20th century.
The fete screens six of his movies along with talks and discussion on the maestro’s life and works.
“This is not a festival. We want to provide a free space for artists and enthusiasts to enjoy and discuss a great artist. Pasolini is one of those people we discuss a lot on the campus and we thought it would be great if we can introduce him to the public as well,” says Akarsh Karunakaran, a post graduate student and one of the organisers of the programme.
The fete on Wednesday with a lecture on his eventful life. It was followed by the screening of The Gospel According to St.Mathew .
Posters, hand-painted by the budding artists of the college, welcome the visitors at the gateway leading to the old Gothic main building of the college. For the students this is not just a Pasolini film show, it is a way to open up the birthplace of several renowned artists to the city folks. “It was real fun, staying awake and creating all these wonderful posters. A few of us had not seen any of his movies. So we had to sit and watch all of them before working on the posters,” adds Akarsh.
The festival will end on October 23 with a talk by cinematographer and director Sunny Joseph, and screening of Pasolini’s last movie Salò. The screenings are at 6.30 p.m.
