Noted German film-maker Werner Herzog has been selected for the lifetime achievement award instituted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in connection with the 15th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
Mr. Herzog was selected by a jury headed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan and comprising academy chairman K.R. Mohanan, vice-chairman V.K. Joseph, film critics I. Shanmughadas and Uma Da Cunha, academy secretary K.S. Sreekumar and deputy director Beena Paul Venugopal.
Minister for Culture M.A. Baby and the jury told reporters here on Friday that Mr. Herzog was selected in view of his contributions to world cinema. The award comprising $10,000 and a memento designed by C.N. Karunakaran would be presented to Mr. Herzog at the inaugural of the festival at Nishagandhi auditorium here on December 10.
Mr. Baby said that 14 films from Asian, African and Latin American countries would compete for the awards. The academy council has decided to increase the prize money for various sections. The director and producer of the film which wins the Golden Crow Pheasant would get Rs.15 lakh, best director Rs.4 lakh, debut director Rs.3 lakh and the film winning the audience award Rs.2 lakh.
In order to promote Malayalam films, the director and producer of the films selected for the festival would get a grant of Rs.1 lakh. The academy would bring out a print with English sub-title to be shown in other festivals and also be kept in the archives.
Eight Malayalam films have been selected for the festival this year. The films of German film-maker Rainer Fassbinder will be shown in the retrospective section. The films of T.V. Chandran, middle Asian, black American directors and Apichat Pong will be screened at the festival. A package of Latin American films has been envisaged in connection with the 200{+t}{+h} anniversary of the Latin American independence. A section to pay homage to Masters of Malayalam Cinema too has been planned as part of the festival.
Considering the increase in the number of delegates, screenings have been planned at Sreekumar, Sree Visakh, Kalabhavan, Kairali, Dhanya, Remya, Kripa, Ajanta and New theatres. Delegates can register through www.iffk.in The last date for registration is November 30.
