When actor Manju Warrier handed over a delegate pass for the 21st International Film Festival of Kerala to Sheetal Shyam at the Tagore Theatre here on Wednesday, the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy was taking an important step towards making public spaces truly inclusive.
From this year, the IFFK delegate passes are being issued to transgenders too.
Sheetal, a transgender activist, said it was apt that changes like these started from the cultural sphere.
“We have been facing all kinds of exclusions through our lives, from our families, and from the larger society around us. In recent years, things have started taking a turn for the better and I appreciate the Chalachita academy for taking this important step,” said Sheethal, who also stars in the film Ka Bodyscapes , which handles the issues of the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender (LGBT) community.
The film, directed by Jayan Cherian, will also be screened at the festival.
The IFFK this year also has a package of LGBT films titled Gender Bender, consisting of six films from across the world, dealing with the theme.
On Wednesday, Minister for Culture A.K. Balan inaugurated the festival office and the distribution of delegate passes. The first pass was handed over to Manju Warrier.
Chalachitra academy chairman Kamal delivered the presidential address.
“There is considerable increase in the number of delegates this year. The maximum number of delegates we can afford is 9,000. But this year it has risen to 13,000. We hope everyone will understand and cope with the limitations. Since it is a floating crowd, there won’t be many issues,” said Kamal.
Delegate passes can be collected along with the festival kit on producing the fee receipt at the delegate cell at the Tagore Theatre. There will be separate counters for students and the differently abled. Delegates can collect the pass from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For booking of seats and voting, kiosks will be available at the festival venues. The booking and voting can also be done by accessing the IFFK official site and mobile application, which is available in both android and IOS platform or by SMS.
Booking by SMS can be done only by users who have verified their contact number during registration. Registered users can send the show-code for a particular movie screening to the number 9446301234 for booking.
