Two more regional film festivals will be launched by the government to cater to film lovers from other parts of the State who are unable to make the annual trip to the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), Minister for Cinema Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has said.
He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the 19th IFFK at the Nishagandhi auditorium on Friday.
“There were some issues with the organising of the festival at the beginning. But this year witnessed the best-ever selection of films. The expense of this festival is lesser by Rs.75 lakh as compared to that last year. The money so saved will be used for the betterment of Malayalam cinema, including the marketing of our films abroad. We will try our best to iron out the issues next year. The government will try to implement all the possible measures recommended by the Adoor committee for the betterment of Malayalam cinema,” he said.
VS’s poserEarlier, Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan, while lauding the Chalachitra Academy for the selection of films, raised questions about the various issues that had cropped up during the festival.
“Many popular films were screened in small cinemas. Malayalam films were not given prominence. If we can bring all these films from across the world here, why can’t we take our films to the international audience? The Adoor Gopalakrishnan committee has recommended several positive steps that could rejuvenate Malayalam cinema. The government should try to implement these, instead of sinking it in controversies,” Mr. Achuthanandan said, drawing a loud applause from the audience.
Inspired by RayTurkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, the chief guest at the closing ceremony, was presented with a memento by Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam. “It feels great to be in the country of one of my teachers, Satyajit Ray. I learned lot many things from him,” Mr. Ceylan said in his short speech.
