Weekend treat for IFFK delegates

A veritable treat of contemporary world cinema, with a topping of yesteryear classics, awaits the delegates during the opening weekend of the 19th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).

Mohsen Makhmalbaff’s The President, on a fallen autocrat and his innocent grandson, will be of interest to his legion of fans here.

Sonja Prosenc’s

The Tree , which tells the evocative tale of a family who cannot leave their home, has in its kitty triumphs at a slew of small film festivals.

Two Days, One Night, starring Mrion Cotillard and directed by Belgian duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, is the unlikely story of one woman’s struggle to retain her job by convincing her colleagues to sacrifice their much-needed bonuses. It has been screened at all of the major festivals.

Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu on life under the control of fundamentalist zealots in a desert town had won applause at Cannes.

The Buster Keaton retrospective opens with the 1926 film

The General . Jury Chairman Xie Fei’s two films,

A Girl from Hunan and

Black Snow, will be screened.

In the competition section, Hossein Shahabi’s The Bright Day , July Jung’s A Girl at My Door , Hisham Lasri’s They are the Dogs will be screened.

On Sunday, Chaitanya Thahane’s much feted Marathi film Court will draw in the crowds, so would Xavier Dolan’s Canadian film Mommy .

Malayalam films

Among the Malayalam films, Sanalkumar Sasidharan’s Oraal Pokkam and Sajin Babu’s Unto the Dusk are the highlights.

In the French connection section, Justine Triet’s Age of Panic set amid the 2012 French Presidential elections, and Arnaud Des Pallieres’s Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas on the high cost of vengeance, will be screened.

Weekend treat for IFFK delegates

Buster Keaton retrospective to open with The General