Akedemy in a drive to promote good cinema: K.R. Mohan

Kerala Chalachitra Akademi chairman, K.R. Mohan, inaugurating thethree-day festival of world classics and documentaries at the PressClub hall in Pathanamthitta on Saturday.

The Kerala Chalachitra Akademi has started a series of initiatives to create an atmosphere for good movies to thrive in this age of commercialisation, according to akademi chairman K.R. Mohan.

Mr. Mohan was inaugurating a three-day festival of world classics and documentaries, jointly organised by the Pathanamthitta Press Club and the District Information Office at the Press Club hall here on Saturday. He said Malayalam cinema had already started direct market intervention which could never be viewed as a healthy trend. He said the akademi had started programmes to popularise good cinema through film festivals, workshops, seminars, discussions, etc. It has successfully organised camps for school children at Kattappana, Thrissur and Wayanad and was planning to conduct similar camps in various other parts of the State soon, he added.

Mr. Mohan said good cinema had got an educative, informative and reformatory role and that the akademi was trying to popularise this potential. He said the akademi would also organise camps for school teachers in association with the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. Zakir Hussein, Press Club president, presided. Sam Chempakathil, secretary, and Sanu George Thomas, convener, also spoke.

Festival movies

The opening movie was the Iranian classic ‘Children of Heaven', directed by Majid Majidi.

The 90-minute movie is about a young boy, Ali, who loses his sister's only pair of shoes and how he is trying to get a new pair for her before their poor father notices it.

Documentaries on Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, Vayalar Rama Varma and C. Achutha Menon were also shown at the film festival. ‘Turtles can fly', a Kurdish film by Baman Gobada, and a Korean film by Kim Ki-duk were also shown.

Today's movies

Documentary on Chenda maestro Mattannur Sankarankutty at 10.30 a.m.; ‘Spring, summer, fall, winter and spring' (Korea) at 11 a.m.; documentary on Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar at 2.30 p.m.; ‘Bhoomikkoru Charama Geethom', documentary, and ‘13', a French movie by Gela Babilenai.

The 3-day film fete ends on Monday.