26th IFFK begins in Thiruvananthapuram, actor Bhavana surprises as special guest

Thiruvananthapuram: Appearing as an unannounced special guest, actor Bhavana received a rousing welcome from those gathered on the occasion.

In the seven-day-long cultural event, over 180 movies from various Asian, African, Latin American and European countries will be showcased in 14 theatres of the state capital.

The festival honoured Turkish filmmaker Lisa Calan, a young Kurdish director who lost her legs in an ISIS attack in 2005, with the Spirit of the Cinema award.

“Lisa Calan is a living martyr and her movies are examples of resistance and survival. Her life shows us that the fight for justice cannot be silenced with weapons,” Vijayan said during his inaugural speech.

He said cinema is a medium which can be used for social change and development.

“Through her movies, Calan fights against the state sponsored terrorism and racial discrimination and used the medium of cinema in a progressive manner,” Vijayan said.

Well-known Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap, who was a special guest to the event, said “Kerala was chronicling the times we live in”.

“In a time like this in India, I make movies in Hindi, where we are distorting our history. Kerala is actually chronicling the times we live in, with their cinema… Today, the best of Indian cinema is coming from God’s own country.

It’s so inspiring… Congratulations to the state for always standing up to the bullies. Thank you so much,” Kashyap said in his brief speech.

Bhavana said she felt very happy to be a part of the 26th IFFK. “To those who create good movies and those who watch good movies and to those like Lisa who fight against all the odds, I would like to convey my very best,” Bhavana said.

State Culture Minister Saji Cheriyan announced that a cinema academy will be set up in Kerala soon. “The new generation can learn about world cinema through this academy,” he said.

Normally, IFFK is held in Thiruvananthapuram in the month of December every year. However, due to COVID-19, the dates were changed to March. This year, the festival will end on March 25.

The festival has included “Films from conflict” this year, a section in which movies from Afghanistan, Burma and Kurdistan are included.

Last year, for the first time in the history of the festival, the venues were divided into four different regions of the state — Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thalassery and Palakkad — due to the pandemic.