http://www.cinema-poet.com

A successful celebration of cinema.

A report about 8th International Film Festival of Kerala (Dec 12-19,2003) by film critic Lalit Rao

It is a widely accepted fact in film festival circles that if an International film festival manages to show 10 outstanding films then it is considered a success. Judging by that yardstick,the 8th edition of International Film Festival of Kerala (Dec 12-Dec 19,2003) held in Thiruvanathapuram must be considered a resounding success.The truth is that it achieved resounding success by offering the cine literate public of Kerala more than 50 films to applaud. The 2003 edition of IFFK saw a record number of 19 films in its competition section.The films in this section delineated human struggles against the unjust society by showing how ordinary mortals are made to suffer due to archaic values.It included six films from India,seven from other Asian countries, four from Africa and two from South America.Non film producing nations like Pakistan and Bangladesh also made their presence felt with a film each.The competition jury was headed by renowned Cuban master Humberto Solas.It included Moussa Sene Absa (Senegal),Helmut Groschup (Austria) and Rituparno Ghosh (India).

The 2003 edition of IFFK had following sections: IFFK Competition,World Cinema,Indian Cinema Today,New Malayalam Cinema,Chantal Akerman Retrospective,Chris Marker Retrospective,Aravindan Retrospective,Short Fiction Films,Documentary Films,US Independant Package,Focus on China,Canadian Short Films,Italian Package,Homage to Marin Karmitz and Swiss Short Films.

Opening Film: The opening film "Encounter" by Omer Kavur is a psychological drama about a search full of incidents.Its protagonist Sinan,an architect undergoing treatment for a fatal disease believes that he has been offered a new lease of life.His life takes a new meaning when he meets Mahmut who is equally distressed.Both men have guilty consciousness as an old crime disturbs Mahmut whereas Sinan holds himself responsible for the death of his son in a road accident.Death awaits them as strange events upset Sinan's mental state and brings him back upon his memories.

IFFK Competition Section : Mahamet Saleh Haroun in his intimate Chadian film,Abouna portrayed the hardships faced by youngsters while trying to make their entry in the difficult world of adults.It is the story of Tahir and Amin whose world is shattered after the sudden disappearance of their father who was suppossed to referee a football match involving young kids of the neighborhood.Life comes to a standstill as their panic-stricken mother cannot provide any satisfactory explication.They take matters in their hands by looking for their father all over the city.One day they seem to spot their loving father on a cinema screen.They decide to steal the cinema reels,but are quickly arrested by the police.The distraught mothers sends Tahir and Amir to an islamic school.The harshness of life in an alien setup has adverse effects on the young lads.Amin,suffering from Asthma dies following the loss of his inhalor.Tahir discovers the love of a mute girl.Abouna deserves sympathy as it is a sad tale based on real life events involving numerous helpless women in Chad who are left to fend for themsleves when their husbands leave them.Based on a social fact,Abouna helped Mahamat-Saleh Haroun to construct a delicate universal tale. "Osama" by Sedigh Barmak,which happens to be the first Afghan feature film made after the ousting of Taliban regime by American forces,was another impressive film.Osama portrays the difficult live of an Afghan widow who cannot work as under Taliban rule women have been deprived of their rights to earn a livelihood.She decides to raise her daughter as a boy,renaming her Osama,hoping that it would be of great use to her family.Osama is sent to a Taliban training camp but there is misery in store for her as it is revealed that she is a girl.Barmak termed his film "A real life tragedy".His film is a story about all those who lost their identity and are forced to live in constant fear.Above all,Osama is a poetic tale of madness thrust upon a little girl.It reminds us of the horrors,injustices and cruelty unleashed upon innocent people during the Taliban rule. It is not so often that one gets a chance to see a film from Uruguay."The Last Train" by Diego Arsuaga was undoubtedly acknowledged by a vast majority of spectators as the best film of the competitive section.This film narrates the adventures of three old men who hijack the last train in Uruguay which is to be sold to a major hollywood studio.These men firmly believe that their national heritage is not for sale.They get tremendous public support from common citizens who offer them food as well as water for the steam locomotive.Catchy music,fast pace and fine performances from veterans like Federico Luppi,Hector Alterio and Gaston Pauls make a good viewing.

World Cinema : Atanarjuat (The fast runner) by Zacharias Kunuk portrays how the arrival of a mysterious shaman causes dreadful rivality among the members of a small group of peaceful inuit community.Two courgaeous brothers Amaqjuaq:The brave and Atanarjuat:The fast runner tackle the forces of evil.Atanarjuat wins the heart of beautiful Atuat much to the chagrin of Oki,who decides to take revenge.He hatches a diabolical plot to eliminate Amaqjuaq and Atanarjuat.This riveting tale of fact and fiction has the unique distinction of being the first inuit film in the history of cinema.Atanarjuat created a sensation in 2001 by winning the prestigious camera d'or at the Cannes film festival.Zacharias Kunuk through his artistic ambivalence has offered a novel perspective on human existence wherein a native community with strange customs attract the curiosity of modern world. Alexander Sokurov is a major cineaste whose works have regularly been screened at IFFK.He offered a wonderful glimpse of Russian history in his latest film "Russian Arc".A contemporary film maker,during a walk in St.Petersburg's hermitage museum finds himself immersed in Russia's turbulent history as he encounters myriad characters like Catherine II,a Persian ambassador,Anastasia and Nicholas II.He shows how Russia's lost glorious past deprived ordinary mortals of happiness for a long time.In dream like setting,this nostalgic film evokes a luxurious past of a great Russian nation which must seek to reestablish its own identity and histroy.A record of sorts was created as the entire film was shot in one 90-minute take. Takeshi Kitano's Dolls makes brilliant use of Japanese puppet theater Bunraku.It regroups three poetic stories of lost love to create a tender universal tale.The first tale is about Matsumoto and Sawako-a happy couple,who are forced to make a difficult choice owing to family pressure.The second tale involves Hiro-a yakuza boss,who by joining the crime world thirty years ago distanced himself from his love interest.The third tale depicts Nukui who would like to prove that he is the biggest fan of Haruna-a young pop star who met with an accident.Dolls shows that life does not flow like a river but consumes itself like a flame.Kitano as a true visual poet,created a delicate filmed theater. In Unknown pleasures,Xiao Ji and Bin Bin lead a futile existence in Datong,China.Xiao Ji falls in love with Qiao Qiao unaware of the fact that she is local gangster's mistress.Bin Bin is going steady with a young school girl who wants him to end their relationship.They decide to rob a bank to put an end to their miseries.Jia Zhang Ke is a true representative of China's 6th generation of film makers.In Unknown pleasures,he has filmed profound sadness,sorrow and hopelessness afflicting two unemployed chinese youth from a small provincial town. Larissa Sadilova's "With love Lily" is a moving portrayal of an ordinary Russian woman who chooses to live in her own fantasy world.It is a touching portrayal of Lilya-a naive poultry factory employee.She is desperately looking for a soul mate.The arrival of Boris-a pianist brightens her life but her happiness is short lived as Boris marries some one else.Sadilova silenced one and for all those who believed that Russian cinema is dead ! With love Lily,proved beyond doubt that cinema tradition in Russia is very much alive and capable of producing intimate portraits of day to day lives of ordinary Russians.

Retrospective: This segment featured films of the Belgian avant-garde director Chantal Akerman,French documentary wizard Chris Marker and the Malayalam maestro Aravindan.Chantal Akerman started her cinematographic career not only as an outsider but also as an autodidact.As a militant feminist,she always had a fascination for a cinema devoid of narrative style.She achieved international attention with her second film "Jeanne Dielman,23 quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles" (1975).It is the story of a bourgeois widow Jeanne Dielman who supports herself and her 16 year old son by prostituting herself once a week.She feels neither disgust nor pleasure for what she is doing.She considers making love to clients as perfectly normal as taking a bath.The film recounts three days in her life in a bare minimal fashion as throughout the film there is hardly any suspense,climax or conflict.Chantal Akerman has deep concerns for neutrality as there is no evident identification process with the characters.In "Jeanne Dielman,23 quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles" a discerning viewer can detect a certain desire to show what happens between two separate actions."De l'autre cote (On the other side) depicts the sad plight of illegal immigrants who are ready to overcome all obstacles in order to cross Mexican border to reach USA.In an interview,she acknowledged that the driving force between this documentary was the word "Dirt" used by American ranchers whenever they encountered illegal Mexican immigrants.Akerman maintains her neutrality by positioning herself as a foreigner attempting to comprehend the logic behind such risky ventures.Chris Marker constructed his charismatic "La Jetee" from still photographs combined in serial fashion with voice over narration and music.It is a love story set in a bleak future and involving time travel and memory.La Jetee as an ecstatic,lyrical film conveys the pain and weight of modern history and the intense power of images.Martine Armand-a french film festival programmer felt that Marker looks deep into history.His documentary works provide daring commentaries on political issues.Marker's anti war documentary "Far from vietnam" has special relevance in our troubled times as it was the first of its kind to oppose American involvement in Vietnam.Short FilmsShort films have always been considered as a supporting program before the main film.They serve film students as calling cards with which to enter into professional life in film,television and other branches of the media.

During IFFK certain innovative short films were shown which showed a marked preference for experimentation with film aesthetics and form.Canadian short film "Ceiling Requiem" (2002) by Jeremy Peter Allen shows a young man trying to commit suicide after listening to Bach and Mozart.He is forced to take such a drastic step as he is constantly harassed by his amateur cello playing neighbour.The young man decides to put a bullet in his head after freeing humanity from his neighbour's ignominious cacophony.Stina Werenfels' swiss short "Pastry,pain and politics" (1998) reveals prejudices and different types of racism practised by its protagonists.An old Jewish couple-Fritz and Elen Weintraub spend their vacations in Switzerland.Ellen wanted to go to Israel as during the war Switzerland refused jews entry within its territory.Fritz is against the idea as he feels that Israel is too hot and full of Arabs.They finally land in Switzerland where Fritz has a heart attack.Hayat-a Palestinian nurse saves his life.Pastry,pain and politics tackles the fundamental questions of national,human and religious borders.The witty Belgian short "Chanson Chanson" by Xavier Diskeuve delighted everyone with its dark humour.Walter Molitor-a supermarket announcer dreams of becoming a singing star.He heads for Paris in order to participate in a music show "Chanson Chanson".His cousin Jacques drives him to Paris with hilarious results.The swiss short "Summer Time" (2000) by Anna Luif depicted how human feelings like frustration,pain and anguish are inextricably linked to first love.Nadja-aged 13,falls madly in love with Michael.She is unaware of the fact that he is her mother's new boy friend.Her world is shattered when she comes to learn that Michael is more interested in her mother.She tries to seduce Michael but he disapproves of her advances.Nadja realises that she has gone too far.Finally in her mother's arms,she realizes that she is still not ready to make her foray into the world of adults.

IFFK sidebars : IFFK 2003 through its selection of certain serious films proved that delicate socio-political issues can be solved through meaningful cinema.Some of the films like Khamosh Pani (Pakistan)-Sabiha Kumar,Clay Bird (Bangladesh)-Tarek Masud and Madame Brouette (Senegal)-Moussa Sene Absa were highly political in nature.Most of these films fostered faith,hope and awareness against the onslaught of archaic values.Clay Bird which is set entirely in an islamic madarsa recalls the turbulent period which led to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan.It advocates basic human values like cultural diversity,religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence.Its success resulted in a boon for talented Bangladeshi cinema as increasing awareness about good cinema has been created in the minds of general public.The success of Clay Bird has inceased prospects of meaningful cinema in Bangladesh as new entrants are venturing into alternative films.Sabiha Kumar's Khamosh Pani deals with islamic findamentalists who were highly active during Zia-ul-Haq's military rule.She holds politicians responsible for the narrow minded approach in solving Indo-Pak conflict.Khamosh Pani managed to garner good reviews at various international festivals despite the fact that it was shot in Pakistan which lacks necessary infrastructure and climate for film making.Moussa Sene Abssa's poignant "Madame Brouette" advocates human independence as its principal character Matti fiercly guards her freedom as well as her dreams.He is hopeful that physical and intellectual bondage can be cut by art and aesthetics.It is his manner of waging a peaceful war against colonisation.He firmly believes that in all his films there is a mission to create awareness among African people to rebel against dark forces of imperialism and colonisation.

Open forum discussions have always been a focal point of IFFK.This year was no exception as many lively debates and animated scenes were witnessed.Some of the topics were "Programming for festivals","Film societies in changing times" "Film and television" and "Alternative strategy of film making:A third world perspective".The noted cuban maestro Humberto Solas felt that film makers must not view financial constraints in bad light as low budget films provide greater artistic freedom.According to him local film producers should strive to cut costs by taking advantage of evolving technology.Adoor Gopalakrishnan expessed his view that the scope of film societies has increased more than ever.It was felt that film socities must attempt to restructure themseleves.Amol Palekar vehemently criticised Doordarshan for its indifferent attitude towards award winning films and documentaries.He said that he did not have a great regard for the TV medium as it has always refrained from supporting film industry.Rada Sesic was of the opinion that TV must make efforts to provide needed boost to documentaries as they are closer to life.The participants bemoaned the fact that short film maker gets no support or recognition either from the government or the general public as it is difficult to screen them.

A choice selection of 25 classics of Malayalam cinema was a big let down.Firstly,most of the films were unsubtitled.Secondly,the auditorium selected was not at all suitable for film projection.This dampened the spirits of numerous non malyali and foreign delegates who showed avid interest towards this event.8th IFFK thus lost a great opportunity of revealing the creativity and richness which has been the hallmark of Malyalam cinema for 75 years.The film market set up by Kerala Chalachitra Academy did not live up to its expectations as it only managed to elicit a lukewarm response from international buyers.It failed to secure international distribution of malyalam films despite the fact that there were inquiries from Los Angeles and certain domestic sectors.

It is true that during 8th IFFK roughly 2000 new faces registered as festival delegates but a mature film audience was certainly missing as constant ringing of cell phones coupled with frequent quitting of auditorium disturbed discerning audience.This was shocking as film conscious audience were deprived of serious viewing when off beat films like Dolls and Russian Arc were screened.

IFFK has managed to secure a place for itself in international film festival arena thanks to its effeciency.It boasts of an excellent media centre,a nice festival bulletin,and above all a dedicated team of volunteers who ensure smooth running of the festival.The official recognition from FIAPF (International Federation of Film Prodcuers Association) has given an added boost to festival authorities as they are in a position to allay all fears that prints might get lost or delayed.IFFK is poised to become the best film festival in Asia.Let us hope that IFFK 2004 would turn out to be even greater success.

IFFK 2003:Winners

Best Film-Abouna (Chad)-Mahamet Saleh Haroun.

Best Director-George Furtado (Brazil)-The Man who copied.

Best debut director-Mansoor Sore Wade (Senegal)-The Prize of Forgiveness.

FIPRESCI Special mention-Margam (India)-Rajeev Vijayaraghavan.

Audience prize-Osama (Afghanistan)-Siddiq Barmak

Home Contact Us Call for articles Editorial Contributors

Advisory Board Articles in English Team cinema-poet

contact@cinema-poet.com

© Cinema-Poet Media Group, 2008-2013 Copyright this business.

All rights reserved. Hosted by Yahoo!