International Film Festival of Kerala

The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The festival is held in November or December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India.
Several national and international films have their premiers at the IFFK each year. Competition section is limited to 14 selected films produced in Asia, Africa or Latin America. The festival also has a section devoted to Malayalam cinema. On the lines of the IFFK, the Chalachitra Academy also organises the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala. The Academy also organized a regional film festival in 2022, Regional International Film Festival of Kerala held in Kochi.
The Directorate of Film Festivals, Govt of India held the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Thiruvananthapuram, in 1988. The festival cultivated an interest in serious films and has led to creation of several film societies throughout the state. The activities of the societies included screening of classic films from around the world, conducting group discussions on various aspects of cinema and circulating pamphlets on renowned filmmakers. The film societies obtained copies of films from archives and from embassies of some countries as a part of culture-exchange programmes. The film society movement helped to raise film literacy among people and the need for an international film festival to the level of the IFFI came up. The first IFFK was in Kozhikode in 1996. Incidentally, the festival was held in the 100th anniversary of cinema and 100 films were screened as a part of the event. The event was managed by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) till 1998 when the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy was formed and was bestowed with the responsibility of conducting IFFK along with other activities for promotion of cinema. Academy introduced IFFK as the competitive festival by Shaji N. Karun filmmaker and then chairman, executive director IFFK. Later, the FIAPF accredited the festival and a competition section was added to the event in 1999.The logo of IFFK, competition Awards are designed by National Institute of design Ahmadabad. The competition is limited to films produced in Asia, Africa or Latin America. The FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) and the Netpac (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) have also recognised the festival.
Contemporary World Cinema, New Malayalam Cinema, Retrospectives of Major filmmakers, Homage and Tributes, Contemporary Indian Cinema, Short films and Documentaries are screened during the film festival. Film Market and Seminars on important issues concerning Cinema are also scheduled during the IFFK. The festival is now permanently held at various cinema halls in Thiruvananthapuram. The festival is always noted for its public support. The festival is perhaps the only one to have had screenings in a prison (Poojappura Central Jail, Thiruvananthapuram), a juvenile home and a poor home (Sri Chitra Poor Home).
In 2007, two more awards from the FIPRESCI and the Netpac are introduced, which will be awarded separately to the best Malayalam films at the festival.
The 27th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2022) was held from 9 to 16 December 2022. Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by Kerala's Minister of Culture V. N. Vasavan.This edition of the IFFK witnessed a change at the helm, as Deepika Suseelan took over as artistic director from Bina Paul.
Bolivian film Utama directed by Alejandro Loayza Grisi was awarded the Suvarna Chakoram for Best Film. Tayfun Pirselimoglu was awarded Rajata Chakoram for Best Director for his film Kerr.
The 26th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2021) was held from 18 to 25 March 2022. The festival was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan. Kurdish film maker Lisa Calan was awarded with the Spirit of Cinema award at the inaugural function in Thiruvananthapuram.
The 25th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2021) was held in four legs from 10 February 2021 to 5 March 2021. It was held in four locations unlike its predecessors; Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Palakkad and Thalassery.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan received the Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Jean Luc Godard, who pioneered the French New Wave film movement.
The 24th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2019) was held over eight days, from 6 December 2019 to 13 December 2019. The opening film was Passed by Censor [tr] by Serhat Karaaslan. The international jury was chaired by Egyptian director Khairy Beshara.
The 23rd IFFK was held from 7 December 2018 to 13 December 2018. This edition was initially cancelled due to heavy flooding across parts of Kerala. However, it was later decided to conduct the festival on a limited scale. The opening film was Todos lo Saben by Asghar Farhadi. The international jury was chaired by Iranian director Majid Majidi.
The 22nd IFFK was held in December 2017.
The 21st IFFK was held in December 2014
The 20th IFFK was held from 12 December 2014 to 19 December 2014. With a total of 140 films, 10 sections and 12 theatres, The world cinema package of the IFFK has a total of 60 films from 37 countries, including, French and Chinese film packages.
The 19th IFFK was held from 12 December 2014 to 19 December 2014. With a total of 140 films, 10 sections and 12 theatres, The world cinema package of the IFFK has a total of 60 films from 37 countries, including, French and Chinese film packages.
The 18th IFFK was held from 7 December 2013 to 13 December 2013. The festival began with the guests and audience observing a minute's silent prayer in honour of South African leader Nelson Mandela. Renowned actress Shabana Azmi was the chief guest. Amos Gitai's Ana Arabia, an Israeli movie shot in an 85-minute-long single sequence was the opening film at the festival. As many as 211 films from 64 countries under various categories like 'Competition Section', 'World Cinema', 'Indo-German Connection Section', 'Samurai Film Section', 'Retrospective Section' and 'Homage Section' were screened during the festival. A total of 14 movies from Asia, Africa and Latin America were selected for the Competition Section, while the World Cinema segment had 79 movies. Seven films including those of noted Japanese directors like Kon Ichikawa and Kenji Mizoguchi comprised the Samurai Film section. Seeking to mark the centenary celebrations of Indian cinema, a special section titled "Original Glory: 100 Years of Indian Cinema" was included. It included Indian classics like Satyajit Ray's Charulata and Mrinal Sen's Bhuvan Shome. Veteran Mexican filmmaker Arturo Ripstein chaired the jury panel of the Competition Section, which also comprised Thai film maker Aditya Assarat, South African director Khalo Matabane and south Indian actor Gautami. Spanish Filmmaker Carlos Saura was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The 17th IFFK was at Thiruvananthapuram 7–14 December 2012. It was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy with a special screening of Alfred Hitchcock's silent film The Ring (1927), with the accompaniment of live orchestration of a new score created by the sextet led by British Jazz artiste Soweto Kinch. One hundred and ninety eight films from 54 countries were shown in the festival.
14 films were screened in the competition section, including two Malayalam films (Bhoomiyude Avakashikal by T. V. Chandran and Shutter by Joy Mathew) and two non-Malayalam Indian films (I.D by Kamal K. M. and Filmistaan by Nitin Kakkar). IFFK 2012 had retrospectives of thespians and auteurs, past and present. It had works by Australian filmmaker Paul Cox (who chaired the competition jury), Burkina Faso film director and screenwriter Pierre Yameogo, French filmmaker Alain Resnais, the Japanese master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Brazilian actor Helena Ignez, British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and Malayalam actor Sathyan.
IFFK 2012 was appreciated for improved viewing experiences it provided through better theatre atmosphere and high-tech sound and visual systems. IFFK 2012 was not free from controversies either. The ban imposed on the reshow of Deepa Mehta's Midnight's Children created a widespread controversy. The film, an adaptation of renowned writer Salman Rushdie's masterpiece novel Midnight's Children, had its Asian premiere at the IFFK. After the premiere, Indian National Congress leaders said that the film portrayed former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi and other leaders in a negative manner. Following the allegations, further festival screening of the film was stopped, an act which drew heavy criticism. Another controversy developed when Jayan K. Cherian's Papilio Buddha was removed from the programme when it was alleged by the Kerala Police that it became known that continued inclusion of the film in the festival might trigger major trouble in the city due to its alleged negative remarks on Mahatma Gandhi and sympathy with Dalit.
The 16th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2011) was at Thiruvananthapuram 9- December 2011. It was opened by the state of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy with actress Jaya Bachchan as the guest of honor. The inaugural film was Under the Hawthron Tree, directed by Chinese film-maker Zhang Yimou. Noted director Priyadarshan was the jury chairman. K G Santhosh was the Secretary and executive Director of the Festival.
The 15th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2010) was at Thiruvananthapuram 10–17 December 2010. It was opened by the state of Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan with Indian actress Waheeda Rahman as the guest of honor. Werner Herzog, the German filmmaker, was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award in the inaugural ceremony. A jury headed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan chose him for the award. The opening film was Please Do Not Disturb. Around 8000 delegates which included film makers, artists and film buffs from all over India and abroad participated in the 8-day long festival.
Members of the jury included Julie Dash, Mexican filmmaker Maria Novaro, Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Japanese filmmaker Yashuhiro Hariki and Indian screenplay writer and photographer Sooni Taraporevala.
The festival had a retrospective section of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and showed films of Werner Herzog, Olivier Assayas, Mario Novaro and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. A total of 207 films from 83 countries were screened at the 15th IFFK giving prominence to the films from Asia, Latin America and Africa.
There were various film discussion sessions with Werner Herzog, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Julie Dash, Maria Novaro, Juliane Lorenz and many prominent Indian filmmakers. Mani Ratnam, notable Indian filmmaker, was the chief guest of the closing ceremony.
The 14th IFFK was 11–18 December 2009. The competition jury included: Chairperson Bahman Ghobadi (Iran), Balufu Bakupa Kanyinda (Congo), Prassanna Vithnarage (Sri Lanka), Mamta Shankar (India) and Hala Khalili (Egypt).
Competition awards went to:
The 13th International Film Festival of Kerala was held from 12 to 19 December 2008. The festival was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Kerala, V. S. Achutanandan. Argentinean filmmaker Fernando Birri and veteran actor K.R. Vijaya were the chief guests. The opening film of the festival was Laila's Birthday, by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi. The eight-day long festival had 182 films from 53 countries. 14 films, including two Malayalam films, were in the competition section. Lucia Murat (Brazil) headed the jury, which also consisted of Samira Makhmalbaf (Iran), Sitora Alieva (Russia), Allain Jalladeau (France) and Jabbar Patel (India). The juries representing Fipresci (International Federation of Film Critics)were Chris Fujiwara, Barbara Lorey and Manoj Barjpujari. The NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) nominated juries were Sudhir Mishra, Freddie Wong and Max Tesseir.
The 12th IFFK (IFFK 2007) was 6–14 December. The festival was opened by actor Kamal Haasan; Miguel Littin (Chilean director), MA Baby was the guest of honor. Other notable attendees included: the Minister for Cultural Affairs, state of Kerala; and actors Naseeruddin Shah and Mohanlal. Twelve people were honored at the competition for their contribution to the growth of the Malayalam cinema: producers M.O. Joseph, K.N. Ravindranathan Nair, R.S. Prabhu, the former Film Archives director P.K. Nair, music directors, M.S. Viswanathan and M.K. Arjunan, playback singer S. Janaki, art director S. Konnanad, actors KPAC Lalitha, K. R. Vijaya, T. R. Omana, Santhadevi and makeup man Velappan. 231 films from 54 countries were screened at eight cinema halls in Thiruvananthapuram, namely Ajanta, New Theatre, Kalabhavan, Kairali, Sree, Kripa, Dhanya and Remya theatres.
14 films were selected for the competition section which was limited to films produced or co-produced in Asia, Africa & Latin America between September 2006 and August 2007. The jury consisted of Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, African actor and director Naky Sy Savene, Polish scenarist Agnieska Holland, actor and producer Naseeruddin Shah and Cuban Film Academy director Rigoberto Lopez. Journalist Sheila Johnston heads the Fipresci jury which consisted of Turkish critic Cüneyt Cebenoyan and documentary filmmaker Varala Anand.
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