THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 8 December 2007 — Actor Kamal Haasan kicked off the 12th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2007) at a star-studded function here yesterday . Chilean Director Miguel Littin was the chief guest.
Some 231 films from over 54 countries are lined up for the eight-day festival in which 7,000 delegates are expected to participate. Chinese film California Dreaming by Christian Nemescu, Calle Santa Fe (Chile) by Carmen Castillo, Crossing the Dust by Kurdish filmmaker Shawkat Ameen Korki which discusses events after the US invasion, Bille Auguste’s Goodbye Bafana dealing with Mandela’s close association with a white jail warden and Hana Makhmalbaf’s Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame are some of the main attractions.
The jury headed by Iranian Director Jafar Fanahi and with African filmmaker Naky Sy Savene, Polish playwright Agneizka Holland, Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah and Cuban Film Academy director Rigoberto Lopez as members will choose the best films for awards from 14 movies selected out of 450 entries received from 44 countries.
M.O. Joseph, K.N. Ravindranathan Nair, R.S. Phrabhu, P.K. Nair, M.S. Viswanathan, M.K. Arjunan, S. Janaki, S. Konnanattu, K.P.A.C Lalitha, K.R. Vijaya, T.R. Omana, Santha Devi and K. Velappan — the prodigies who made outstanding contributions to Malayalam cinema during the 1960s, were felicitated at the inaugural function.
The inaugural film Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame, directed by 18-year-old Hana Makhmalbaf was screened after the cultural extravaganza, Rhythm of Kerala.
The latest edition of the annual festival comes with the rich ensemble of films in 13 categories. In the Retrospective, 28 films of directors Im Kwon Taek, Jiri Menzel and Pedro Almodovar will be screened while 19 films will pay homage to masters like Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni, Istvan Gal, Edward Yang, P. Bhaskaran, C.V. Sreeraman and K.K. Mahajan.
Culture Minister M.A. Baby said it is for the first time in India that anthology films, a series of short films with the common theme compiled as one, are being screened. There are six such films in this category besides twelve documentaries on contemporary issues.
“There are also exclusive categories where five films by Latin American women directors, 11 jury films, eight films tagged New Malayalam Cinema, six films under Indian Cinema and World Cinema are being screened. Film packages focusing on Caribbean, Balkan and French are also on offer in a separate category,” the minister said.
Anne Dem Geroe, founder of Brisbane International Film Festival, is heading the jury for NATPAC (Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema) awards. Lebanese film critic Jocelyn Saab and Malayalam director Hariharan are also on the jury.
The films will be screened at eight venues in the city. Details of the films are available on the festival’s website http://iffk.keralafilm.com.
For the first time, five big production and distribution houses, Celluloid Dreams, Sony Pictures, Wild Bunch, Pioniwa Films and Fortissimo, have reached the city to explore marketing of films including those in Malayalam. Representatives from 31 international festivals will also descend on the city in search of new films.
World’s Fastest Missile
to Be Made in Kerala
BrahMos, claimed to be the world’s fastest cruise missile developed by India’s Defense Research & Development Organization, will be rolling out from the state capital soon.
The DRDO took over the state-run Kerala High-tech Industries Ltd., here last week and renamed it BrahMos Aerospace (Trivandrum) Ltd. to convert the plant into a missile production base.
The trade unions here, in an unprecedented move, bowed to the BrahMos Aerospace demand to disband themselves before the BrahMos Aerospace CEO Dr. A Sivathanu Pillai and Principal Secretary (Industries) T. Balakrishnan signed the transfer deed.
Defense Minister A.K. Antony and Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan will attend a public function here next week to formalize the handover.
Dr. Pillai said BrahMos is the fastest operational cruise missile in the world today and could be launched from land, air or sea to precisely hit the target with high lethal effect.
“Kerala can feel proud that it is rolling out the world’s fastest cruise missile and providing for the country’s security. This would bring in a big change in the state’s industrial climate,’’ Dr. Pillai said.
Besides playing a vital role in missile production, the unit would also keep supplying certain critical components for defense services and cooperate with projects of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The projected annual turnover of BrahMos in Kerala is Rs.5 billion within three years and Rs.10 billion within a span of five years.
Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem said the arrival of BrahMos would have widespread ramifications for the state’s industrial sector as it would bring in work and jobs for several allied and cottage industries.
