IFFK to screen 150 films

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, NOV. 20. About 150 films will be screened at the Seventh International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK-2002), to be held here from March 29 to April 5.

These will include 14 Afro-Asian and Latin American films that will compete for the Rs. 10 lakh Suvarna Chakoram, the top prize of the festival. Retrospectives of the films of Aki Kaurismaki, Ken Russel and Jacques Rivette are being planned. The films will be screened at four Government and two private (New and Sreekumar) theatres from 10 a.m.

At a press conference here on Tuesday, the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman, Mr. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, said there was good response to the competition, especially after the re-constitution of the awards and the increase of the prize money. "Suvarna Chakoram is the award with the highest cash component in India and one of the best in Asia."

He said that IFFK would have about 5,000 delegates, and they would vote for the Rs. 1 lakh audience award. "The introduction of the Rs. 100 delegate fee too has elicited good response from different quarters. I don't think there is any festival in the world where all films are screened free for everyone."

The Open Forum would facilitate interaction with filmmakers, technicians and artistes, Mr. Adoor said. "It should be a platform for free expression of opinions and healthy criticism. But we don't want it to be a forum for fights and sinister nit- picking, which will tarnish the international image of IFFK. The Open Forum should be developed into a programme with serious intent and positive vision."

The Cultural Affairs Minister, Mr. G. Karthikeyan, said the main aim of IFFK-2002 was to usher in a new film and festival culture in the State capital.

The festival, he added, was to cost Rs. 1 crore, a part of which would be raised through sponsorship.

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Section  : Entertainment
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