Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Diverse spread on offer at international film festival

Treats: Scenes from Majid Majidi’s ‘Song of the Sparrows’ (left) and Amos Gitai’s ‘Free Zone’ (right).

Treats: Scenes from Majid Majidi’s ‘Song of the Sparrows’ (left) and Amos Gitai’s ‘Free Zone’ (right).

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Films on war, politics and the human predicament in an unstable world will characterise the 13th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) which commences in the city on Friday, barely a fortnight after the Mumbai terror attacks.

Gripping celluloid stories from across the globe will unfold at the festival which will see a convergence of some of the most celebrated filmmakers of our times.

The festival will, for the first time, introduce viewers to the works of 83-year-old Argentinian filmmaker Fernando Birri, touted as the father of new Latin American cinema.

A disciple of the legendary Vittorio De Sica, Birri was a film student at the Italian National film school (Centro sperimentale di cinematografia) at Rome in the early 1950s. He later returned to his homeland to set up a documentary film institute to promote Latin American cinema.

His documentaries and short films primarily deal with poverty and human misery. “Fernando Birri is a political filmmaker and is known as the teacher of many noted Latin American directors like Glouber Roche,” says IFFK artistic director Bina Paul. Fernando Birri is also a chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the festival.

Among Birri’s films to be screened at the festival is the 1985 documentary My Son Che, on Che Guevera narrated by Che’s father. Tire Die, The Flooded 1961 and A very old man with enormous wings, are the other films by Birri to be screened in the Master’s Stroke section of the festival. The retrospective on renowned Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai promises to give a whole new viewing experience.

Gitai’s films portray the human sufferings caused by war in an awe-inspiringly and unsentimental manner.

“Amos Gitai is one of the most vibrant filmmakers from Israel. His films are not partisan ones and are above nationality, even though they deal with the political situation of his country and its war with neighbouring Arab countries. They basically give an unbiased portrayal of the Jewish predicament,” said critic C.S. Venkateswaran. Mr. Venkateswaran said Gitai’s films are also noted for their contemplative form. Some of Gitai’s most acclaimed films including Kippur and Kedma have been included in the Retrospective section of the festival.

The World film section will showcase 56 films including Majid Majidi’s latest release Song of the Sparrows and Kim Ki Duk’s Breath.

French director Laurent Cantet’s Palme d’Or winning movie The Class and filmmaker Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness based on Nobel Prize winner José Saramago’s novel of the same name will also be showcased in this section.

Michele Haneke, the director of The Piano Teacher comes back to the festival with Funny Games. Also included in this section is the animation film Persepolis, another love story by jury member and Brazilian director Lucia Murat. Burn after reading by Coen Brothers, the Oscar winning duo Joel Coen and Ethan Coen has also been included.

The 13th IFFK also has a section showcasing milestone movies in the last 50 years. A total of 14 films, including works of legendary filmmakers like Luis Bunuel, Ingmar Bergman and Satyajit Ray will be screened in this section.

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