30th edition of IFFK to begin from December 12; to screen over 200 films

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 28 (PTI) The International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will return with its landmark 30th edition from December 12 to 19, showcasing over 200 films from nearly 70 countries, the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy announced on Friday.

Marking the festival’s milestone year, around 30 additional titles have been included compared to previous editions. Screenings will be held across 16 theatres, with one new venue added for 2025, a press release said.

Canadian filmmaker Kelly Fyffe-Marshall will be honoured with the Spirit of Cinema Award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a statuette and a citation.

Instituted in 2021 to recognise women filmmakers who use cinema as a tool of resistance, the award has previously been presented to Kurdish director Lisa Kalan, Iranian filmmaker Mahnas Mohammadi, Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu and India’s Payal Kapadia.

Fyffe-Marshall, known for works that confront racial prejudice and centre Black lived experiences, won TIFF’s inaugural Changemaker Award for her 2020 short "Black Bodies". Her recent short Demons was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival this year.

The 30th IFFK will feature 14 films in International Competition, 12 titles under Malayalam Cinema Today, and seven films in Indian Cinema Now.

More than 60 films will be screened in the World Cinema segment, along with entries in the Kaleidoscope, Female Focus, Midnight Cinema and Restored Classics categories.

A four-film retrospective will celebrate the birth centenary of Bengali auteur Ritwik Ghatak, while the Homage section will feature two films each by Shaji N Karun and M T Vasudevan Nair.

Vietnam will be the Country Focus, marking 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War with a five-film package. A three-film retrospective of Hindi filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza is also planned.

Three exhibitions will accompany the screenings: IFFK Experiencia, tracing three decades of the festival; a Ritwik Ghatak centenary showcase in collaboration with the West Bengal government; and an exhibition of artist-art director Namboothiri’s location sketches.

Interactive platforms such as the Open Forum, In Conversation, Meet the Director and the Aravindan Memorial Lecture will also be part of the programme, alongside cultural events at Manaveeyam Veedhi.

Launched in 1994 in Kozhikode, IFFK became FIAPF-accredited in 1999 and has been permanently hosted in Thiruvananthapuram since 2000. PTI RB RB RB