'From Ground Zero' to open Kerala documentary festival

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 20 (PTI) 'From Ground Zero', an anthology of documentaries by 22 Palestinian directors, will open the 17th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) beginning here on August 22.

The festival is being organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.

The anthology film, that captures the scars and resilience of life in Gaza, comprises a collection of documentaries, short films, and animations that reveal the untold stories behind the genocide unfolding in Gaza since October 2023, a release from the Academy said on Wednesday.

The 112-minute collection has been curated by Rashid Masharawi, who won the UNESCO Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994 for his film 'Curfew'.

'From Ground Zero', which was originally scheduled to premiere at Cannes, was withdrawn at the last minute by the organisers for "political reasons".

A special package of six documentaries offering in-depth explorations of India’s 2024 General Elections will also be screened at the festival.

The section, titled 'Election Diaries 2024', is curated by Srirupa Roy, professor and Chair of State and Democracy at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS), University of Göttingen, Germany, along with documentary filmmaker Lalit Vachani.

The IDSFFK will also screen 13 films that capture the memories of female graduates from the Pune Film Institute.

The festival will be held from August 22 to 27 at the state-run Kairali, Sree, and Nila theatres here. PTI MVG MVG KH