Will screen all movies denied censor nod at Kerala film festival, Pinarayi Vijayan says

Organised by the Kerala Chalachitra Academy under the state Department of Cultural Affairs, the 30th edition of the festival began Friday. As many as 206 films from 82 countries have been selected for screening at the event.

A senior official of the academy said, “The state government has communicated its decision to screen all the movies which have been denied the censor exemption. We will go as per the government directive. From tomorrow (Wednesday), these films will be screened as per the schedule. However, a few films will miss out on screens at the festival for want of slots.”

CM Vijayan, on his facebook page, wrote that the Union government’s stand cannot be accepted. “The Union Government’s move to deny censor exemption to films to be screened at IIFK is unacceptable. The censorship of movies at the film festival shows the totalitarian approach of the Sangh Parivar regime, which suppresses diverse voices and creative expressions in the country. Enlightened Kerala will not yield to such censorship. All films that have been denied censor exemption will be screened at the IIFK.”

The standoff also assumes political significance with the state’s CPI(M)-led government, of late, facing allegations of toeing the Sangh Parivar line on many issues.

The films that still await Centre’s screening nod are Battleship Potemkin, The Hour of the Furnaces, A Poet: Unconcealed Poetry, All That’s Left of You, Bamako, Clash, Eagles of The Republic, Palestine 36, Red Rain, Riverstone, Tunnels: Sun In The Dark (Địa Đạo: Mặt Trời Trong Bóng Tối), Yes, Flames, Timbuktu, and Wajib.

Sources in the I&B Ministry told The Indian Express that the list of films was not submitted in advance. “The list was to be submitted 15 days in advance, but was submitted only on December 3. Additionally, the requisite supporting documents, such as a synopsis of the films, were incomplete,” a source said. The process of approval was underway until Tuesday, and 178 films out of 187 had been approved for screening at the festival.