THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the curtains fall on the 16th IFFK on Friday, each delegate will leave the scene with a black festival bag full of mixed emotions. If the organisers ensured to keep the event flamboyant with smart card ID passes, internet bookings and SMSes that filled the inbox of film lovers, many were left wondering about the ‘start-mid-end’ confusion that prevailed about a Malayalam movie called ‘Adimadhyantham.’ When arguments and counter-points snowballed to an extent that the issue reached the High Court regarding the rejection of the film ‘Adimadhyantham’ from the competition section, followed by a fast in front of the main theatre by its director Sherry, a point was proven in the 16th year of the film festivity. That nothing, including the film festival, is beyond political undercurrents. Actor-turned-film minister K B Ganesh Kumar could do less to ease the confusion as he added more vigour to the controversies with his dialogues - an allegation raised by the Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham. Chalachitra Academy director Priyadarshan, who has shaped many box office hits with his commercial films, finally cut a sorry figure by tendering an apology to the first-time director Sherry. It required a Ranjith to script the end of the hullabaloo and a T V Chandran to make the group end the protest. There were also protests from delegates against allowing entry of the police to the screenings and also of the moral policing in the festival venue. But many of the film lovers who chose not to be bothered about the circus they saw in the open forum following the controversy, chose instead to see ‘Cirkus Columbia’, ‘Body’, ‘Painting Lessons’, ‘Into The Future’ et al. With 196 movies being screened in 11 theatres this year, the unsung heroes were the autorickshaw drivers, 20 of whom the authorities entrusted with the job of transportation of delegates from one theatre to the other. And there were also many youngsters who were put in charge to check the passes and ensure that those who reserved seats got them. This time around, there were many Chinese films in the festival, including the inaugural film ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’ and movies like ‘Old Dog’, ‘Return Ticket’, ‘The Rice Paddy’ and ‘Chongqing Blues’, in addition to the films in other sections. Eleven films were listed in the competition section of the 16th IFFK which portray the lives of Afro-Asia and Latin America. The best feature film will be honoured with the ‘Suvarna Chakoram, the Golden Crow Pheasant Award. The best director and the best debut film will be presented with the ‘Rajata Chakoram’, the Silver Crow Pheasant Award. The awards will be decided by the jury headed by Bruce Beresford, director of the Academy Award-winning film, ‘Driving Miss Daisy’.
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