Shorts film festival to be held from Dec. 9 to 14 in the capital
The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy has postponed the 26th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) scheduled to be held in December.
The festival will now be held from February 4 to 11 next year. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the festival at a function to be held at the Nishagandhi auditorium at 6.30 p.m on February 4. The festival will be organised across 10 to 12 city theatres.
The IFFK, which was earlier scheduled to be held in the second week of December, was postponed for the organising of the 13th edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK). The IDSFFK will be held from December 9 to 14 at various screens at the Aries Plex SL theatre complex. The CM will inaugurate the festival on December 9.
The IDSFFK, which did not take place last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, is set to be held after a hiatus. Though the festival is usually organised towards the middle of the year, it had to be postponed multiple times because the theatres in the State had remained closed due to the pandemic. The Academy has already published the list of documentaries and short films chosen for the IDSFFK and as well as the films featuring in the competition section at the IFFK.
The 25th edition of the IFFK was organised in four phases across four regions spread out across the State, with a view to reduce the crowding in the capital. The decision had kicked up a storm, with political leaders and social media groups criticising it as an attempt to move the festival out of the city. However, the festival received a warm reception at all the new locations, and opened it up for a new section of viewers.
Chalachitra Academy officials had stated back then that this was just a stopgap arrangement due to the COVID-19 situation and that Thiruvananthapuram will remain the permanent venue of the festival. This year, with the easing of the pandemic situation, the IFFK will return to its usual format in the capital city.
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