Five directors — Kamal K M, Ameya Gore, Harshappi Harsh, Shijin Govind, and Debalina Majumder — are among the filmmakers from India whose works have been selected for competition at this edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK).
A number of filmmakers have opted to withdraw from the IDSFFK awards. Ameya Gore, whose long documentary Going Solo is among the competition entries, stated that she would not accept any prize she received, adding that while her own film had not been subject to a ban, she wished to express solidarity with those whose works had.
Gore stated that she had no desire to receive the award at the expense of those who had been turned away from a screening.
The central government directed the Chalachithra Academy, which organises IDSFFK, to withdraw 31 films from competition — titles that had passed through an extensive vetting and selection procedure. That figure has since dropped to five.
The five films that have not been granted a screening slot at this year's IDSFFK are Parliament Streets (Spandan Banerjee), Redlight to Limelight (Bipuljit Basu), Sanitised Republic: Cast(e) & Contracts (Afiya and Rizwan), The Mali and the Parasite (Sankaraa), and In Search of Buddha (Sharanya Deyy). The selection comprises two feature-length documentaries, two short-form documentaries, and one short fiction piece.
The event concludes on 30 September. The award process begins only once every selected entry has been screened.
Shijin Govind's film Globe was one of 31 works initially placed under restrictions, though it received a screening on 27 September. Govind stated that the basis for the restrictions on the production remained unclear to her. The film draws from N Prabhakaran's short story titled 'Globe'.
Shijin told a broadcaster that the films appeared to have been left out on account of their portrayal of tribal community life, and raised questions about the value of a competition section from which so many entries were being withheld. Shijin expressed an enduring commitment to standing alongside filmmakers.
Director Kamal's feature-length documentary 'Close Up Up Close — The making of political Ubu' has been selected for the IDSFFK competition, and the filmmaker stated that the work had not been barred from being shown. Kamal noted that while his own film had been accepted, he viewed the exclusion of other competition entries from screening as a collective concern, and called on filmmakers and audiences alike to stand in solidarity with those whose work had been left out.
Kamal also noted that a Spanish musical called 'Beef', which centred on rap music and had no association with livestock, had faced questioning over its title at the previous edition of IFFK.
Harshappi Harsh, a trans non-binary filmmaker whose 20-minute short documentary 'Bathakka Hridayam Thunnamponu' (To Stitch Together a Watermelon Heart) is among the competition entries, said the Academy had let down filmmakers who had travelled from across the country to attend the festival with considerable expectations, and that no formal statement of solidarity had been issued on their behalf.
Harsh questioned why no explanation had been provided for the exclusion of certain films, adding that IDSFFK had historically taken a position of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Harsh argued that the inclusion of filmmaker Liat Kaplan's short film 'Ishto' (His Wife) at IDSFFK undermined the integrity of the competition, given that other entries had been excluded. Harsh also announced a decision to withhold participation from the awards.
Debalina Majumder, whose short documentary 'Friends of Jilipibala' is among the competition entries, also announced that she would not accept the award even if her film were selected as the winner.
Spandan Banerjee, the director behind Parliament Streets, described the circumstances as challenging, though he noted that solidarity from fellow filmmakers had been a source of reassurance, with some going so far as to propose that the competition section be suspended entirely for the year if their films remained excluded from it. He expressed confidence that the event's standing would thereby be maintained.
