14 FILMS TO COMPETE FOR THE GOLDEN CROWN PHEASANT

Thiruvananthapuram: 14 films are being showcased in the 19th International Film Festival of Kerala. A whole new set of proficient directors including 5 debut directors’ films have made the room to the much waited and the main attraction of IFFK, the Competition Section.

All the films to be screened in this section include a bunch of inspiring stories, all comprising valuable social thought and that reflects human constraints in the present hectic world. These films also portray the catastrophe and endeavors of life. The one and only Malayalam film Asthamayam Vare (Unto the Dusk), directed by Sajin Baabu is one among those films that depicts the story of a man who is forced to choose a future he never thought he would. The other Indian films to make room in the Competition are P Sheshadri’s December 1, telling the story of a happy family, though living in the very brim of poverty, in a rural village of Karnataka. Also, Devashish Makhija’s Oriya-Hindi film Oonga and Siddhartha Siva’s Zahir which portrays the male dominance in our society has also made their entry to the competition.

A Girl at my Door by the South Korean director July Jung was awarded the best film at the 25th Stockholm International Film Festival. The story revolves around the character Lee, a police academy instructor who gets transferred to a village which completely transforms her life to a new outset. This film also marks the presence of a lady director in the competition along with the Moroccan director Tala Hadid with her film The Narrow Frame of Midnight. Another Moroccan film to be screened is They are the dogs by Hisham Lasri. Like Morocco, Iran is also screening 2 films named Oblivion Season by Abbas Rafei, which is a tale of a prostitute who finds a new life with her lover and the after effects she faces; and The Bright Day by Hossein Shahabi, is a story of a teacher revolting against a false detention of one of her student’s father.

The Japanese film Summer, Kyoto by Hiroshi Toda which is a beautiful meditative work has already been screened in several International Film Festivals, is yet another highlight. The Bangladeshi film, Ant Story by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, The Man of the Crowd by the Brazilian director Marcelo Gomes, One for the Road by Mexican director Jack Zagha and Refugiado by Diego Lerman from Argentina are the other renowned films competing for the very distinguished award the Suvarna Chakoram.