Growing voices of dissent

A man raises his voice from the last row of a crowded conference room. “This is a discussion on Malayalam cinema, we do not want to hear a speech in English." IFFK chairman Priyadarshan agrees to switch to Malayalam. But not before one man has already left the venue in protest.

Small commotions have always been part of the festival in its 18 years of existence. But a few delegates and film lovers wonder if there is more than the usual share of disturbances at this year's edition.

Actor and activist Parvathy T. shares a couple of experiences at the fest.

“The other day, someone suggested that it would be better to screen films starring Jayan or Prem Nazir at the IFFK, who are our evergreen heroes, instead of people like Kim Ki Duk. In all my years of attending IFFK, this is the first time I am seeing this kind of a crowd. Why do you want to come to IFFK if you want to watch Jayan and Nazir films? We have a number of other avenues to see them. And another time, I was at a session on Indian Expressionism, and when it crossed 30 minutes, someone shouted: 'Enough! Now screen the movie'. And some people actually applauded this guy!"

While an unruly crowd worries film lovers like Parvathy, the vice chairman of the fest -Gandhimathi Balan -is concerned about the seating capacity at the theatres, which has always been an issue. 

“The problem is only going to increase now because people are becoming more aware and passionate about cinema and the number of registrations have gone up by a 1,000. This year, many of the big theatres have been divided into two or three small ones, so the capacity has become lesser."

Student delegate Arathi Lal expresses the same view. “People come an hour before the screening and fill the theatre. So even if you wait in long queues, you may have to go back without watching the movie."

She is also not pleased with the movies she has seen so far. “Last year by this time, I had seen at least three or four films I thought were great. This time, I am yet to see one that I thought was great."

Directors appear to have different opinions about the fest.

Kamal feels happy that the number of participants are increasing every year and feels that the festival is not so different from the previous years.

Dr. Biju is, however, upset that after 17 years, the fest is becoming commercial. “The concept of good films has changed. You got a taste of that at the inaugural ceremony, when names like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji M. Karun and Aravindan were dropped in the presentation they showed. It will only get worse from here, and become increasingly commercialised."