Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 9 (Agency) The 29th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will showcase an eclectic line-up of films by women filmmakers. A total of 52 films out of the 177, set to be screened at the festival, are by female directors. These films celebrate the creative vision of women filmmakers and underscore the unique perspectives women bring to cinema. Golda Sellam, the Festival Curator, brings the global female perspective to the impressive list of films to be showcased in IFFK. Agnès Godard has created history by being the first woman cinematographer to lead the International Jury. Two prominent awards announced in the runup to the festival also honour the essence of the female narrative – the Lifetime Achievement Award for renowned Hong Kong Director-Actor Ann Hui and The Spirit of Cinema Award for Cannes Grand Prix winner Payal Kapadia. The 29th edition of IFFK has become the joyous celebration of female talent and success.
The ‘Female Gaze’ category will present the films of female directors from across the globe including ‘Hanami’ (Denise Fernandes), ‘Loveable’(Lilja Ingolfsdottir), ‘Desert of Namibia’(Yoko Yamanaka), ‘Moon’ (Kurdwin Ayub), ‘Holy Cow’(Louise Courvoisier), ‘When The Phone Rang’ (Iva Radivojevic) and ‘Sima’s Song’ (Roya Sadat). IFFK will screen internationally acclaimed films of 8 women filmmakers including Dea Kulumbegashvili’s ‘April’, Meryam Joobeur’s ‘Who Do I Belong To’, Antonella Sudasassi Furrniss’s ‘Memories of a Burning Body’, Margarida Cardoso’s ‘Banzo’, Saule Bliuvaite’s ‘Toxic’, Zoljargal Purevdash’s‘If Only I Could Hibernate’, Celin Murga’s ‘Freshly cut grass’, Asli Özarslan’s ‘Elbow’ in various categories. Four Malayalam films by women filmmakers will be competing in various categories, including the International Competition and Malayalam Cinema Today categories. Indu Lakshmi’s ‘Appuram’ (‘The Other Side’) is one of the two Malayalam films included in the International Competition.
J Sivaranjini’s ‘Victoria’, Adithya Baby’s ‘Kamadevan Nakshathram Kandu’ (Cupid Saw The Star), and Shobhana Padinjhattil’s ‘Girl Friends’ are the films competing in the Malayalam Cinema Today category. Indu Lakshmi’s ‘Appuram’ explores the profound bond between a mother and daughter and the lengths to which a young girl could go to fulfill a promise made to her mother. ‘Kamadevan Nakshathram Kandu’ is the directorial debut of Adithya Baby, a student of Pondicherry University. The film questions the conventional notions of masculinity. ‘Girl Friends’, the debut feature of Shobhana Padinjhattil, portrays the lives of five friends and the complexities of friendship and love among contemporary young women of Kerala. ‘Victoria’, a Malayalam film produced by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation, tells the story of a beautician who plans to elope with her lover. The film is directed by Shivaranjini, a PhD scholar at IIT Bombay. The other prominent female directors whose works that will be screened at the festival include Hala Elkoussy (East of Noon), Mariana Wainstein (Linda), Celeste Rojas Mugica (An Oscillating Shadow), Subhadra Mahajan (Second Chance). Deepa Mehta (Fire) , Alejandra Lipoma – Romina Vlachoff (The Longest Summer), Mariya Saakyan (The Lighthouse), Nora Martirosyan (Should the Wind Drop), Serge Avedikian – Olena Fetisova (Parajanov Scandal), Nana Dzhordzhadze (A Chef in Love), Claire Denis (Beau Travail), Coralie Fargeat (The Substance), Maura Delpero (Vermiglio), Rema Das (Village Rockstars 2), Nora Fingschidt (The Outrun), Raha Amirfazli – Alireza Ghasemi (In the land of brothers), Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez (Sujo), Iciar Bollain (I am Nevenka), Mariana Rondón (Zafari), Rusudan Glurjidze ( The Antique), Nelicia Low (Pierce), Julia de Simone (Formosa Beach), Narges Kalhor (Shahid), Mar Coll (Salve Maria), Maryam Moghaddam-Behtash Sanaeeha ( My Favourite Cake), Farah Nabulsi ( The Teacher), Chiara Malta- Sebastien Laudenbach (Chicken for Linda!) Some of the films that have caught audience’s attention across various international film festivals are being screened at IFFK. ‘April’ by Dea Kulumbegashvili is a haunting exploration of human relationships, set against the backdrop of rural Georgia. Kulumbegashvili’s direction has been widely acclaimed, earning her the Best Director award at the Hamburg Film Festival, the Special Jury Prize at Venice, and a nomination for Best Film at the Toronto.
‘Who Do I Belong To’, directed by Meryam Joobeur, narrates the story of Aïcha, a Tunisian woman who is caught between her maternal love and her search for the truth when her son returns home from war. Joobeur is an Academy Award-nominated Tunisian – Canadian director who is noted for her 2018 short film Brotherhood. Antonella Sudasassi Furniss is a Costa Rican director who crafted the movie ‘Memories of a Burning Body’. This movie talks about the unaddressed issues in women’s sexuality and became Costa Rica’s submission for Best Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Award. In the film ‘Banzo’, Portuguese director Margarida Cardoso tells the story of Afonso, a doctor who cares for patients on an island. The film won two awards at IndieLisboa International Film Festival and also was officially nominated for Karlovy Vary and Rio de Janeiro. Toxic, a Lithuanian drama film directed by Saule Bliuvaite delves into the lives of two 13-year-olds Marija and Kristina, who dream of escaping from their hometown, to get a better life. This film won awards at prestigious international film festivals like Locarno, Stockholm, Chicago, and Warsaw. ‘If Only I Could Hibernate’ is a drama film directed by Zoljargal Purevdash which shows the plights of the teenager Ulzii whose responsibility lies in taking care of his siblings when his mother left them on a harsh winter for a job. The film was selected as the Mongolian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. Celin Murga is an acclaimed Argentine filmmaker and screenwriter, recognized for her contributions to contemporary cinema. ‘Freshly cut grass’ is a 2024 Spanish film directed by Celin Murga. This film portrays the complex relationship between two university professors and their students. The film won Best Screenplay at Tribeca Film Festival and was officially selected for Rio de Janeiro. Elbow, directed by the German filmmaker Asli Özarslan, tells the story of a girl who is forced to leave her homeland following unexpected events on her birthday. The film was officially selected for prominent festivals including Berlin, Sao Paulo, and Istanbul.