AN ACCOUNT OF 18th IFFK

Films were always my weakness and 16^th International Film Festival of Kerala is the beginning of my story to IFFK. Since I was not 18 that time, and was not much aware about the film festival in Kerala, I couldn’t be the delegate. I was keenly interested in the happenings at 16^th IFFK and waited for one year. Then came the 17^th IFFK and I proudly registered and became the delegate. I was also the comperer that time. I happened to see great movies and IFFK was seven days of fun and frolic. It was a different experience… a whole new experience. 17^th IFFK definitely changed my views on films. For me, film was a medium for entertainment and IFFK helped me in understanding different culture, tradition, and the kind of meaning each movie tried to depict. Since I was new to these film festivals, criticisms about IFFK were totally neglected by me. And now, I was so happy to be again part of IFFK and 18^th IFFK was truly special for me. The time I got my register number- 4434, I was looking forward to it. I started thinking about the previous festival and wanted the same things to happen again.

On 6^th of December, I woke up at five in the morning (I never wake up on time especially during working days.). Wearing my red satin strapped id card, I went directly to Kairali theatre as planned earlier to watch So Much Water. Kairali theatre was a place which never should be missed out which I learnt from the previous festival. Film personalities and related things always happen in the festival office located at Kairali theatre. I felt great when I reached Kairali theatre but the queue was so long than I expected. I called Gayathri and she was getting ready without knowing that the length of the line had reached the nearby bus stop. By that time, Abhijith, Gowri and Maitreyi reached the theatre. It was eight thirty, a small rush and I found myself in a seat along with my friends but Gayathri was nowhere near the theatre. In spite of holding a seat for her, we couldn’t keep it for a long time. She had to sit in the front row. ‘So Much of Water’ was not up to the expectation and the very first film created a not so good expression on everyone’s face. Something I and my friends would never forget will be the way I sat inside the theatre with a sweater and a scarf due to high air-condition. Then we moved to Sree to watch ‘German Doctor’ after which I felt that good movies are here this time. Our first trip from one theatre to another was from Kairali to Kalabhavan to watch El emigrante and All About the feathers. Street film making was not the way as I thought and it was a bit boring. My friends Gayathri and Maitreyi were busy talking about some apps in their phone and I had no idea what to do inside the theatre. All were keenly watching the movie and I felt that I had the least perception about movies. Then I went for the opening ceremony at Nishagandhi and saw Shabahana Azmi and Manju Warrier. Ana Arabia was screened at the auditorium. We had planned the schedule for the next day and thus we reserved the seats earlier itself. Television and ‘Ilo Ilo’ were the two movies which I would pick for day two. Rest of the movies I watched on 7^th was average. I watched all the five shows on Saturday, i.e. the 7^th. ‘La Paz’ and ‘Harmony Lesson’ couldn’t win my heart since both the movies were a bit drawn out. Even after great planning, there were sudden changes in our schedules because of the screening time in various theatres. Both I and Gayathri got a wonderful lunch sponsored by Abhijith and we took turns each day. Some days, we skipped our lunch in order to watch movies with high ratings.

Next day was truly special for me. The festive mood reached its peak and everyone were engaged in some or the other way. I got a great opportunity to understand my friends since we started spending a whole day from 6^th onwards. On 8^th, I saw ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’, the much awaited movie in IFFK. It was for the first time that I was watching a black and white movie in a theatre. I was happy to see the biopic of Ritwik Ghatak, the film maker and script writer. After watching movies continuously for three days, I had to strain my eyes for a long time and went home in the afternoon. I came with the same spirit on the next day to Athulya theatre. I always had a hatred for that theatre but after IFFK, I started liking it since most of the films I watched were in this theatre. ‘Weight of the Elephants’ was a dragging one but created an emotional appeal in me. After a long discussion, I decided to go for ‘In Hiding’ in Remya and was stunned to see the crowd formed there. I somehow got a seat but I understood that I missed a good film by watching this. We skipped our lunch and went for Club Sandwich but were unsuccessful in getting in to the theatre.

‘The Rocket’ screened at Anjali theatre on 10^th was one of the best movies in IFKK. The movie made me laugh and cry at times and created various emotions in my mind. ‘Still Life’, ‘The Major’ and ‘Soil and Corals’ were the movies I watched on this day. ‘The Past’ was the movie which captured my attention on 11^th. It was truly touching, especially the ending. I watched The Rocket twice, one with my friends in Press Club and the other with my old school friends.’ Bad Hair’ was the worst movie I watched in 18^th IFFK. I missed many good movies like ‘The Coffin maker’, ‘Errata’, ‘Closed Curtain’ and many more. On the final day I saw ‘Capturing Dad’ and ‘The Hunt’. My wish to sit on the floor was successful while watching ‘The Hunt’. It was an unpleasant pleasant movie.

This year’s IFFK was not just about viewing films. I created a good rapport with many of my friends, met new people, had a great time running from one theatre to the other, decided which all films I would watch one day and never forgot to take my sweater which was in a way helpful to others as well. The snacks offered in between the shows by my friends helped me sustain till the very end. Most of the time I had my friends around and I got a lot of things to cherish. The spirit I had to reach the theatre at eight in the morning everyday was so thrilling. At times I was late, but my friends always held seats for me. I also felt that this year’s IFFK was not up to the standard and there were many mistakes from the authorities’ side. Something which I wanted to skip was the people with mikes in front of the theatres to take our comments on the movie. I had to play hide and seek since I was busy going from one theatre to another. One thing I would never forget is the fashion at IFFK. Even my friends came in a different look each and every day. It was fun watching them. IFFK was not just about movies. It was a mixture of culture, tradition and a window to the whole world. Now I am looking forward to the call of 19^th IFFK with more movies and high expectations.