Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian presents the IFFK Best Film Award (Audience Poll) to director Unnikrishnan Aval and his team for ‘Thanthapperu — Life of a Phallus’ during the closing ceremony of the festival at Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Chairman Resul Pookutty and General Education Minister V Sivankutty were also seen. | Photo credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
The International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will continue to exist and will resist all anti-democratic and fascist attempts to shut it down, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the 30th edition of the festival here on Friday.
The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s denial of a censor exemption to 19 films that plunged the festival into crisis also remained central to the closing ceremony, with the CM lashing out at the Union government’s moves dictated by the “Sangh Parivar policy to suppress diverse and divergent voices”.
“The denial of the censor exemption was a clear attack on freedom of expression at the festival. The Center has now also started deciding which filmmakers can come to Kerala using a political approval process to create roadblocks. In the current edition, a jury member from Azerbaijan as well as a Turkish filmmaker and producer were denied a visa to travel to Kerala. Such measures should not bring any reputation to work with this country. Their ideology,” he said.
According to him, some of the decisions of the Union Ministry reveal his lack of knowledge about world cinema, while some of them are laughable.
“They have banned the screening of the Spanish film ‘Beef’ about a hip-hop musician because ‘beef’ means only one thing to them, even though in this context it means conflict. Battleship Potemkin, which is a textbook for film students, has been screened here many times. The ban on Palestinian films shows the attitude of the Union Government on this issue, contrary to its historical attitude towards Palestine Mr. Vijayan.
According to him, the current era demands the recultivation of cultural spaces from communal forces.
“Behind these actions are not mere technical decisions of the bureaucracy, but autocratic steps to destroy the IFFK. The state government realized this and decided to screen the films, violating the ban,” he said.
Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian said that the government’s position has always been to screen all films, while Chalachitra State Academy officials had to take some decisions to back off from screening 6 films that were not approved. Academy president Resul Pookutty said on Friday that the academy has decided to withdraw from screening the remaining six films in view of the I&B ministry’s announcement on Wednesday that strict provisions of the Cinematography Act, 1952, will be used against the authorities to continue the screenings.
Mr. Cherian also reiterated the government’s stance of solidarity with the survivors of the 2017 actor’s kidnapping and rape case. He said strict action would be taken against those who continue to target women from the film industry who have expressed their support for the survivors.
Published – 19 Dec 2025 22:18 IST
