Keralam documentary festival: Centre denies screening permission to 31 films
The films include 18 officially selected for IDSFFK, along with entries from the International Non-Fiction, Festival Winners and Nepal package sections
The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has denied screening permission to 31 films scheduled to be screened at the 18th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK).
The festival, organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in Thiruvananthapuram from September 25 to 30, had officially selected 18 of these films. Nine films from the International Non-Fiction section, three from the Festival Winners section and one film from the Nepal package have also been denied permission. One Malayalam film is among them.
For films without censor certificates to be screened at the festival, the list of films must be submitted to the Central government. Accordingly, the Chalachitra Academy had submitted a list of 347 films to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting seeking exemption from certification. The application included a brief synopsis of the themes of the films. Subsequently, as requested by the ministry, detailed synopses and screeners of 40 films were submitted for viewing.
The films denied permission include Parliament Street, Sanitised Republic: Cast and Contracts, Globe, Memories of a Window, Birds of War, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, and Our Land.