It is a period of innovative metamorphosis in the world cinema. These transformations are reflected in the selection of the world cinema category of this edition of International Film Festival of Kerala.
Love,
separation, ethnic conflicts, clash of values, widening generation gap and more
over the changing socio-political scenarios and strength of united people are
the theme of the selected 79 films from 39 nations, out of which 26 are from
France and 12 from Germany. Movies of maestros like, Ken Loach, Kim Ki Duk, Yousry Nasrallah, Bohdan Slama, Aki Kaurismaki,
Abbas Kiarostami, Deepa Mehta, Raoul Ruiz, Lars Von Trier,
Walter Salles, Fatih Akin, Roberta Marquez,
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Paolo Sorrentino, Annemarie Jacir, Nadine
Labaki, Marco Bellocchio and Bernardo Bertolucci enrich the
category.
Lone film from
India is Shivendra Singh Dungarpur directed Celluloid Man. While Deepa Mehta’s
controversial Canadian film Midnight’s Children, based on the book of same
title by Salman Rushdie, will have its Indian premier in this section. Films of
five women directors are one of the attraction points of this package.
An
African boy arrives by cargo ship in the port city of Le Havre; an aging shoe
shiner takes pity on the child and welcomes him into his home. Later the
relation between them deepens and the film Le
Havre is on this plot. This 93 minutes film directed by Aki Kaurismaki won
massive 14 awards including FIPRESCI for Kaurismaki.
Abbas
Kiarostami directed Like Someone in Love
has the storyline centered on the relationship of a young woman and old man in
Tokyo in the space of 24 hours. This romantic drama was nominated for the best
film in the Cannes and nominated for the best international feature in Chicago
International Film Festival. This film is treated as one of the best romantic
film in Japanese language.
The
real story of the Egyptian revolution is the plot of 18 days directed by nine different directors. This masterpiece of
reality turned into film has been the center focus of many festivals around the
world including the Cannes. The film had nomination in Brussels International
Independent Film Festival in international category.
Amour, the latest film by Yousry
Nasrallah, is the story of an aged retired couple who were music teachers.
Their relation and love for each other tested at the maxim. The musical-drama-
romance saga won the hearts of movie lovers all over the world and received award
for the best film in the Cannes Film Festival.
Leos
Carax directed Holy Motors is a
sci-fic movie that deals with the life of Oscar, who plays many conflicting
roles in his life. Director Carax won the Award of Youth in the Cannes film Festival
in 2012 while the film got three other
awards including best cinematography, actor and international film in Chicago
International Film Festival.
On the Road by Walter Salles tells the
provocative story of a young writer whose life is shaken and re-defined by the
arrival of a westerner and his girl. This adventure drama won an award in the
Hollywood Film Festival. This must be
the place directed by Paolo
Sorrentino is on the life of Cheyenne (Sean Penn) who is a former rock star
landing in US to find the person who humiliated his father years back. The
comedy drama won 11 awards and another 8 nominations, which includes Golden
Pegasus award for Sorrentino for his direction in the Flaiano International
Prizes.
Master Filmmaker
Kim Ki Duk’s Pieta, is about A loan
shark who is forced to reconsider his violent lifestyle after the arrival of a
mysterious woman claiming to be his long-lost mother. The film won the Golden
Lion and another three awards in the Venice Film Festival.
Midnight’s Children by Deepa Mehta, the
most debated film of recent time, is on the riveting personal story of a twin
born at the exact time of India’s Independence. The film was shot under the
title ‘Winds of change’ to deviate any kind of threats to the cast and crew.
The film was nominated by for the best film in the London Film Festival 2012.
The director of
the most controversial film’ Antichrist’,
Lars Von Trier, which was screened in the 14th
IFFK, shows his presence this time with his latest film Melancholia. The sci-fic drama is on the planet Melancholia that is
on the colliding path with earth and the impact it has on the life of Justine,
who is having her wedding night. The film won a massive 31 awards including the
best actress in the Cannes Film Festival for Kirsten Dunst.
7 Days in Havana directed by seven
different directors deals with the story of a young American boy trying to
break into the acting business and travels to Cuba during a film festival. The
film was a gleaming adventure drama of a boy’s struggle to fulfill his dreams.
The movie won a nomination in the Cannes Film Festival.
Celluloid Man is a 2012 documentary
film directed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur that explores the life and work of
the legendary Indian archivist P.K. Nair, the founder of the National Film Archive
of India, and the guardian of Indian cinema. He built the Archive in a country
where the archiving of cinema is considered unimportant. The film was cinematographed
by 11 different cinematographers, had its premiere in the II Cinema Ritrovato
in Italy, and had its Indian premiere at the 14th Mumbai Film
Festival.
Brazilian
filmmaker Roberta Marques latest film Rania,
narrates the life of Rania, who is torn between the possibility to make money
in the nightclub and the will to become a "real dancer". The film is
on the life and situations a common Brazilian girl has to face. The film is on
women, by woman, starring women.
Altogether, the
selected movies proffer a prosperous film culture and lit-up the festival
screens with a spark of brilliance accumulated from various film industries all
around the globe.
The films in
this category are the major milestones in the history of the celluloid in the
past year. The festival gives its audience an excellent opportunity to
experience these ones on the silver screen and understand the vividness and
richness of the world film fraternity.
