8th IDSFFK 2015 Awards-‘Floating Life’ directed by Haobam Paban Kumar, ‘Man and the Ocean’ by Tanumoy Bose won awards for best long and short documentaries respectively.

The five day long eighth edition of the International documentary and short film festival of Kerala (8thIDSFFK) concluded with the award announcement and distribution in the closing ceremony.

While inaugurating the closing ceremony Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Minister for Cinema assured more awards in various film categories and a hike in cash prize from the next edition onwards. The Minister distributed the awards for the best film across the different categories in the presence of K. Muraleedharan, T. Rajeev Nath , PC Vishnunath, Rani George IAS, Joshy Mathew, Ramchandrababu Aryadan Shoukath, and S Rajendran Nair.

‘Floating Life’ directed by Haobam Paban Kumar won the Best Documentary award.  ‘Man and the Ocean’ directed by Tanumoy Bose won the short documentary section. The best long documentary award carried a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh while the best short documentary award carried a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/- and a certificate.

Sanju Surendran’s ‘Kapila’ and Joshy Joseph’s ‘A Poet, A City and A Footballer” was given a special mention by the Jury from Long Documentary category.

Atanu Mukherjee’s ‘The Gatekeeper’ won the prize for the best short fiction film, which has a cash prize of Rs.50,000 and a certificate. Niranjan Kumar Kujur’s ‘Going Home’ and Karuna Bansode’s ‘Afternoon Lullaby’ got special mention in this category.

 ‘Theiyye’ won the award for the best music video which was directed by Arun Sukumar. The film won a cash prize of R.s 25,000 and a certificate. ‘Beautiful Grey’ by Kim Jung Hyun got a special mention in this category.

There is no best film in the campus film section. But the Jury gave a special mention for two campus films viz ‘Way Home’ directed by Avinash Kumar, Prahas Nair and Sajeev Kumar MS and ‘Reflection’ directed by Balu BA, Sham Mohammed and Veeresh I. V.

Irom Maipak ,the cinematographer of the film ‘Floating Life’  was selected for the ‘Navroz Contractor Award carrying a cash prize of Rs. 15,000 and certificate, for the Best Cinematographer, instituted by eminent cinematographer Navroze Contractor.

8TH IDSFFK DELEGATES EXPRESSED THEIR SOLIDARITY WITH FTII STUDENTS

ചോദ്യങ്ങളുയര്‍ത്താന്‍ മികച്ച മാധ്യമം ഡോക്യുമെന്ററി : ടോം ആള്‍ട്ടര്‍

സമൂഹിക ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ വിവിധ തലങ്ങളില്‍ ചോദ്യങ്ങളുയര്‍ത്താന്‍ ഏറ്റവും മികച്ച മാധ്യമം ഡോക്യുമെന്ററികളാണെന്ന് പ്രശസ്ത സിനിമ-നാടക  പ്രവര്‍ത്തകന്‍ ടോം ആള്‍ട്ടര്‍ പറഞ്ഞു. 8-ാമത് രാജ്യാന്തര ഡോക്യുമെന്ററി ഹ്രസ്വചലച്ചിത്രമേള കൈരളി തീയേറ്ററില്‍ ഉദ്ഘാടനം ചെയ്തു സംസാരിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു അദ്ദേഹം.  ചോദ്യങ്ങളുയര്‍ത്താന്‍ മാത്രമേ കലാകാരന്‍മാര്‍ക്കും കലാരൂപങ്ങള്‍ക്കും സാധിക്കൂ, ഉത്തരം കണ്ടത്തേണ്ട കര്‍ത്തവ്യം സമൂഹത്തിന്റേതാണ്.  മലയാളം ഉള്‍പ്പെടെയുള്ള പ്രാദേശിക ഭാഷാ ചിത്രങ്ങള്‍ സാമൂഹിക പ്രസക്തിയുള്ള വിഷയങ്ങള്‍ കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്യുമ്പോള്‍ ഹിന്ദി ചലച്ചിത്ര സംസ്‌കാരം കച്ചവട താല്‍പര്യങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് മുന്‍തൂക്കം നല്‍കുന്നു. കലാരൂപങ്ങളെ സാമ്പത്തികമായി പ്രോത്സാഹിപ്പിക്കേണ്ടത് ഭരണകൂടങ്ങളുടെ കടമയാണ്. എന്നാല്‍ അവയുടെ ആവിഷ്‌കാരത്തില്‍ കൈകടത്താനുള്ള സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം ഭരണകൂടത്തിനില്ലായെന്ന് അദ്ദേഹം കൂട്ടിച്ചേര്‍ത്തു. ചടങ്ങില്‍ ചലച്ചിത്ര അക്കാദമി ചെയര്‍മാന്‍ ടി. രാജീവ്‌നാഥ് ടോം ആള്‍ട്ടറെ പൊന്നാടയും പുരസ്‌കാരവും നല്‍കി ആദരിച്ചു.

അന്തര്‍ദേശീയതലത്തിലെ മികച്ച ഡോക്യുഫിക്ഷനുകള്‍ പ്രേക്ഷകര്‍ക്കു മുന്നില്‍ എത്തിക്കാന്‍ മേള സഹായിക്കുമെന്ന് ചടങ്ങിന് അധ്യക്ഷതവഹിച്ച സാംസ്‌കാരിക വകുപ്പ് സെക്രട്ടറി റാണി ജോര്‍ജ് പറഞ്ഞു. ചലച്ചിത്ര അക്കാദമി ചെയര്‍മാന്‍ ടി. രാജീവ്‌നാഥ് മേളയെ പ്രേക്ഷകര്‍ക്ക് പരിചയപ്പെടുത്തി. ഫെസ്റ്റിവല്‍ ബുക്കിന്റെ പ്രകാശനം കെ.എസ്.എഫ്.ഡി.സി. ചെയര്‍മാന്‍ രാജ്‌മോഹന്‍ ഉണ്ണിത്താന്‍ സാംസ്‌കാരിക ക്ഷേമനിധി ചെയര്‍മാന്‍ ജി. സുരേഷ്‌കുമാറിന് നല്‍കി നിര്‍വഹിച്ചു. ജീവിതത്തെ പച്ചയായി ആവിഷ്‌കരിക്കുകയും പുതു തലമുറയ്ക്ക് അവബോധം നല്‍കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്ന മികച്ച ഡോക്യുമെന്ററികള്‍ നിര്‍മ്മിക്കാനും പ്രാദേശികതലത്തില്‍ ചലച്ചിത്രമേളകള്‍ സംഘടിപ്പിക്കാനും സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ ധനസഹായം നല്‍കേണ്ടത് അനിവാര്യമാണെന്ന് ഫെസ്റ്റിവല്‍ ബുക്ക് പ്രകാശനം ചെയതുകൊണ്ട് രാജ്‌മോഹന്‍ ഉണ്ണിത്താന്‍ പറഞ്ഞു.

ഫെസ്റ്റിവല്‍ ബുള്ളറ്റിന്റെ പ്രകാശനം അക്കാദമി എക്‌സിക്യൂട്ടീവ് കമ്മറ്റി അംഗം ആര്യാടന്‍ ഷൗക്കത്ത് നിര്‍വഹിച്ചു. ചലച്ചിത്ര അക്കാദമി മുന്‍ ചെയര്‍മാന്‍ കെ.ആര്‍. മോഹനന്‍ ഏറ്റുവാങ്ങി. അക്കാദമി വൈസ് ചെയര്‍മാന്‍ ജോഷി മാത്യു ചടങ്ങിന് സ്വാഗതവും അക്കാദമി സെക്രട്ടറി എസ്. രാജേന്ദ്രന്‍ നായര്‍ നന്ദിയും അര്‍പ്പിച്ചു. തുടര്‍ന്ന് ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് ചിത്രമായ ദി ഫോണ്‍ കോളും സ്പാനിഷ് സംവിധായകന്‍ ഷാവിര്‍ എസ്. പധോയുടെ ട്രാന്‍സ് നസ്‌റീനും  പ്രദര്‍ശിപ്പിച്ചു. 

8th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (8th idsffk)-2015 Jury Members

Jury Documentary 1. Audrius Stonys Audrius Stonys began his creative activities in the last years of the Soviet Empire. His film Earth of the Blind received European Film Academy award “FELIX” as the Best European Documentary film. He is member of European Film Academy and European Documentary Network. Audrius thinks that the documentary film has not been born out of the desire to inform. Filmography Open the Door to him Who Comes, Baltic Way, Earth of the Blind, Apostle of ruins, Antigravitation , Flying over Blue Field, Harbour, Three Minutes after the Big Bang, Flight over Lithuania or 510 seconds of silence, Alone, The Last Car, Countdown, Ukuukai, The Bell, Four Steps. 2. Venu  Venu got graduated in cinematography from FTII, Pune. He has worked as cinematographer in over 80 feature films with legendary Indian directors like John Abraham, Mani Kaul, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Pamela Rooks, Padmarajan, Bharathan and M. T. Vasudevan Nair. He won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography three times ( Amma Ariyan, Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal, Miss Beatty’s Children, Ponthan Mada). In 1998, he did Daya his first directorial venture, a period fiction written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. The movie was critically acclaimed and he received Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director for the same. In 2014, he directed his second movie Munnariyippu starring Mammootty. 3. R V Ramani R V Ramani, born in Mumbai, is a graduate in Physics from Mumbai University. He worked as a photojournalist in Mumbai and later graduated from the Film and TV Institute of India, Pune, with specialization in Motion Picture Photography. After the course he moved to Chennai in late 80’s and worked as a Cinematographer. Today he is one of the leading documentary filmmakers in India, who has established a unique style of his own, making independent impressionistic documentaries, which has found recognition both in India and abroad. He has travelled widely with his films and his films and Retrospectives have been presented in many International Film Festivals.

Jury Fiction 1. Altaf Mazid Altaf Mazid is a critic turned filmmaker. He is the winner of the best director prizes for Jibon (Life, 1998) in the Seventh Pyongyang Film Festival of Non-Aligned & Developing Countries 2000. In 2008 National Film Awards, he won two awards in two diverse categories – golden lotus for best film critic (shared) and silver lotus for best anthropological / ethnographic Film for Boliyapitaiersohokisootal (A duet with the river god). Mazid has reconstructed the first Assamese film Joymoti (1935) from found footage. His film Rahashyar Bitchaku, has won him Golden Conch in MIFF 2014. 2. Ari Allansson Ari Allansson is a film maker and a cultural entrepreneur. He has a MFA ( master in Fine Arts ) in film making from The International Film School of Paris. He runs Air d’Islande, an Icelandic cultural festival in Paris as well as Nomad Films. Through Nomad Films, Ari produces documentaries and short films, as well as hosting Project Green: A Sustainable Film Making Initative. Ari’s films have been screened at various festivals around the world. 3. Ashoke Viswanathan  Ashoke Viswanathan a mathematics graduate from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, is a post graduate in film direction from the Film and Television Institute of India. He had directed more than 150 films and television programmes including feature films, documentaries, tele films, music videos, and tele-serials. He has won two National Awards and one International Award. His films have been shown at the Commonwealth Film Festival, Manchester, the Pyongyang International Film Festival, and the Dhaka International Film Festival. He is a faculty at SRFTI and Visiting Professor at Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, at the Dept. of Cinema and Theatre, Tufts University, Boston, Dept. of Film Studies, Jadavpur University, and Dept. of Film Studies, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata.

‘The Phone Call and ‘Following Nazarin’ would open 8th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (8th IDSFFK-2005)

The eighth International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) will begin in Thiruvananthapuram on June 26 at the Kairali, Sree and Nila cinemas. ‘The Phone Call,’ directed by Mat Kirkby, and Javier Espada’s ‘Following Nazarin’ would open the five-day festival.Director Mat Kirby’s short film "The Phone Call" ,an Academy award winner,"tells a wrenching story of loss and depression that somehow by the end is so uplifting you’ll wonder how it can do in 20 minutes what some full length features can’t in two hours. The short stars Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Sally Hawkins as a woman who works in a helpline call center. Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent is the caller; a man considering suicide after his wife has recently died."The Phone Call" was the winner of Best Narrative Short at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, winner of the Silver Dragon for Best Fiction Short at the Krakow Film Festival and winner of Special Audience Recognition and Youth Jury Awards at Aspen Shortsfest, among others.Winning at Tribeca meant that "The Phone Call" automatically became eligible for the Best Live Action Short Academy Award. The Academy is currently screening the eligible shorts now, but we're confident a nomination is on its way". (Casey Cipriani | Indiewire).The other film "Following Nazarin" goes back to the places where the movie "Nazarin" by Luis Bunuel was filmed. 

“Even if it's very traditional and predictable in its formal approach, Behind Nazarin (Tras Nazarín: El eco de una tierra en otra tierra) is a warm, insightful and enjoyable work that explores the Mexican locations where the remarkable Nazarín, one of the masterpieces by the great Luis Buñuel, was filmed five decades ago. Directed by the Spaniard Javier Espada (who previously made a good documentary about the legendary Spanish filmmaker in his 2008 debut. The Last Script: Remembering Luis Buñuel, co-directed with Gaizka Urresti), the film includes interviews with film personalities such as Carlos Reygadas and Jean-Claude Carrière, and mixes old pictures of the locations with how the places look today”( Joel Poblete –FIPRESCI)