Kochi: The Second edition of 25th International Film Festival of Kerala will conclude on Sunday, winning heart of cinephiles around and across the district. Kochi had the chance to host another IFFK after 21 years, which was enthusiastically taken over by delegates from different regions, full heartedly keeping the current restrictions and COVID protocols.
The festival raised new rays of hope, despite the pandemic, with experimental movies and debut directors and gained excellent reviews. Inauguration ceremony was held at Savitha on February 17 by minister A K Balan and passing the torch which included 24 young luminaries, headed by veteran director Shri K G George, and various other film, media and political activists and cinephiles, succeeded by Bosnian Movie ‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ for opening screening.
Movies across six categories was screened for the festival at six theatres, Saritha, Savitha, Sangeetha, Padma, Kavitha and Sreedhar.
The Festival screened 14 movies in International Competition category, including Malayalam movies ‘Churuli’ by Lijo Jose Pellissery and 'Hasyam' By Jayaraj.
The festival ends with the screening of Desterro by Maria Escobar. Movies like ‘Biriyani’, ‘The Names of Flowers’, ‘There is No Evil’ and ‘Summer of 85’ gained critical appreciation.
Open Forums and Meet the Director Sessions conducted both Online and offline helped to bring relevant discussions on board.
