Thiruvananthapuram: 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers', a Japanese film directed by Sho Miyake, won the top honour, the Suvarna Chakoram (Golden Crow Pheasant) for Best Film, at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), which concluded on Friday.

The award carries a cash prize of ₹20 lakh and a memento to be jointly shared by the film’s producer and director.

The Rajatha Chakoram (Silver Crow Pheasant) for Best Director was awarded to Argentine film 'Before the Body', co-directed by Lucia Bracelis and Carina Plazza.

Renowned Mauritanian-Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award at the closing ceremony, recognising his outstanding contribution to world cinema.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who inaugurated the closing day’s programme, launched a sharp attack on the Union government over the denial of screening clearance to several films scheduled for the festival. He said the International Film Festival of Kerala stood apart from other global festivals due to its progressive political identity.

Vijayan alleged that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s initial refusal to grant censorship exemption to 19 films was a politically motivated move aimed at silencing dissent. He said the Centre later cleared 13 films after the state government took a firm stand that they would be screened regardless of central approval.

The Chief Minister cited the rejection of the Spanish film' Beef' based solely on its title, without assessing its content, as well as the denial of clearance to Sergei Eisenstein’s classic 'Battleship Potemkin', a film widely taught in film schools worldwide. Such decisions, he said, were not due to ignorance but were “clearly politically driven”.

Films addressing Palestinian issues were also denied clearance, exposing what Vijayan described as the Centre’s policy of suppressing democratic and dissenting voices. He further alleged that filmmakers from Turkey and Azerbaijan were denied visas to attend the festival.

“We will not yield to the fascist methods being adopted by the Centre against the festival. Come what may, the IFFK is here to stay,” Vijayan said, asserting that Kerala would resist what he termed “fascist methods” adopted against the festival.

Vijayan later distributed awards to the winning filmmakers.

Bengali film 'Shadowbox', directed by Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi, won the Best Indian Debut Director award, while actor Tilotama Shome received a special mention for her performance.

The FIPRESCI Award for Best Debut Director in Malayalam went to Fazil Razak for 'Moham' (The Desire), while the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in the Competition Section was awarded to 'If on a Winter’s Night' (Hindi/Malayalam), directed by Sanju Surendran.

Tajikistan entry 'Black Rabbit, White Rabbit', directed by Shahram Mokri, received a special jury mention for technical excellence. Malayalam filmmaker Unnikrishnan Avala’s 'Thanthapperu' (Life of a Phallus) also earned a special mention.

'Thanthapperu' further won the Audience Poll Prize for Best Debut Director, carrying a cash award of ₹2 lakh, and the NETPAC Award for Best Malayalam Director.

The NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film was presented to the Afghan film 'Cinema Jazireh', directed by Gozda Kural.

 

Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman Resul Pookutty, Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian, Finance Minister K N Balagopal, General Education Minister V Sivankutty, and acclaimed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan were among those present at the closing ceremony.

PTI