A controversy has erupted following the non-screening of certain films at the ongoing International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) due to the central government's alleged denial of censor-exemption certificates. Many prominent personalities, including filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, have responded strongly to the controversy. As many as 19 films did not get the certificates, due to which some of them could not be screened at the ongoing festival. Chalachithra Academy representatives revealed that the screening of seven films, which was supposed to happen in the past two days, and a further eight would need to be called off due to the lack of the clearance certificates.
"It is most unfortunate that an unseemly controversy has arisen over the central government's denial of clearance to 19 films which were scheduled to be screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram," Tharoor wrote on X. The Congress MP also claimed that some of these films got the clearances due to his involvement in the issue with Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology, at the behest of IFFK chairman Resul Pookutty.
"The list of 19 films suggests an extraordinary degree of cinematic illiteracy on the part of the bureaucracy. To deny clearance to a classic like Battleship Potemkin, a 1928 film on the Russian Revolution which has been viewed by literally hundreds of millions around the world (and in India) over the last century, is laughable," Tharoor added.
Among the titles without the clearance certificates are Wajib, Palestine 36, Once Upon A Time in Gaza, Beef, Heart of The Wolf, Eagles of The Republic, Timbuktu, Bamako, and All That’s Left Of You. "Denying permission to some Palestinian films reflects bureaucratic over-cautiousness rather than the cultural breadth of vision that should be involved when it comes to world cinema," Tharoor added. The MP also shared that he has encouraged Dr S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India, and Ashwini Vaishnaw to "grant expeditious clearance and avoid any further embarrassment in the eyes of the cinema lovers of Kerala, and of the world."
On the other hand, Adoor criticised the officials not being kept abreast of the situation. "The title ‘Beef’ doesn’t mean that the film promotes consuming cow meat. I have seen many of these films, and I do not see any reason to deny certificates to them," Adoor shared.
Interestingly, some of the films did not receive the permission for screening in spite of having a previous history with IFFK. For example, the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award winner Abderrahmane Sissako's Bamako and Timbuktu and Golden Crow Pheasant winner Wajib.
The International Film Festival of Kerala is set to run through December 19, Friday.