It was the last day of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in 2013 and one of the cinemas was screening the Mexican film Club Sandwich for the third time. It was also a working day, but there was hardly any space on the floor, at the aisles or in the corners, occupied by enthusiastic film buffs despite it being one of the less-hyped films. There was hardly a whimper from among the sea of uncomfortably bent limbs and odd seating positions, until the loud ovation at the end.
Such scenes of community film viewing could be a thing of the past, as per the recommendations of the Adoor Gopalakrishnan committee on the Malayalam film industry and the IFFK. Along with the positive step of implementing e-tickets for advance reservation for watching films at the festival, the report also says that ‘entry beyond the number of seats should not be allowed. No one should be allowed to sit or stand on the floor.’ “One of the best things about IFFK is that anyone can be a part of it. It is better if we can retain that,” says a Malayalam film director.
Another recommendation is that the IFFK should give priority to ‘true film lovers’ including directors, technicians, producers, film society activists, critics, and journalists in selecting delegates. The delegate application form will be changed to get more details of the applicant.
“The crowd has not created any problems and has only made the IFFK more popular. Many of the legendary directors from abroad have been surprised by the popular participation here. It should not be an exclusive space,” says V.R. Aravind, a regular at the festival for the past 10 years.
But few others like Malayalam director Biju Damodaran have welcomed the change.
“Restricting the number of films to 120 and having more repeat shows will give everyone the opportunity to watch the films,” says Dr. Biju.
