Seventh day of IFFK concludes with final screenings of 66 films, arrival of Krzysztof Zanussi

The penultimate day of the 28th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) was a busy day for the delegates as 66 films had their final screening on Thursday. The day also featured a fiery Open Forum with Polish filmmaker and winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award Krzysztof Zanussi, which was moderated by C S Venkiteswaran.

The filmmaker spoke about how cinema should be seen only as a work of art and should not be mixed with politics. “If politics is mixed with art, it becomes propaganda,” the noted filmmaker said. The filmmaker whose six films – Perfect Number, The Illumination, The Contract, Spiral, Foreign Body and A Year of the Quiet Sun – were screened at the festival, also spoke about his work and his inspirations.
“Most of my work has been autobiographical,” he said.

As many as 66 films, including 11 Malayalam movies, were screened for the final time at the film festival, which will conclude on December 15. 'Ennennum', 'Family', 'Aattam', 'B 32 Muthal 44 Vare' and 'Thadavu' were among the films that were also screened for the final time. Cast and crew members of films, including 'Footprints on Water; by Natalia Shyam also attended the screening on Thursday. Malayalam classics 'Nirmalyam' by M.T. Vasudevan Nair and 'Bhoothakkannadi' by A.K. Lohithadas also graced the screen on Thursday.

Only a handful of films will have a screening on Friday, the concluding day of the film festival. Voting for the popular film at the 28th International Film Festival of Kerala closed at 2.30 pm on Thursday. Fourteen films from the competition category were considered for voting. Meanwhile, a Sufi night was also organised at the Manaveeyam Veedhi by Sufi singer Sijukumar. The street has so far seen bands including Ragavalli, Mangosteen Club and Abhaya Hiranmayi taking centre stage as part of the IFFK.