(From left) Scenes from 'I Still Hide to Smoke', ‘Symphony for Ana’ and ‘Wajib'.The 22nd International Film Festival of Kerala will play host to female directors who have made a mark of their own in the film industry. The festival will feature the films of 35 women directors under various categories.
Their films celebrate the essence of being woman, by focusing on their repressed emotions and intense experiences.
Among the 14 films to be screened as part of the competition section, four have been directed by women.
Algerian filmmaker Rayhana's ‘I Still Hide to Smoke’ focuses her camera to the present-day life of women in Algeria.
Anucha Boonyawatana's ‘Malila – The Farewell Flower’ is themed on Buddhism and gay sex with traditional art of crafting Thai Bai Sri ornaments providing the perfect background.
Virna Molina and Ernesto Ardito's film ‘Symphony for Ana’ is based on a novel by Gyabi Mek's novel narrating the life and struggles of a student during Argentina's worst dictatorship.
‘Wajib’, by Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, tells the story of a father and his estranged son.
The world film section is rich with the presence of 24 women directors.
Written and directed by Annarita Zambrano, ‘After the War’ was first screened in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. It discusses the complicated socio-political atmosphere of Italy.
Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze have jointly directed ‘Birds are Singing in Kigali’, which draws parallels between the horrors of war in Rwanda and Poland.
Teresa Villaverde’s ‘Colo’ is a film that explores Portugal's economic crisis through the strained dynamic of a family slowing falling apart. ‘Good Manners’, of Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas, tells the story of the mysterious lives of two women.
‘Let the Sunshine In’ is directed by one of the strongest voices in contemporary world cinema, Claire Denis. The film revolves around the life of a single woman living alone in Paris.
Screened at the Cannes, ‘I am Not a Witch’ is directed by Rungano Nyoni. It is about a young Zambian girl who is banished from her village for alleged witchcraft.
Shirin Neshat's ‘Looking for Oum Kulthum’, Mouly Surya's ‘Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts’ that tells the story of a widow who lives in an isolated island, Léonor Serraille’s ‘Montparnasse Bienvenue’ screened in the Un Certain Regard at Cannes, Atsuko Hirayanagi's Japan-US venture ‘Oh Lucy!’, Ildikó Enyedi's ‘On Body and Soul’, Cristina Pinheiro’s ‘Menina’, Agnieszka Holland’s ‘Spoor’, Ana Urushadze’s ‘Scary Mother’, Carla Simon’s ‘Summer 1993’, Maria Sadowska’s ‘The Art of Loving’, Zaza Urushadze’s ‘The Confession’, and Cecilia Atán’s and Valeria Pivato’s ‘The Desert Bride’ are the notable films in the category.
In the ‘retrospective’ section, a documentary on the life of Russian filmmaker Alexander Sukorov -- ‘The Voice of Sukorov’ -- will be screened. The 'country focus' section will feature three women -- Anita Rocha de Silviera's ‘Kill Me, Please’, Juliana Rojas' Necropolis Symphony and Fernanda Pessoa's ‘Stories That Our Cinema Did (Not) Tell’.
The only Indian presence in 'Indian cinema now' is Rima Das. ‘Village Rockstars’, written and directed by Rima, was screened at the Toronto Film Festival. In the ‘Uprooted films’ category, Geethu Mohandas’ film ‘Liar’s Dice’ will be screened. Aparna Sen will deliver the Aravindan Memorial lecture. Her film 'Sonata’ is also included in the festival.
Read more: Entertainment | IFFK 2017
