‘Thira’ would be my first thriller film: Vineeth Sreenivasan

The 16th International Film Festival of Kerala draws to a close today, and with it a week long celebration of cinema from across the world. The 16th IFFK was perhaps one of the most controversial ones as well for several reasons. As the wait for 17th IFFK starts today, Balcony Beats lays down on a platter few thoughts that have emerged post-IFFK 2011.

• Over the years, the IFFK has emerged to be one of the most popular film festivals in the country. This year organisers claimed that the number of delegates had gone way above 10,000, while the seating capacity of the theatres where the films were being screened was around 6000. And the result? One of the Jury members had to sit on the floor to judge ‘Body’, the Turkish film that drew in huge crowds.

• What logic makes one decide to issue 10,000 passes to a show that could accommodate 6000 people? Why can’t there be a cut-off at 6000, as in the case of a normal film show, where tickets are served on a first-come-first-serve basis, and those who are late are asked to come back for another show (in this case next year)?

• There is no denying the popularity of IFFK, but there is also no use turning our faces away from the fact that it is one of the most chaotic festivals. There are no rules and regulations whatsover, and even when they are implemented, there is also a whole lot of opposition from all quarters, including the delegates themselves.

• There are no queues, and instead we see a huge crowd jostling and pushing around to get into a theatre. Mobile phones keep ringing all the time inside the cinema halls, and people keep talking all the while. More than once, we got to see the jury members requesting the audience to keep quiet and let them watch the movie in peace.

• The reservation mechanism went haywire on several occasions, and once we even got to see a poor official manually checking a long reservation list before allowing delegates into the hall.

• There has also been a lot of discussion regarding the selection of films, and we even got to see a Delegate Forum being set up, demanding more viewer involvement in the organisation of Festivals. Comparisons are bound to be drawn to the films screened during previous years; but that is perhaps unfair, since cinema as it is remains in a state of flux all the time.

Do let us know your experience at the IFFK this year. And your thoughts post-IFFK 2011.