Cultural emergency prevails in the country: Kerala film fest director
Thiruvananthapuram
June 10, 2017
Acclaimed Kerala film director Kamal,
who is also the Chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, has
criticised how the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has denied
permission to exhibit three films at the upcoming 10th International
Documentary Short Film Festival that begins here next week.
The three films that have been denied permission to be screened include
'The Unbearable Being of Lightness', a 45-minute long documentary that
tells about the Rohith Vemula incident, 'March March March', a
19-minute short film that shows the JNU agitation, and 'In The Shade of
Fallen Chinar', a 16-minute film that shows the lives of a group of
young Kashmiri artists who are university students.
"This is some sort of a cultural emergency that is now prevailing in
the country and we are facing it here," Kamal told IANS.
Kamal said the process in this festival is that once the films are
selected to be screened, then they look if the films have a censor
certificate.
"What we do as organisers is, then we apply for an exemption to the
Information and Broadcasting Ministry for all those films that do not
have a censor certificate. In all, at the five-day festival which is
starting on June 16, there are 210 films, of which around 170 films did
not have the censor certificate.
"We were surprised that all but these three films got the exemption,"
said Kamal.
He said that he has been told that this is the first time in the
history of this festival that films have been denied the exemption.
"Now the only way out is for the director or the producer to approach
the legal system," added Kamal.
Thiruvananthapuram
June 10, 2017
Acclaimed Kerala film director Kamal,
who is also the Chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, has
criticised how the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has denied
permission to exhibit three films at the upcoming 10th International
Documentary Short Film Festival that begins here next week.
The three films that have been denied permission to be screened include
'The Unbearable Being of Lightness', a 45-minute long documentary that
tells about the Rohith Vemula incident, 'March March March', a
19-minute short film that shows the JNU agitation, and 'In The Shade of
Fallen Chinar', a 16-minute film that shows the lives of a group of
young Kashmiri artists who are university students.
"This is some sort of a cultural emergency that is now prevailing in
the country and we are facing it here," Kamal told IANS.
Kamal said the process in this festival is that once the films are
selected to be screened, then they look if the films have a censor
certificate.
"What we do as organisers is, then we apply for an exemption to the
Information and Broadcasting Ministry for all those films that do not
have a censor certificate. In all, at the five-day festival which is
starting on June 16, there are 210 films, of which around 170 films did
not have the censor certificate.
"We were surprised that all but these three films got the exemption,"
said Kamal.
He said that he has been told that this is the first time in the
history of this festival that films have been denied the exemption.
"Now the only way out is for the director or the producer to approach
the legal system," added Kamal.
Tags: Kamal