7 Edition of IDSFFK to kick start

Putting an end to all speculations, the much awaited International Documentary and short film festivals, seventh Edition will bloom out for art lovers from all means and walks of social, political and cultural arenas. The five day festival commencing from today 9.30am at the theatres Kairali, Nila and Sree, will be inaugurated by Shri Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan Minister of cultural and  film in the presence of renowned  film director Gautam Menon at 6.30 in the kairali theatre complex. Health Minister V .S Sivakumar will preside over the function. Shri Rajiv Mehrotra, Manging Trustee of Public Service broadcasting trust will render the key note address.Rajya Sabha Television CEO Gurdeep Singh Sappal will felicitate over the function. Frederico adorno‘s ‘Paraguay’ and Khalo Matabanes, ‘Nelson Mandela: the myth and me’ will be the inaugural films.  94 films selected out of 600 entries will compete for top honors. A total of 212 films are being showcased for the festival.

The jury of the festival includes filmmakers, producers, social scientists and technicians. Hong Hysook from Korea, who heads the Asian Cinema Fund (ACF) and a programmer for Wide Angle Section along with Susie Tharu founder member of Anveshi, Research Centre for Women’s Studies, Hyderabad and Harsh Mander former IAS officer and Director, Centre for Equity Studies, and Special Commissioner to the Supreme Court of India in the Right to Food case Will judge the documentaries in competition category.

Best documentary will bag one Lakh Rupees and certificate of merit where as short documentaries will be awarded fifty thousand rupees and certificate.Both Animation films and music videos will be awarded twenty five thousand rupees each and certificate.Campus films will be given twenty thousand rupees and  certificate.
Best Documentary cinematographer award will be presented by cinematographer Navroze Contractor. This award comprises fifteen thousand rupees and certificate. Gender sensitive film will also be recognised at the festival. A cash award of twenty thousand will be given away for the best gender sensitive film.

Special section comprises of a package of film. The special sections will have an Environmental film category, which includes ‘Virunga’ by Orlando Van Einsiedel, portraying the manmade conflict threatening the last habitat of gorillas. The film has won four International awards. Deepthi Kakkar and Fahad Mustafas film ‘Powerless’, which was the premier film at the Berlin Film festival, is also screened in the festival. The other films screening under this category incorporates Kamar Ahaneed simons, ‘Are you listening’, Jean cosmes, ‘By my side’ and Kalyanai mams ‘A river changes course’.

                Films from Middle East is another category which has been screened under the special section The other section under special films are, a curated section of films comprising five films portraying the post Arab Spring  era  showing the riotous seasons the countries like Egypt, Lebanon , Jordan, Palestine and its effects on the common man. The first Indian screening of these films, at the festival which makes the category special.

                Sherief Elkatshas ‘Cairo drive’ is a documentary that explores the life of one of the world's most populated cities.  Suez city and the Druken dreams the city bears is what the documentary deals with. Sarah Francis ‘Birds of September’, Mais Darwazah, ‘My Love Awaits Me BY THE SEA’, Mahdi Fleifels ,’A World Not Ours’ are the other films in this section.

          Long documentaries, short documentaries, short fiction, Animation, music video, campus film, International, are category of films that compete for top honors.

          K.K Chandran’s  ‘Potrait Of a Film Director : Adoor GopalaKrishnan’ , Razak Kottakal , ‘One day from a Hangmans Life’  and Micheal glawogger, ‘Working  Man’s Life’ and ‘Mega Cities’ are the films screened in the homage section.

          A two day workshop on the challenges of science film making, in India in association with the Vigyan Prasad Government of India, an interactive session and a workshop on strategies of Documentary short film distribution are the other scheduled events for the festival.