AND, IT'S A WRAP

The 29th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), concluded Friday, saw a remarkably composed gathering of delegates, focused on cinema rather than dissent, reflecting the evolution of the festival's audience. The festival saw 85,207 reservations across eight days, with over 1.5 lakh footfalls overall.

tude is seen as unhealthy by those, who claim there was no space for disagreement, festival executive director C Ajoy feels it reflected the evolution of the crowd who came to the festival for the love of cinema rather than for shows of any kind of dissent.

The delegates were remarkably composed. It helped with the smooth conduct and keeping the focus on cinema rather than anything else. There were situations when I saw delegates standing up for the festival and its functioning," he says. "The other hallmark was the constitution of the delegates. Many were first-timers," he adds.

Abhirag A was one such first-timer. To the science undergraduate student, the festival was a different experience and he would cherish the friendships he forged. "For someone like me, who doesn't get to go around much, the fest offered a world of experience. I also have filmmaking ambitions and hence meeting with people who have dabbled in cinema and its many nuances was truly enriching. I plan to return next year," he says.

He, however, feels a bit of sprucing up is warranted in the seat reservation. "Right now, 70% of seats are to be pre-booked. This creates problems for people who queue up for the screening. They could make it 50-50," he says, recalling how he had to abort efforts to watch Payal Kapadia's All we imagine As Light, which was housefull at Tagore, and rush to the multiplex where the movie was playing for a ticket.

In total, there were 85,207 reservations done at IFFK for various screenings over eight days, with the first, the last, as well as the Nishagandhi screenings, not warranting pre-booking. In total, the IFFK organisers claim there were over 1.5 lakh footfalls for the movies screened if those who had not reserved for the screenings were also considered.

Scriptwriter Noufal Mariyam Blathur believes that though delegates may seem apolitical, this was indeed a very political festival.