A Curtain Raiser To IFFK 2009

If the online activity on the eve of 14th International Film Festival of Kerala 2009 (IFFK 2009) is any indication, this one should become the best IFFK so far. The online reservation facility was near spotless. Online payment system was the most striking feature. Most of the films were announced weeks ahead and the schedule was published days in advance. Add online seat reservation facility to it, one might think IFFK should be god’s own film festival in terms of preparation. But wait. There are more to come. You can reserve the balcony seats even through sms. So, what next? A Twitter reservation facility?

All these can serve only as a good appetizer. The main course starts tomorrow. The list of films is mouthwatering. Most of the usual IFFK suspects are there: Almodovar, Kim Ki-Duk, Zanussi, Godard. The Makhmalbaf family seems to be the only notable absentees.

As always, the film screening of IFFK starts at 9 am in Kalabhavan. This time the unofficial opening movie is The Last Supper by the Cuban filmmaker Tomas Gutierrez Alea. The official inaugural movie is A Step into the Darkness, a Turkish film directed by Atil Inaç, which will be shown at Nishagandhi Open Air Auditorium at 6.15 pm. In between these two films, several other films are going to be screened tomorrow.

I am finding it difficult to finalize tomorrow’s schedule. The first one is easy as there are no other shows in the 9’o clock segment. After that, I think, I will watch Eastern Plays, a Bulgarian film directed by Kamen Kalev, though there are other potentially good catches, such as 7 Years (the debut film of the French director Jean-Pascal Hattu) and Castle of Purity by the Mexican virtuoso Arturo Ripstein.

I am planning to watch Sweet Rush by Adrezej Wajda in the afternoon, who just edges out another veteran of the previous generation François Truffaut (whose Jules and Jim will be shown at the same time segment). Two other notable films in the afternoon session are the South Korean film Land of Scarecrows (by Gyeong-tae Roh) and the Iranian film Be Calm & Count to 7 (by Ramtin Lavafipour).

Enough for a curtain raiser. Caution: More to follow after watching the movies.