::: PRESS RELEASE :::

15thINTERNATIONAL

       FILM FESTIVAL
          of KERALA                  2010 december 10-17, thiruvananthapuram

                                                                  Organised by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy

                                                                                  for the Department of Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Kerala

Cinema: A Mystery beyond Definition

 “Cinema making is a mystery; no one can define and describe a good cinema. Elements of poetry and music should outweigh material and technical considerations”, said legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog who was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement at the 15^th IFFK. Speaking at the Meet-the-Press held today at the Festival Office, Herzog said he preferred to describe himself as Bavarian athlete of cinema rather than as an artiste. Rating IFFK as being “unique and not comparable”, he said that the Festival has an incredible international scope and yet retains a strong cultural identity of Kerala. It showcases films that are neglected by media and distribution companies.

Co-production with all its advantages of bringing global reach to cinema and creating a universal language for filmmaking, calls for great efforts at coordination and actor management. Though he had travelled far and wide as part of his filmmaking, there were strong evidences of Bavarian culture in all his films. He grew up in a remote mountainous Bavarian village and did not know about the telephone or the radio and had not known the existence of a cinema till a touring cinema visited his village, when he was 11 years old, the veteran director of 60 films said. Responding to a question, he said that the modern German cinema has young filmmakers with interesting themes, making it worth following.

Vikramadithya Motwane, the director of ‘Udaan’, the first official entry from the country in a decade spoke about the overwhelming response generated to the film at the Cannes. “It was a learning experience, something which helped us learn the mechanics of distributing a film”. Mohan Raghavan, the debutant director of ‘T.D.Dasan Std. VI B’ was also present.

A book titled ‘Malayalam Films 2010’ in English brought out by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy was released by its Chairman K.R.Mohanan by handing over the first copy to Werner Herzog, who was the centre of attention of one and all in the thickly attended Press Meet.