::: 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

             Accentuating Voices of Women

The repertoire of films made by women include in the Women’s Films section of the 15^th IFFK comes as remarkable examples of how women have chosen to play flourishing parts in movie making in gross deviation to stereotypes.

The only documentary in this section, Leni Riefenstahl’s ‘Triumph of Will’ is a well known propaganda documentary made at the special request of Adolf Hitler. The film adores the Great Dictator with divinity and imparts him an evangelical quality. The Nuremberg Meet of the Nazi party is documented in the film. Leni’s technical panache gets revealed through her deft handling of the camera, use of telephoto lens and fresh approach to music and cinematography. The non-narrative structure of ‘Meshes of the Afternoon’ has made it a ‘trance film.’ Maya Deren, known for the singularity of her cinematic experience, imparts an intriguing and yet charming feel through the use of recurring motifs coupled with interruptive images.

Representing the spirit of French New Wave, Agnes Varda’s ‘Cleo from 5 to 7’ depicts the ephemerality of beauty. The two-hour long wait for the biopsy results of a young woman is given an exquisite touch with fleeting moods and excursions. Influenced by the Czech New Wave, director Vera Chytolova  in her ‘Daisies’ portrays two women named Marie. Both of them decide to act against the accepted ways and at the same time establish their ‘unique self’ by choosing different tracks. Vera attempts to disregard conventional ideas of womanhood and feminity through her film. ‘All Screwed Up’ is a socio-political comedy built upon the collective life of a few immigrants. The Italian director Lina Wertmuller makes loud anarchic laughter that affirms life, while deriding the preoccupation with work, consumerism and sexual security.

Films to be screened in this section venture to open up the new vistas of liberal feminism, as a clarion call for setting up new avenues.