International Film Festival of Kerala
The International Film Festival of Kerala takes place annually in Thiruvananthapuram , the capital of the Indian state of Kerala .
Together with the International Film Festival of India and the Kolkata Film Festival, it is one of the most important film festivals on the Indian subcontinent.
Alignment
The festival's international competition is limited to films from Africa , Asia and Latin America .
Outside of the competition, retrospectives, homages and tributes will be held, as well as side channels with contemporary Indian cinema , short films and documentaries .
Furthermore, during the festival, which traditionally takes place in December, there is a film market and seminars on various film topics.
History and organization
The first festival took place in 1995. The newly founded Kerala State Chalachitra Academy (“chalachitra” means “moving image”) has been the organizer since 1998 . It was established by the Ministry of Culture of the State of Kerala and is also dedicated to the organization of other film festivals in India, advanced film training, the award of film prizes and much more.
In 1999 the international film competition took place for the first time as part of the festival. The first jury president was the Indian film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan .
The International Film Festival of Kerala belongs to that lesser part of the film festivals in the world that have received accreditation from the international film producers association FIAPF (see also list of FIAPF-accredited film festivals ).
Prices
The main prize of the international competition is The Golden Crow Pheasant Award (also Suvarna Chakoram ). Crow pheasant is the English name for the Chinese spur cuckoo (Centropus sinensis), a bird species widespread in India. The prize is endowed with INR 1,000,000 and is awarded in equal parts to the director and producer of the film.
Other awards given at the festival are The Silver Crow Pheasant Award (also Rajata Chakoram ) for best director and the Best Debut Film Award for the best debut film. There is also an audience award .
As at other film festivals around the world, the international film critics association FIPRESCI awards a FIPRESCI prize to a film in the international competition.
