The 25th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) has been postponed to February, 2021 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, in a Facebook post, announced that the fest will take place from February 12 to 19. “The 25th edition of the International Film Festival (IFFK) is slated to be held during 12-19 February 2021. The conduct of IFFK will be subject to the evolving situation of the global pandemic Covid-19. The Festival will follow the guidelines of the Government of Kerala prevailing at that time,” reads the Facebook post.
Earlier, Minister for Cultural Affairs AK Balan said that the IFFK may be organised online if it cannot be conducted physically owing to Covid-19.
Films completed between September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020 are eligible to apply. Entries should be submitted between September 17 and October 31, 2020. Preview material deadline will be November 2, 2020, publishing of list of selected films will be December 10, 2020, and the deadline for submission of screening materials is January 20, 2021.
The yearly event, organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs, takes place every December. Due to the pandemic and the lockdown in several places, the event has been rescheduled to February next year.
A number of national and international films premiere at the IFFK every year making it one of the biggest cultural events in Kerala. The competition section is limited to 14 selected films produced in Asia, Africa or Latin America while a separate section is earmarked for Malayalam films.
The prizes awarded during this fest are The Golden Crow Pheasant Award: (Suvarna Chakoram) and a cash prize of Rs 1,000,000/- (about US$20,000) to the best feature film to be shared equally by the director and the producer, the Silver Crow Pheasant Award: (Rajatha Chakoram) and a cash prize of Rs.300,000/- (about US$6,000) to the best director, the Silver Crow Pheasant Award: (Rajatha Chakoram) and a cash prize of Rs 200,000/- (about US$4,000) to the best debut director, Audience Prize: (Rajatha Chakoram) and cash prize of Rs 100,000 (about US$2,000) to the Director of the most popular film voted by the festival delegates, FIPRESCI Award: For the best film chosen by the Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique, and the Netpac Award: For the best film in the competition section from Asia, chosen by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema.
(Content provided by Digital Native)
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