S Durga to be screened at IFFK 2017 only if court gives a nod, says Kerala govt

Thiruvananthapuram: Controversial Malayalam film S Durga will be screened at the forthcoming International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) only if it gets due clearance, State Minister for Culture and Cinema AK Balan said on Wednesday (6 December). [caption id=“attachment_4231925” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Still from S Durga. File Photo[/caption] S Durga was not screened at the the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa despite the best efforts of the movie’s director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan. Sasidharan had moved the Kerala High Court, which directed IFFI to screen the film at the festival after a censored version was screened for the jury. But fresh title-related issues raised by the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) on the gala’s last day had sealed the fate of the movie at the fest. The state-run Kerala Chalachitra Academy, the organiser of IFFK, had said recently that the festival would have a special screening of S Durga as a mark of protest against the Centre’s decision to drop the movie from IFFI even after it was selected by an expert jury. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had cancelled the certification of the film on 28 November. Balan told the media in Thiruvananthapuram, “What we hear is that director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan is going to approach the court again since the censorship certificate has been withdrawn. We will certainly screen the film here if he gets a clearance from the court. If not, it may not happen.” Balan said that at this edition of the IFFK, 190 films from 65 countries would be screened, of which 40 of them will have their premiere here. “Following the cyclone Ockhi disaster, we have decided to cancel the cultural extravaganza that is generally associated with the IFFK. Even the inauguration has been cancelled and there will be only screening of these films. With regard to the closing ceremony, no decision has been taken,” said Balan. He said that as per the present directive, the national anthem will be played at the start and end of screenings. “If there is any violation when it’s played, appropriate action would be there,” said Balan. The jury of the IFFK includes ace director Marco Muller, who will be the chairman. Others on the jury include Malayalam director TV Chandran, Columbian actor Marlon Moreno, film editor Mary Stephen and film curator Aboubacker Sanago. In all 12,000 passes have been issued for the fest which commences on 8 December and continues till 15 December. (With inputs from agencies)