Visitors to the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) never fail to be mesmerised by the city’s cinema literate viewers who throng theatres and animatedly discuss cinema in every corner. In fact, they are the strength of the festival. But little do the guests know that it is an audience that has been exposed to the best of cinema, thanks to many film societies, big and small, that do sterling work all the year around. Ever since the Chitralekha Film Society, helmed by auteurs like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, opened its doors in the city 50 years ago, film societies have changed the way Malayalis view and appreciate cinema. There are over 100 such societies in Kerala and the city too has its fair share. A peek at some of the film societies in the city and its outskirts and their activities….
CHALACHITRA FILM SOCIETY
Curtains up: June, 1976
It came up when Chitralekha Film Society ceased its activities and moved into film production. The backbone was S. B. Jayaram, George Mathew, K. N. G. Kaimal and M. N. D. Nair. All of them were part of Chitralekha and were employees of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. “Later we were joined by Soorya Krishnamoorthy. Cinema was a passion for all of us and during our lunch breaks all we discussed was cinema,” says George Mathew. A film festival at now defunct Kalpana Theatre was the first event. Seven films were screened at the fete. “Film societies thrived across Kerala till mid-80s. Things changed with the arrival of television. However, efforts were on to revive the film culture and the Filmotsav conducted in 1988 in the capital city acted as the catalyst. The first edition of IFFK (1995) brought in a new vigour for film buffs. The next year, the fete gave the city a miss and it was then that we launched our Trivandrum International Film Festival (TIFF), which was conducted without a break till 2013,” says George. The fete had to be discontinued for want of proper venues and funds. The Aravindan Puraskaram for the best debutant director is given by them.
SOORYA
Curtains up: 1977
Thirty-eight-year old Soorya’s activities make it the star of film societies in the city, if not the country. With chapters in 38 countries and 60 cities in India, Soorya was begun as a stage and film society. Its founder, Soorya Krishnamoorthy, was keen on democratising the film society movement. “In those days, film societies were in the grip of pseudo intellectuals and participation of women was almost nil. I wanted to broadbase the film society movement and get women to discuss cinema in their homes. I felt that was one of the ways good cinema would take root in Kerala. Moreover, in those days, many film societies used to source movies from the socialist countries only. Indian movies were hardly ever screened,” recalls Krishnamoorthy. Soorya changed the existing scenario and made good cinema, including Indian cinema, accessible to people from all walks of life. “In fact, Satyajit Ray, when he came to the city to participate in a festival, had said: ‘One of the most memorable incidents in my life was when an autorickshaw driver in Chennai recognised me. The second was when I heard homemakers in Trivandrum discuss my characters with aplomb!’ I see that as Soorya’s success.” Gradually, Soorya began showcasing dance and music programmes by maestros. “Even when film societies all over India crumbled when TV arrived, Soorya continues to thrive with a long list of people who would like to join the society.” Shine on Soorya!
FILM LOVERS CULTURAL ASSOCIATION (FILCA)
Curtains up: October, 1999
FILCA was started to get people talking about movies. “We wanted a forum to promote good cinema, a healthy viewing culture and, more importantly, discuss the artistic merits and demerits of the films screened and everything related to cinema too,” says M.K.P. Nair, a radiologist, film buff and secretary of the society. FILCA has been holding monthly films screenings and discussions, plus a yearly campus film fete (at different colleges in the city) and an international film fete too, where they screen around 35 to 40 films from across the country and the world. This year, for example, we screened Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The President, for which IFFK delegates, myself included, had literally fought each other to get in for the screenings. When we screened the film, though, only 20 people turned up! Tells you a lot about the frenzy that surrounds the IFFK,” adds Dr Nair, with a laugh. The biggest challenge to run a film society, apart from finding funding, is finding a good screening space, he says. “Earlier, most film societies used to hold screenings at Kalabhavan but now because it’s been converted into a first release theatre for commercial cinema, they’ve stopped giving it out. It’s ironic, considering one of the aims of Kalabhavan is to promote the film society movement,” says Dr. Nair.
GRAMAM FILM SOCIETY
Curtains up: June, 1999
Kallara is an idyllic hamlet in the interiors of the district, not exactly a place where you would imagine there is an audience for the films of Akira Kurosawa, Jean-Luc Godard, Lars von Trier and the likes. Thanks to Gramam Film Society, set up by a bunch of likeminded film buffs (then college students), from different walks of life, many villagers in Kallara and the surrounding villages are now familiar with the best of world cinema. “If you wanted to watch something other than Malayalam cinema you had to make the long trek into the city, where all the film fetes happen and where almost the film societies are based. We wanted to bring world cinema to the villages and that’s why we set up the society and gave it the name gramam (village),” says Hiran Raj R.V., a government employee and a founder-member of the society. Apart from free film screenings every Sunday, Gramam has regular film discussions, meet-the-director sessions, film appreciation camps for youth and even a film fete. “Around 100 people turn up for the screenings every Sunday, which we usually hold at the local KSTA Hall. Actually, viewership is increasing because many international films are now available with Malayalam subtitles,” says Hiran, adding that these days it’s very easy to source films. “There’s a good rapport among the 100 or so film societies in the state and we all share films with each other,” he adds. The society has also bought a projector for itself. “In the past we had to bring reels all the way from the city and rent projectors from the Chalachitra Academy or the Federation of Film Societies, which was a costly affair. Nowadays, we rent out our projector to other local organisations and vayanashalas, calling it ‘cinema vandi.’ This year we have had over 150 such cinema vandi screenings,” he says.
BANNER FILM SOCIETY
Curtains up: June, 2004
Banner Film Society has won the hearts of film buffs in the city and beyond by holding the banner up for world cinema through to its regular, monthly film screenings that are open to all. It was started by R. Biju, a social activist, simply because he wanted “more film societies to come up in the state, after understanding that film societies play a very important role in promoting serious cinema.” If one month Banner showcases films under ‘My Favourites’ section, where they screen four favourite films chosen by a film industry veteran, the next month they usually screen four films based on a particular theme such as communal harmony, football films, great masters, biopics and the like. “The audience varies from month to month, theme to theme but usually about 70 people turn up for each screening,” says K.J. Siju, president of the society. They usually come up with the themes/favourite list a month or two in advance, giving them time to source the films from the Chalachitra Academy, Federation of Film Societies or from private collectors.
“We usually ask for a list of six or seven favourite films because there would inevitably be a few overlaps – Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, for example, is on the favourite list of many filmmakers and critics – and you don’t want to keep showing the same films again and again,” explains Siju.
TEAM NIZHALATTAM
Curtains up: 2013
But for Facebook this group wouldn’t have been born. “It’s a forum where artists, irrespective of their age or nationality, can express their views or talents. We all were on the look out for a platform to showcase our talent. Our first programme was a painting and photography exhibition. Next year, we organised a short film festival. This year we held a film festival, documentary screening and painting - photography exhibition,” says Ratheesh Rohini, a photographer who spearheads Nizhalattam. “We are planning to hold a painting exhibition at one of the venues of the IFFK.” Meanwhile, funds are hard to come by. “We pay from our pockets to meet the expenses. It is difficult to find affordable venues to hold events and we are planning to submit a memorandum to the government to look into this,” says Ratheesh.
FEMALE FILM SOCIETY
Curtains up: 2015
It was at the fifth edition of the Female Film Festival, held in September this year, that the Kerala Sthree Padana Kendram, organiser of the festival, announced the launch of a Society that will take over the reins of the festival from next year. “The Padana Kendram was formed in 2010 as a forum to take up gender sensitive issues. We decided to hold a film festival because cinema is one medium that appeals to all. However, our audience, especially women, are not exposed to those films that are true portrayals of women’s issues and her struggles, like those from Iran, Turkey and Africa. We bring such films to the film festival,” says S. Preeya, secretary of the Forum. Each year the festival has a theme. For instance, it was ‘war and children’ in 2014 and this year the focus was on films from third world countries, with 14 films being screened. “We all were very happy with this year’s edition, except for the fact there were very few women in the audience for the evening shows. However we are encouraged by the huge participation of youngsters,” she says.