COVID surge: Kerala's signature film event IFFK postponed

Thiruvananthapuram: In the wake of a huge surge in daily Covid-19 cases, the signature event of Kerala -- the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK)'s 26th edition has been postponed, said Kerala Minister for Cinema and Culture Saji Cherian on Monday.

The event was earlier scheduled to be held from February 4 to 11 at 12 movie halls in the capital city.

Announcing it, Minister Cherian said the event will be staged as and when the Covid scenario in the state improves.

The state-run Kerala State Chalachitra Academy is the organiser of the event, which by now, has won huge praise not just in the state but across the world on account of the quality of the films that are being screened.

Generally, this event is held in December, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was postponed to February 2022.

The prestigious eight-day movie gala screens films from across the world in coveted categories like International Competition, Malayalam Cinema Today, Indian Cinema Now, World Cinema, Country Focus, Retrospectives of major filmmakers among others.

A competition section for the films from Asian, African and Latin American countries is the highlight of the festival.

The Golden Crow Pheasant Award has a cash prize of Rs 20,00,000 (nearly $28,000) for the best feature film to be shared equally between the Director and the Producer. There are many more cash prizes which would be given.

Kerala has been witnessing a sharp spike in the COVID-19 cases for the past week.