Partial clearance for films at IFFK; most Palestinian films still denied screening
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The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s initial refusal to grant clearance to Palestinian films at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala sparked a major controversy, as the decision blocked screenings of works that address the Israeli occupation and the thousands of killings reported in recent years, particularly in Gaza, prompting accusations of political and cultural censorship.
Even as the backlash intensified, the Centre partially revised its stand by clearing four of the 19 films for screening, while leaving most Palestinian titles and several internationally acclaimed works without approval.
The ministry had denied permission to screen 19 films at the festival in Thiruvananthapuram, including four films centred on Palestine—Palestine 36, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, All That’s Left of You and Wajib—despite these titles having already undergone an initial selection process by the festival, with Palestine 36, an Arabic and English-language production, having been chosen as the inaugural film of the event organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy under the state government’s cultural affairs department.
Alongside the Palestinian films, the rejected list included a wide range of international and classic works such as Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 Soviet-era landmark Battleship Potemkin, Bamako, Timbuktu, The Hour of the Furnaces, Clash, Flames, Santosh, Red Rain, Riverstone, Heart of the Wolf, Eagles of the Republic, Beef, Tunnels: Sun in the Dark and A Poet: Unconcealed Poetry, underscoring the breadth of cinema affected by the lack of clearance.
Festival organisers had submitted the titles in advance to the Union ministry, as films without censor certification require a Censor Exemption Certificate for festival screenings, yet Kerala authorities said no specific reasons were communicated for the denial, even though the ministry holds discretionary powers to block films considered damaging to diplomatic relations.
The decision drew criticism from leaders across the political spectrum, with CPI(M) state secretary M A Baby accusing the Narendra Modi-led central government, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, of authoritarian tendencies, while Congress MP Shashi Tharoor cautioned that blocking internationally recognised cinema, including a century-old classic such as Battleship Potemkin, could harm India’s reputation in the global film community.
Tharoor urged Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to grant expeditious clearance, arguing that prolonged uncertainty undermined the credibility of a festival that attracts thousands of delegates every year.
On Tuesday, the ministry cleared four of the 19 films—Beef, Eagles of the Republic, Heart of the Wolf and Once Upon a Time in Gaza—for screening, while 15 films, including Battleship Potemkin and several titles dealing with Palestine, continue to await approval as the festival, which began on December 12, runs until December 19.