‘Won’t yield to censorship’: Kerala to screen all films denied exemption by Centre at IFFK
text_fields
Thiruvananthapuram: Escalating the confrontation with the Union government, the Kerala government announced on Tuesday that it will screen all films denied censor exemption by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) at the ongoing International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared that the state would not wait for the Centre’s approval, stating that the restrictions were unacceptable and that the festival would proceed with the scheduled screenings.
The controversy involves a list of 19 films that were initially denied exemption or kept pending by the Ministry. While the I&B Ministry eventually cleared four of these titles on Tuesday—Beef, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, Eagles of the Republic, and Heart of the Wolf—several others remained in limbo. Following the Chief Minister’s directive, the Kerala Chalachitra Academy confirmed that all disputed movies will be screened starting Wednesday, although officials noted that some films might miss their original slots due to scheduling constraints.
In a strongly worded social media statement, Chief Minister Vijayan termed the Centre's move a "totalitarian approach of the Sangh Parivar regime" aimed at suppressing diverse voices and creative expressions. He asserted that an "enlightened Kerala" would not yield to such censorship. This defiant stance holds political significance for the ruling CPI(M), which has recently faced allegations of softening its opposition to the central leadership on various issues.
Meanwhile, sources within the I&B Ministry attributed the issue to procedural delays rather than ideological censorship. Officials stated that the festival organizers failed to submit the film list the requisite 15 days in advance, providing the details only on December 3 with incomplete documentation, such as missing synopses. The Ministry maintained that the approval process was ongoing and that 178 out of 187 submitted films had already been cleared for the 30th edition of the festival, which features 206 films from 82 countries.