IFFK: Action starts today

IFFK: Action starts today

The wait with bated breath is finally over! As the festival starts rolling today, the city of Ananthapadmanabhan is all set to welcome the ten thousand delegates who will throng the streets of the city for the next eight days. Organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of the department of cultural affairs, government of Kerala, the week-long fiesta is a celebration of sorts for movie buffs and will screen around 200 films from various countries.

  The Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandi will inaugurate the festival at Nishagandhi auditorium, Kanakakkunnu at 6 in the evening. Minister of forest, wildlife, sports and cinema K.B. Ganesh Kumar will preside over the function and the renowned Bollywood actress Jaya Bachan will be the chief guest. The inaugural function will be followed by ‘Destiny’s Dice’, a twenty three minute long cultural performance. The show is conceived and directed by eminent film maker T K Rajeev Kumar.

  The Chinese film ‘Under The Hawthorn Tree’, directed by Zhang Yimou will be this years’s opening film. This is the debut screening of the film in India.

  The films screened at the festival have been put under 14 categories. Arab cinema, Best of FIPRESCI, DEFA Films, Homage films, Indian cinema now, Jury films, Kaidan horror classics, kicking and screening, Malayalam cinema today, Philippine cinema, retrospectives, Contemporary master in focus: Semih Kaplanoglu, World cinema and competition films are the divisions.

  The international jury, headed by Australian filmmaker Bruce Beresford includes Philippine director Jeffrey Jeturian, Turkish filmmaker Semih Kaplanoglu, French director Laurence Gavron and Indian filmmaker Rahul Boss.

In the retrospective section, films of eminent directors Adolfas Mekas, Nagisa Oshima, Robert Bresson, Theodoros Angelopoulos, Yasuzo Masumura, Djibril Diop Mambety, and veteran Malayalam actor Madhu will be screened.

   The competition section this year consists of 14 films from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

This is the 16th edition of the IFFK which was initiated in Kozhikode in 1996. Hundred films were screened at that festival. This year features almost double the number.

Chinese love story to set the ball rolling

Chinese love story to set the ball rolling

ANNU MATHEW

Zhang Yimonu’s ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’ is to set the ball rolling at this year’s International Film Festival of  Kerala. The 114-minute long inaugural film will be screened at the Nishagandhi auditorium today.

A scene from ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’

  Set in the background of the cultural revolution of China in the 60s and 70s, Under the Hawthorn Tree is a romantic drama that portrays the theme of love and innocence in a world that runs after material desires. Adapted from the popular 2007 novel Hawthorn Tree Forever by Ai Mi which was in turn based on a true story, the movie showcases a marvelous performance by  the female lead Zhou Dongyu.

  In a small village in Yichang City, China, love blossoms between a beautiful high school student Zhang and the young handsome Lao San during the continuous education programme near the end of the cultural revolution.

  On her arrival with a group in Xiping village, Jingqiu, the daughter of a political prisoner is lodged with the family of the village head. She sees a hawthorn tree called the Tree of Heroes which was said to be fed by the blood of Chinese martyrs executed by the Japanese during World War II. At the house where she stays, Jingqiu meets geology student Sun Jianxin a.k.a. Lao San who is the son of a high ranking military officer. Before long, she is drawn to his mature and respectable nature.

  The two come from different economic backgrounds and pretty soon Jingqiu faces the inevitable task of having to choose between her love for Lao San and her duty to her family.

  What makes the movie stand out is its depiction of love in all its purity. The whole film radiates innocence. According to Zhang Yimou, a fifth generation film maker of China, Under the Hawthorn Tree will help people to seek the true meaning of love. The film is indeed an eye-opener as to the real sacrificial nature of love to which the tree stands testimony.

  The film which was premiered in the 15^th Pusan International Film Festival on October 7, 2010 soon gained much popularity in China and Lao San, gained the nickname “qingsheng” meaning  “prince of lovers”. It was also screened in major  international festivals like the Venice Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival and the movie won several awards and recognition.

  Zhou Dongyu as Jing Qiu and Shawn Dou as Lao San (Jianxin) give memorable performances. This touching tale of unfulfilled love is sure to leave the audiences with a pang in their hearts.

  The Chinese director Zhang Yimou is noted for his films like Red Sorghum(1987), Raise the Red Lantern(1991) and Curse of the Golden Flower(2006).