Thalassery International Film Festival to begin today

Thalassery: Thalassery sets the stage for a cinematic feast from today, as the charm of international films takes over the town here till the 19th.

Minister P Rajeeve will inaugurate the Thalassery International Film Fest (TIFF), organised by the State Chalachitra Academy, at the Liberty Theatre complex today at 6 PM. Speaker A N Shamseer will preside over the function.

Municipal Chairperson K M Jamuna Rani, Chalachitra Academy Chairman Premkumar, Director and Film Development Corporation Chairman K Madhu, actor and director Shankar Ramakrishnan, State Film Award-winning dubbing artist M Sneha, Chalachitra Academy Secretary Ajoy Chandran and producer Liberty Basheer will attend the inaugural ceremony, which will be held at Liberty Little Paradise. The function will be followed by the screening of All We Imagine Is Light, the Grand Prix winner at the Cannes Film Festival.

The festival will feature 55 films selected from the 177 screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala last December. There will be five daily screenings across all three theatres. Around 1,500 delegates are expected to participate in the festival, said Speaker A N Shamseer, Chalachitra Academy Chairman Premkumar, Secretary Ajoy Chandran, and Festival Deputy Director H Shaji.

Photo exhibition
A photo exhibition titled Kaalam: Mayachithrangal, as a tribute to the late M T Vasudevan Nair, will be held at a pavilion adjacent to the Liberty Theatre. The exhibition will showcase nearly 100 photographs related to MT’s cinematic journey. Film historian and photographer R Gopalakrishnan is the curator.

The exhibition will include images of MT with the crews of films such as Manju, Thaazhvaaram, Vaarikkuzhi, Perumthachan, Parinayam, Vilkkanundu Swapnangal, and Vaishali, along with stills from his iconic works like Iruttinte Aathmaavu, Nagarame Nanni, Asuravithu, Kadavu, Panchagni, Aaranyakam, Utharam, Thrishna and Vithukal.

Open forum on 17th and 18th
An open forum will be held on the 17th and 18th at the pavilion near the Liberty Theatre. Musical concerts by Ragavalli Band and Madras Mail Band will be staged at Thalassery Jawahar Ghat on the 17th at 6.30 PM and 18th respectively.