Kerala State Chalachithra Academy Vice Chairperson Cuckoo Parameswaran on Thursday referred to the actress assault case and the tense debate over the verdict as something that happened between two individuals whose profession is cinema. Apparently setting apart the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) and the horrific crime that rattled and revolutionised the gender politics in Malayalam cinema, she said it has no bearing on the festival.

Cuckoo Parameswaran spoke to Onmanorama on the sidelines of the IFFK, which begins in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Her statement breaks the ethos, IFFK has upheld for years. The court is scheduled to declare the quantum of punishment for the convicts in the case on Friday.

In the past, IFFK has brought to fore films and personalities caught in the middle of identity politics, geo-political conflicts and global humanitarian crises.

In one of the recent editions, the survivor of a gruesome sexual assault was ushered to the venue as the surprise chief guest of the inaugural ceremony of the IFFK. She was given a rousing reception in a strong display of solidarity. Cuckoo Parameswaran's comments seemed to cast a shadow over the unanimous move of the previous executive committee and that of the state government to turn IFFK venue into a platform to express support for the survivor.

When asked if the tension in Malayalam cinema following the verdict in the case will have an impact at the IFFK, she wondered why the case and verdict should affect the festival. To make herself clear, she even drew an analogy.

“If it happens between two doctors, do hospitals shut down?” she asked. Cuckoo added that the crime had been committed by six convicted individuals and that their arrest and conviction should bring “relief” to the industry. “IFFK is not affected by this. IFFK understands the situation. If such an injustice happens here, we will act very strongly,” she said.

Her comments have raised concerns about the festival leadership’s stand at a sensitive moment. A former Academy official told Onmanorama that the government’s stand had always been firmly with the survivor, asserting the rationale behind welcoming the survivor to the venue. Onmanorama reached out to the Culture Minister Saji Cherian for a response but did not receive a comment.

A member of the committee, who did not want to be named, expressed shock over Cuckoo Parameswaran's comments. "IFFK cannot be separated from such cases, especially when it has shocked the conscience of the industry," he said.

With its incessant celebration of political spirit, IFFK has always held cinema inseparable from politics and issues of serious implications. IFFK's focus on Third World cinema is in itself a political declaration of Kerala's solidarity with the underprivileged and the oppressed of the world. Parameshwaran seemed shockingly oblivious of this fundamental motivation that impels IFFK. 
When Onmanorama asked about the opening film 'Palestine 36',  Parameshwaran sounded eager to separate the movie from the political context that made the work so significant for IFFK. "Why do you want to see politics in everything. Why can't films be seen as just films," she said. 

Iranian filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi, once sent locks of her hair to Kerala, which were displayed at the IFFK's inaugural venue as mark of her protest to the stringent hijab laws in Iran which led many women to burn hijabs and cut their hair in solidarity with the protesters. When IFFK introduced the Spirit of Cinema award, Lisa Calan, a Kurdish filmmaker, who lost both her legs in an ISIS bombing was honored at the inaugural function. Once the programming team of the IFFK had to communicate with an intermediary while sourcing a Myanmar film for the festival after the producer and the director of the film were forced into hiding following a military coup in Myanmar.