Published Sep 29, 2026 | 3:34 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 29, 2026 | 3:36 PM
The 18th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), is being held in Thiruvananthapuram from 25 to 30 September.
Synopsis: Eight films selected for the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) are still awaiting censor exemption from the Union government, with the State government protesting the delay. The Kerala High Court on Monday denied permission to provisionally screen seven of the films.
Keralam Cultural Affairs and Cinema Minister PC Vishnunath on Tuesday, 29 September, said eight films selected for the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) were still awaiting censor exemption from the Union government, and that the State government was registering its protest over the delay.
The festival began on 25 September and is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday.
The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has neither rejected the films nor granted them exemption, Vishnunath said. A request to at least allow the jury to view the films was also not accepted by the court.
“Efforts to secure clearance are continuing. If permission is granted today, the Film Academy is ready to screen the films before the festival concludes,” he added.
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Of the nearly 1,800 films submitted to the festival, 347 selected films were sent for exemption from censorship certification. Initially, 31 films did not receive clearance.
Following interventions with the Centre and legal proceedings, 24 of them subsequently received permission. Eight films, however, remain without clearance.
The High Court on Monday denied permission to provisionally screen seven of the films at the IDSFFK. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas passed the order while considering a petition filed by the Kerala State Chalachithra Academy.
Vishnunath said the Additional Solicitor General, who appeared for the Union Ministry before the Kerala High Court, had not taken a favourable stand on the issue.
He said this was not the first instance of films being denied screening permission. Seven films had also been denied clearance during the previous International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
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Vishnunath also announced plans for a ‘Festival of Keralam’, bringing together institutions under the Cultural Affairs Department to showcase Kerala’s art, culture and history nationally and internationally.
Preparatory work for the event will be completed in connection with Keralapiravi, he said. The proposed festival will be held in cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru, as well as in select foreign countries.
The Minister said academies and institutions under the Cultural Affairs Department would be encouraged to work in an integrated manner. The objective, he said, was not merely to sustain institutions for individuals but to ensure that they fulfil the purposes for which they were established.
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
