EntertainmentPosted at: Dec 16 2025 10:16PM


IFFK Open Forum mounts strong protest against film censorship

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 16 (UNI) An Open Forum held today at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) turned into a strong collective protest against film censorship, as filmmakers and cultural figures voiced serious concerns over restrictions imposed on artistic freedom.
Held under the theme “Freedom of Film Festivals”, the forum sharply criticised the decision of the Central Board of Film Certification to deny screening permission to 19 films selected for the festival.
Filmmaker T.V. Chandran said fear should have no place in thinking or dreaming. “Cinema is a medium of free expression. Stopping the screening of a classic like Battleship Potemkin is equivalent to silencing cinema itself,” he said.
While noting that assurances from the Chief Minister and the Minister for Cultural Affairs offered some relief, Chandran cautioned that continued resistance was essential to prevent future attempts to weaken IFFK.
Director and former Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Chairman Kamal said IFFK has, since its inception, consciously positioned itself as a platform for the voices of the marginalised.
He highlighted the festival’s long-standing focus on Afro-Asian and Latin American cinema, and criticised the denial of permission to a film merely because it contains the word “beef” in its title. Kamal also expressed dismay at attempts to block even academically prescribed films like Battleship Potemkin.
Filmmaker T.K. Rajeev Kumar criticised the requirement to send synopses of films—already cleared by regional censor boards in Kerala—to Mumbai for additional approval. Premendra Majumdar alleged that permissions are often deliberately delayed.
Director Manoj Kana said many filmmakers hesitate to openly challenge such threats to creative freedom due to fear of financial loss.
Actor Alencier said he had symbolically arrived with a coffin to bury the Preamble of the Constitution, but instead thanked the Kerala government for refusing to allow such an erosion of constitutional values by granting screening permission.
Actor Santhosh Keezhattoor reaffirmed that cinema has always stood for the creator’s freedom.
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