International Film Festival of Kerala Award

The International Film Festival of Kerala also recognized as IFFK is a festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival first started in 1996 and was hosted by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The Festival recognized as one of the premier cultural events in India, takes place annually in either November or December.

Welcome, guys in this blog of National Film Awards 2024 you all may learn about Awarsd, Winners, and More. Each Year Several National and International films premiered at the IFFK. The competition section is limited to 14 selected films produced in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The festival includes a section dedicated to Malayalam cinema.

Similarly to the IFFK, the Chalachitra Academy also organizes the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of India. The Academy also hosted a regional film festival in 2022, the Regional International Film Festival of Kerala which took place in Kochi.

History of International Film Festival of Kerala Award

• 1988: The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Thiruvananthapuram by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Govt of India.
• Impact: Inspired the creation of several film societies in the state.
• Activities:
  • Screening of classic films from around the world.
  • Conducting group discussions on cinema.
  • Circulating pamphlets on renowned filmmakers.
• Film Societies: Obtained films from archives and embassies as part of culture-exchange programs.
• Result: Raised film literacy and led to the need for an international film festival similar to IFFI.
• 1996: First International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) held in Kozhikode, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of cinema, showcasing 100 films.
• Management: Initially managed by Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) until 1998. 1998: Kerala State Chalachitra Academy was formed, taking over the responsibility of conducting IFFK.
• 1999: FIAPF accreditation granted; competition section added, limited to films from Asia, Africa, or Latin America.
• Recognitions: Festival recognized by FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) and Netpac (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema).

Highlights of the Festival

• Contemporary World Cinema, New Malayalam Cinema Retrospectives of Major Filmmakers, Homages and Tributes, Contemporary Indian Cinema, Short Films and Documentaries are screened during the festival.
• A Film Market and seminars on important cinema issues are also scheduled during the IFFK.
• The Festival is held permanently at various cinema halls in Thiruvananthapuram.
• The festival is well-known for its public support.
• Unique screenings have been held in various places like Poojappura Central Jail, a juvenile home, and Sri Chitra Poor Home.

Festival Awards

The Golden Crow Pheasant Award: (Suvarna Chakoram) includes a cash prize of Rs. 1,000,000/- (about US$20,000) for the best feature film, to be shared equally by the director and the producer.

The Silver Crow Pheasant Award: (Rajath Chakoram) includes a cash prize of Rs. 300,000/- (about US$6,000) to the best director.

The Silver Crow Pheasant Award: (Rajath Chakoram) includes a cash prize of Rs. 200,000/- (about US$4,000) to the best debut director.

Audience Prize: (Rajath Chakoram) and a cash prize of Rs. 100,000 (about US$2,000) to the director of the most popular film, voted by the festival delegates.

FIPRESCI Award: The Award is given to the best film chosen by the Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique.

Netpac Award: The Awards is given to the best film in the competition section of Asia, Chosen by the Network for the promotion of Asian Cinema.

In 2007, two additional awards were introduced by the FIPRESCI and Netpac which are awarded separately to the best Malayalam films at the festival.

Golden Crow Pheasant for Best Film – Winners

Here is the list of winners of Golden Crow Pheasant for Best Film:-

Year	Film	English Title	Director	Country
1999	Hai shang hua	Flowers of Shanghai	Hou Hsiao-hsien	Taiwan
2000	Mayonnaise		Yoon In-ho	South Korea
2001	Ali Zaoua		Nabil Ayouch	Morocco
2002	Anyangde guer	The Orphan of Anyang	Wang Chao	China
2003	Abouna	Our Father	Mahamat Saleh Haroun	Chad
2004	Días de Santiago	Days of Santiago	Josué Méndez	Peru
2005	Sheng si jie	Stolen Life	Shaohong Li	China
2006	Melegin Düsüsü	Angel’s Fall	Semih Kaplanoğlu	Turkey
2006	Nirontor	Forever Flows	Abu Sayeed	Bangladesh
2007	XXY		Lucía Puenzo	Argentina
2007	10 + 4		Mania Akbari	Iran
2008	Parque via		Enrique Rivero	Mexico
2009	Darbareye Elly	About Elly	Asghar Farhadi	Iran
2009	Jermal	Fishing Platform	Ravi Bharwani	Indonesia
2010	Retratos en un mar de mentiras	Portraits in a Sea of Lies	Carlos Gaviria	Colombia
2011	Los colores de la montaña	The Colours of the Mountain	Carlos Cesar Arbelaez	Colombia
2012	Sta. Niña		Emmanuel Quindo Palo	Philippines
2013	Parviz		Majid Barzegar	Iran
2014	Refugiado		Diego Lerman	Argentina
2015	Ottaal	The Trap	Jayaraj	India
2016	Eshtebak	Clash	Mohamed Diab	Egypt
2017	Wajib	Wajib	Annemarie Jacir	Palestine
2018	Otagh-e-Tarik	The Dark Room	Rouhollah Hejazi	Iran
2019	Aru Sendo No Hanashi	They Say Nothing Stays the Same	Jō Odagiri	Japan
2020	This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection		Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese	Lesotho
2021	Clara Sola		Nathalie Álvarez Mesén	Costa Rica
2022	Utama		Alejandro Loayza Grisi	Bolivia
2023	Aku wa Sonzai Shinai	Evil Does Not Exist	Ryusuke Hamaguchi	Japan

Conclusion

The International Film Festival of Kerala Award celebrates outstanding cinematic achievements, fostering cultural exchange and recognizing excellence in filmmaking, making it a prestigious event in the global film community.