Pookutty said that it was also shocking that a restored version of Sergei Eisenstein’s 100-year-old classic ‘Battleship Potemkin’ — taught in film schools all over the world — was denied clearance.
He said that IFFK followed up with the ministries of Information and Broadcasting and External Affairs and as of now, four more films — ‘Beef’, ‘Eagles of The Republic’, ‘Heart of The Wolf’ and ‘Once Upon A Time In Gaza’ — were granted clearance and 15 are awaiting MEA nod.
‘Beef’ follows Lati, a young woman from the outskirts of Barcelona, who turns to freestyle rap to confront grief, prejudice, and gender barriers after her father’s death, sources said.
‘Battleship Potemkin’ is one of cinema’s most influential works, dramatising the 1905 mutiny aboard the battleship Potemkin, where sailors rebelled against brutal officers and provision of maggot-infested food, turning their struggle into a symbol of collective resistance.
Denial of clearance to Sergei Eisenstein’s film was termed as “laughable” by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a post on ‘X’.
Tharoor also termed as “cinematic illiteracy” and “bureaucratic over-cautiousness” the denial of clearance to the other films.
He said that he has urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to grant approval for screening of the films.
“The list of 19 films suggests an extraordinary degree of cinematic illiteracy on the part of the bureaucracy. To deny clearance to a classic like ‘Battleship Potemkin’, a 1928 film on the Russian Revolution which has been viewed by literally hundreds of millions around the world (and in India) over the last century, is laughable.
“Denying permission to some Palestinian films reflects bureaucratic over-cautiousness rather than the cultural breadth of vision that should be involved when it comes to world cinema,” Tharoor said in his post.
State Culture Affairs Minister Saji Cherian also criticised the Centre’s decision and expressed his strong protest against the same.
Speaking to reporters here, he said it would adversely affect the state’s cinema tourism initiative as well as the future of the IFFK, for which thousands turn up from various parts of India and the world.
The 30th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) is being held from December 12 to 19.
(With inputs from PTI)