Kamal hassan inaugurated the 12th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) at the Nishagandhi auditorium on December 7th at Thiruvananthapuram by lighting the lamp in the presence of the chief guest, Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littin, state Cultural Affairs Minister M. A. Baby and Malayalam actor Mohanlal. About 230 films from 54 countries are to be screened at the film festival.
The festival would open with “Buddha collapsed out of shame”, directed by Hanna Makmalbaf, younger daughter of renowned Iranian director Mohsen Makmalbaf and set in Afghanistan.
The jury is headed by Iranian filmmaker Jafer Fanahi and includes African actor and director Naky Sy Savene, Polish scenarist Agnieska Holland, Indian actor and producer Naseerudeen Shah, and Cuban Film Academy director Rigoberto Lopez. The best film will get the Golden Pheasant Award with a purse of 10 lakh rupees and the second best film the Silver Pheasant carrying a purse of three lakh rupees.
