20th International Film Festival of Kerala, Trivandrum

Spanning seven days, during which 183 films were shown to 15,000 delegates, the 20th International Film Festival of Kerala once again proved that it has one of the most faithful and enthusiastic audiences of the world’s festivals. Led by Shaji Karun, the renowned local filmmaker, and Rajeev Nath, the Festival included a fully international competition section, a line of new Malayalam films, a non-competitive World Cinema programme and a country focus category which included films from Korea, Myanmar, Lithuania and classics from the Indian cinema. Julio Bressane, the Brazilian director, headed the main jury which saw an opening  night graced by a recital by one of India’s foremost classical musicians. Dariush Mehrjui, the Iranian director, was the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. (Derek Malcolm)

International Film Festival of Kerala, Trivandrum: www.iffk.in