The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy has refuted allegations raised by a filmmaker that the selection for the Malayalam cinema category for the 28th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) was carried out without watching all the submitted films.
In an official statement, the Academy said that all the films submitted for the Malayalam Cinema Today category were screened for the selection committee. All the entries submitted as online screeners or as Google Drive links were downloaded and screened to prevent buffering issues while streaming from online platforms.
According to the Academy, as the films were screened after downloading, the fact that it was watched will not be reflected in the online screener analytics accessible to the filmmaker. The Academy has invited the filmmaker to scrutinise the digital proofs regarding the screening of the submitted films as well as the register signed by the selection committee members, with details of the movies screened.
The allegations were raised by filmmaker Shiju Balagopalan, who had submitted his film ‘Eraan’ (The Man Who Always Obeys) for the competition.