Bringing quality cinema to your own screen

The latest of FFSI’s online festivals features films by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

The film that revolutionised Malayalam cinema is turning 50 this year. Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Swayamvaram has lost little of its freshness or relevance five decades after it was released and swept the National Film awards.

It is one of the films lined up for the online festival, organised by the Kerala chapter of the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) to celebrate the master director’s half century in cinema. The festival goes on until June 28 and you could watch some of Adoor’s films, including Swayamvaram, free of cost.

You could watch the classics such as Elipathayam, Kodiyettam, Anantharam, Vidheyan and Mathilukal in excellent quality, according to P. Premachandran, who is coordinating the festival for the FFSI.

“Adoor has given us the blue-ray copies of his films, which we have converted to digital files for streaming,” says Premachandran. “We always try to get the best available prints of the films we screen, but our job becomes easier if we get them from the directors themselves.”

Besides Adoor’s films, two documentaries, directed by prominent Kannada filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli and Vipin Vijay, are also being screened. The films will be available for viewing at ffsikeralam.online anytime during the festival and for a few days after. Each film will be introduced by a critic.

Over the last couple of years the federation has conducted several festivals. “We had begun with an Indian panorama during the COVID-induced lockdown,” says Premachandran. “Then we also had a festival of international films. There have also been festivals dedicated to Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak. We also have included Malayalam subtitles for the films.”

The feedback has been tremendous to the festivals, he says. “We have had viewers for the festivals from some 30 countries,” he says. “Our objective has been to bring to our viewers quality cinema. Though it began as an initiative during the lockdown, we thought that we could continue it even after the theatres opened.”