Competition: Two more films out

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two more films, ‘Adaminte Makan Abu’ and the Philippine film ‘Palawan Fate’, have been removed from the competition section of the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). According to the festival rules, any film screened in the competition section of any of the international film festivals held in India cannot be considered for the IFFK competition section, said Chalachitra Academy chairman Priyadarshan in a press conference here on Sunday.  Both the films participated in the International Film Festival of India held in Goa and ‘Adaminte Makan Abu’ bagged the ‘Rajatha Chakoram’ there. The film will be included in the Malayalam Cinema section with the permission of the director or producer, said Priyadarshan. ‘Palawan Fate’ directed by Auraeus Solito will be included in the world cinema section.‘Adimadhyantham’, the other Malayalam film which created much controversy after its inclusion in the competition section, was taken out of the section earlier. Sajitha Madathil, deputy director of IFFK, is one of the lead actors in the film and it was alleged that the an incomplete version of the film was submitted before the selection committee.Later, it was declared by the Minister for Forests and Cinema that the film was not eligible to be considered in the competition section. The producers of the film have moved the High Court against the decision to exclude the film.“The major reason for rejecting ‘Adimadhyantham’ was the false declaration. We have no issues with the quality or creative potential of the film. I don’t want to comment more as the case is before the court,” Priyadarshan said. With the exclusion of three films out of the total 14 films, this time there will be no Malayalam entry in the competition section. “According to the festival rule book, ‘Adaminte Makan Abu’ cannot be included. We were not officially informed that the film was being screened at the competition section of the IFFI. It’s from the media that we came to know about it and since we have the proof now, the film has been removed from the IFFK competition section.  I had to face the same situation when ‘Kanjeevaram’ was screened,” said Priyadarshan about the late removal.He said that it’s really unfortunate that the chance for three other films is now lost. “We will have to renew the rules after the festival,” he added.