Former documentary festival jurors seek screenings of five withheld films

Former jury members of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Keralam have urged the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy to let competition juries watch five films that have not been publicly screened. The films were selected for the competition section of the ongoing 18th festival, but the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting denied them censor exemption. The festival administration has decided not to send the films to the juries.

In a letter to the academy chairperson, former jury members argued that the ministry’s decision applied to public screenings and should not prevent private, closed-door screenings for the juries. The signatories included IDSFFK Lifetime Achievement Award winner and former jury chairperson Rakesh Sharma; 2024 jury members Pankaj Rishikumar and Jabeen Merchant; and 2025 jury chairperson Ranajit Ray and jury members Rintu Thomas and Faiza Khan. They called on the academy to immediately provide the five films to the respective competition juries.

The letter said there was no legal bar, ministry ban or advisory preventing a non-public jury screening. The former jurors also warned that several filmmakers whose works are in competition were planning to boycott the awards ceremony at the festival’s closing event on Wednesday evening. They said such a boycott would further damage the festival’s reputation.

The material provided does not include a response from the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy or the Union ministry, nor does it explain why censor exemption was denied for the five films.