National award-winning filmmaker Dr Biju has decided to boycott the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) due to his films being continuously ignored by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. This decision comes after his film ‘Veetilekulla Vazhi’ was selected for the competition category but was later withdrawn, and his latest film ‘Adrishya Jalakangal’ was not selected for the ‘Malayalam Cinema Today’ category. Dr Biju expressed his disappointment and stated that he will no longer submit his films to the IFFK or participate in other events organized by the Chalachitra Academy.

Heading: Filmmaker Dr Biju Boycotts International Film Festival of Kerala Over Continuous Ignorance of His Films

National award-winning filmmaker Dr Biju has announced that he will no longer submit his films to the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) due to what he perceives as continuous ignorance of his work by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. Dr Biju, who has three national awards to his name, expressed his frustration after his film ‘Veetilekulla Vazhi’ was selected for the competition category but later withdrawn, and his latest film ‘Adrishya Jalakangal’ was not chosen for the ‘Malayalam Cinema Today’ category. He stated that his films will no longer compete for state awards and will only be submitted for other accolades.

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Dr Biju, who made his debut as a writer and director with the film ‘Saira’ in 2005, has decided to boycott the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) and other events organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. This decision comes after his films were continuously disregarded by the Academy, despite his national recognition and awards.

The filmmaker expressed his disappointment over his film ‘Veetilekulla Vazhi’ being selected for the competition category of the IFFK but later withdrawn. He also highlighted that his latest film ‘Adrishya Jalakangal’, starring Tovino Thomas and Nimisha Sajayan, was not chosen for the ‘Malayalam Cinema Today’ category. Dr Biju believes that his films are being consistently ignored in the Malayalam Cinema category at the IFFK, but are selected for the ‘Kaleidoscope’ category in international film festivals.

“I won’t give my films to any of the IFFK categories, including Kaleidoscope, from this year onwards. The decision is painful since it’s through the IFFK that I watched world movies and grew as a filmmaker. I’m also not interested in screening my films at other events of the Chalachitra Academy,” Dr Biju expressed.

He further added that he had informed the Chalachitra Academy Secretary not to screen ‘Veetilekulla Vazhi’ in the ‘Classic’ category section of the film festival. Additionally, he stated that he will only apply for state film awards with the declaration not to consider him for individual awards like Best Director and Best Screenplay. However, he will still submit his films for awards to provide opportunities for the technical workers associated with the films.

Dr Biju emphasized that he had made this difficult decision to safeguard his self-respect and to bring attention to the continuous ignorance of his films by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.

Conclusion:

National award-winning filmmaker Dr Biju has decided to boycott the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) due to his films being consistently disregarded by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. He expressed his disappointment and stated that his films will no longer compete for state awards but will be submitted for other accolades. Dr Biju’s decision aims to bring attention to the continuous ignorance of his films and to safeguard his self-respect as a filmmaker.