Home

Meet the Director

Cinema without Frontiers: Voices from three Continents at IFFK

For Iranian filmmaker Pourya Kakavand, the screening of The Daughter at the IFFK was more than a routine festival appearance- it marked the fulfilment of a long-deferred personal ambition. “My long-cherished wish to watch my film with a vibrant audience has finally come true in Kerala, thanks to IFFK,” Kakavand said during the Meet the Director session on the sixth day of the festival’s 30th edition.

The session, moderated by filmmaker Meera Sahib, brought together Kakavand, Malayalam director Sanju Surendran and Argentine screenwriter-director Louis Zorraquin for a wide-ranging conversation on filmmaking across geographies marked by differing social and political pressures.

Although The Daughter premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Kakavand was unable to attend the screening owing to the continuing conflict in Iran. Kerala, he said, offered his first opportunity to experience the film alongside an audience. Describing the work as a psychological inquiry into imagined parenthood, Kakavand also spoke candidly about the constraints faced by Iranian filmmakers, who, he noted, are compelled to work under constant surveillance and censorship.

Sanju Surendran, whose Kidki Gaav is competing in the International Competition section, reflected on the film’s setting in a low-income Delhi neighbourhood and its attempt to capture the aspirations and anxieties of young people growing up on the margins of the city. He pointed out that the film received crucial post-production support from the Busan International Film Festival.

Argentine filmmaker Louis Zorraquin spoke about his coming-of-age thriller Kissing Bug, which has been screened at multiple international festivals. IFFK, he said, stood apart because of Kerala’s deeply entrenched film culture and its engaged audiences. Zorraquin also expressed concern over recent cuts to public funding in Argentina, noting that state-backed film institutes traditionally cover nearly 30 per cent of a production’s budget.

Meera Sahib observed that Argentine cinema has had a sustained presence at IFFK since 1999, underlining the festival’s long-standing commitment to global independent cinema. Veteran filmmaker Balu Kiriyath was also present at the session.