IFFK Assignment - Experience

In one of the earlier blogs, I have mentioned about my first theatre experience and the impact it has made on my life. Me and my parents used to regularly go for outings. When I was ten years or so, Appa landed on a new job which put him on a busy schedule and hence there were rarely any family outings from then on. It also halted my visits to the theatre. While all my friends watched newly released films, I had to wait until they get telecasted on the television after one or two years. Usually by the time I get the chance to sit through the much hyped movies, they would have lost their steam. Many magnum opuses and landmark films also disappointed me because they required the big screen spectacle. 

So, since 10th grade I started going to the cinemas on my own without asking my parents, assuming they wouldn't let me if they knew. Crowded places are generally uncomfortable for me, but I just loved the crowd that gathers at the theatre. Especially the crazy lot who appears on the release day. I just couldn't get enough of the cheer and applause during major scenes, credits and title cards, no matter how often I experience them. Everything about the big screen was fascinating to me, even the darkness inside the hall. Films devoid of any entertainment quotient felt dejected, acquainting the importance of an engaging factor being present atleast in the treatment, if not the content.

IFFK always becomes the talk of the town when it happens every year. During the period of IFFK, new releases take a blow in Trivandrum city region since all the theatres except Aries plex are booked for the festival. So, I used to hate IFFK which kept me from watching the newly released for more than a week. There were also questions in me considering the viewing experience possible in such a festival venue. Can arthouse films be properly understood and enjoyed in packed houses? Are they not supposed to be closely observed and rewatched from our desks to gain complete understanding?

This time, I was also finally a part of the prestigious film festival of Kerala.The answers to the questions mentioned above were baffling. It was nothing like expected. Each film I watched was a marvel for some reason. Most of them were fast paced and extremely engaging, shattering my false notion about arthouse films being generally sluggish in narration. I didn’t understand a single thing while watching ‘Nocturne’, my first at the festival. But somehow it captured my interest and surprisingly never let it waver. This repeated for every film. When friends of similar taste and proven patience walked out in the middle of certain screenings, I chose to stay till the end. I just loved the exposure to a whole new spectrum of cinema which I could have left unexplored for even longer. 

I learned that reserving a seat on the previous day of the screening itself is ideal to watch the film of your choice. Otherwise, you have to arduously wait in the long queues outside the theatre, often only to find out that there are no seats left. The torture of the scorching sun is also unbearable. I found no trouble to stay up late to book the seats(the seats get filled within seconds after reservation opens at 12 midnight) and to show up for the screening at sharp time. I don’t remember being this committed ever in my life if it costs my sleep hours. It was depressing on the seventh day, to realise that you can’t reserve the seats anymore and everything will wrap up on the coming day. On the eighth and final day, the depression grew worse. I couldn’t accept the fact that the magic has short-lived and soon I had to get back to the old routine. Of all the films watched, ‘Bunuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles’ felt to be the best visual experience. If not for completing the IFFK assignment of IJT, I would not have made it to IFFK even this year. Hence, I am immensely grateful to IJT.