Portrayal of diverse phases and faces of migrants at the 21st IFFK

The 21^st International Film festival of Kerala brings to limelight the harsh realities of migration and displacement. Most of the films incorporated in various categories share the themes of endless struggle of human displacement and migration. In addition to this, there is an exclusive package which shows the various phases of human life with distinct focus on their struggle for survival and existence. This package exhibits eight films curated by famous festival programmer and critic Paolo Bertolin.

The movies to be screened under this category include ‘ In the Last Days of the City’ by Tamer El Said , ‘Fire at Sea’ by  Gianfranco Rosi, ‘ID’ by K.M Kamal, ‘Mediterranea’ by Jonas Carpignano, ‘Mercenaire’ by Sacha Wolff,’ Soy Nero’ by Rafi Pitts, ‘The Road to Mandalay’ by Midi Z  and ‘Sin Nombre’ by Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Egyptian director Tamer El Said’s debut fiction film ‘In the Last Days of the City’ bagged the Caligiri Fim award and the Award for Best Direction in Berlin International Film Festival, 2016.

Gianfranco Rosi’s ‘Fire at Sea’ capturing the Sicilian island of Lebodusa in the background of European refugee crisis, won the Golden Bear Award in the 66^th Berlin International Film Festival and also shortlisted for the best foreign language film category of the 89^th Academy award.

Kamal’s ‘I.D’ with the tagline “Everyone comes from somewhere”, which narrates the identity crisis encountered by the migrant labourers is the only Indian movie to be shown under this category.

‘Mediterranea’,directed by Carpignano in 2015 unravels the plight of African migrants of Italy.

This package reflects the hardships, misfortunes and brutalities faced by the migrants. Most of these movies are based on real life incidents .The package will be an attempt to express solidarity to the migrants from multiple nationalities with various forms of displacement.