18th IDSFFK Opens Amid Censor Exemption Standoff Over 31 Films

The 18th edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) has opened with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over its screening schedule, as 31 films remain without the censor exemption sought from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).

The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, which organises the festival, is working to resolve the impasse. The Minister for Cultural Affairs said the Academy is making every possible effort, including pursuing legal measures, to secure the permissions needed to screen the affected titles.

With the exemption still pending, the status of those 31 films at the festival remains unclear. The Academy's push for a resolution now rests on both administrative follow-up and the legal route, even as the event gets underway.

The standoff has cast a shadow over the opening of the festival, which brings together documentary and short film selections from India and abroad. How quickly the exemption question is settled will determine whether the withheld titles make it to the screen during the current edition.