18th IDSFFK Opens in Thiruvananthapuram with Afghan Artist's Documentary

The 18th edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) will begin in the state capital on Friday, September 25, 2026, with the screening of A Fox Under a Pink Moon.

The opening documentary centres on Soraya, a 16-year-old Afghan artist who has spent five years attempting to reach Austria from Iran. During that period, she turned the camera on herself, recording perilous escape attempts, an abusive marriage, and the drawings and sculptures through which she gives form to her experiences.

The film is directed and produced by Mehrdad Oskouei and co-directed by Soraya. Her self-shot footage documents the conditions faced by undocumented refugees and the gender-based hardships that shape their lives, while her art emerges as both a means of coping and a form of resistance.

Cultural Affairs Minister P.C. Vishnunadh will inaugurate the festival at the Kairali theatre at 6 p.m. Transport Minister C.P. John will preside over the ceremony.

Screenings on the opening day will be drawn from the festival's International Fiction and International Non-Fiction sections. The International Fiction segment comprises 14 titles, among them the Chinese film Kleptomania, Zhenia Kazankina's City of Owls, and Luukas Osara's Youssef. Eight films will be shown in the International Non-Fiction section, including Robots, The Eyes of Ghana, and Orwell 2+2=5.