The Kerala government has openly defied India’s central government by directing organisers to screen all films at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), despite New Delhi denying clearance to 19 selected titles.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared the censorship “unacceptable” and accused the BJP-led central government of suppressing creative expression. “Enlightened Kerala will not give in to such censorship,” Vijayan wrote on Facebook. “All films that have been denied permission to be screened will be shown at the festival.”
The decision escalates a standoff that has disrupted the prestigious festival in Thiruvananthapuram, which runs from 12 to 19 December. The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting refused to grant mandatory censor exemptions to the films, forcing multiple screening cancellations and sparking protests from attendees.
Among the denied titles are several Palestinian films, including Palestine 36, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, All That’s Left of You and Wajib. The list also includes Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 Soviet classic Battleship Potemkin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of cinema history.
Absurd Ban on ‘Beef’
The controversy intensified over the blocking of a Spanish film titled Beef, despite the movie having nothing to do with the consumption of beef—a politically sensitive topic in India where the meat is forbidden for practising Hindus in several states.
The film, originally titled Ruido, follows Lati, a young woman from Barcelona who turns to freestyle rap to confront grief, prejudice and gender barriers after her father’s death.
MA Baby, former minister and CPI(M) general secretary, called the ban “absurd and lunatic,” saying: “A film titled ‘Beef’ has also been denied permission, ostensibly because of its name, even though it has nothing to do with food choices.”
Inconsistent Decision-Making
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who represents Thiruvananthapuram, described the denials as exposing “glaring inconsistencies” in India’s censorship regime. He noted that Wajib won the Golden Crow Pheasant award at IFFK in 2017, making its denial at the same festival eight years later “arbitrary and inconsistent.”
Tharoor also pointed out that Battleship Potemkin, now approaching its centenary, has been screened for decades at Indian film institutes. “To deny clearance to a classic like ‘Battleship Potemkin’ suggests cinematic illiteracy,” he wrote.
Other denied films include two works by Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako—Timbuktu and Bamako—despite the director being honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s festival. Timbuktu was previously screened at the government-organised International Film Festival of India in Goa in 2014.
Political Tensions
Kerala Culture Minister Saji Cherian called the denials “an unnecessary intrusion into Kerala’s cultural sphere” and warned against “anti-democratic positions directed at artistic expression.”
Resul Pookutty, Oscar-winning chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, which organises the festival, announced the “unprecedented decision” to screen all curated films regardless of clearance status. “We have to defend the freedom of expression—a constitutional right guaranteed to all artists and citizens,” he said.
The controversy has also affected Santosh, the UK’s India-set submission for the Academy Awards. The film, directed by Sandhya Suri who is serving on the IFFK international jury, has been denied certification for Indian theatrical release despite international acclaim including screenings at Cannes.
Veteran filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan condemned the decision, calling the blocked titles “very important movies in the history of cinema” and attributing the bans to “ignorance.”
Festival organisers said this is the first time such a large number of films have been refused permission simultaneously, creating significant disruption for attendees who had travelled from across India and internationally to view the screenings.
As of Tuesday, five films—Beef, Eagles of The Republic, Heart of The Wolf, Yes and Once Upon A Time In Gaza—received clearance after intervention, leaving 14 titles still awaiting approval from the Ministry of External Affairs.
