The city is witness to a celebration of courageous journalism with screening of films as part of Behind the Lines, Between the Lines International Film Festival (BTLIFF), presented by the Aseema trust and the US Consulate, Chennai, getting under way on Friday.
The festival, which honours journalists, activists, and filmmakers who work outside their comfort zones and focuses on the challenges faced by them, is being co-hosted by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club.
It was inaugurated jointly by filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Minister for Cinema Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Shashi Tharoor, MP, and veteran journalist B.R.P. Bhaskar on Thursday.
Among the highlights on the first day of screening was Blood and Iron , produced and directed by ace journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurtha on illegal iron ore mining in Bellary in Karnataka.
The festival, which continues till Sunday, has been conceived and organised as a tribute to American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and beheaded in 2002 by Al Qaeda terrorists. The signature film of the festival, A Mighty Heart , deals with his family’s search for him.
The festival also pays tributes to Kannada actor and director Shankar Nag through the film Accident.Khwab Chunne Ki Khwaish, Crucible of War, And She Flies, D 24, and Looking for Siraya were also screened on the opening day.
Among the films to be screened in the coming days will be Om Obama , a film by Janaki Vishvanathan on the transformation of a village after the global economic meltdown.
“This is a celebration of the courage that journalists and filmmakers have shown. We wish to pass the baton to the coming generation, encourage them to help bring out the evils of society. BTLIFF has chosen to screen such films that reveal the courage of journalists and hope that this inspires everyone,” festival curator and artistic director Uma Vangal.
