‘The Elysian Field,’ ‘If on a Winter’s Night’ Among Kerala Festival’s International Competition Lineup

The International Film Festival of Kerala has unveiled a 14-title international competition lineup that stretches from India’s Khasi Hills to Latin America, East Asia and the Middle East, anchoring the 30th edition of the festival in Thiruvananthapuram from Dec. 12–19.

Representing the home state are Sanju Surendran’s “If on a Winter’s Night,” a Malayalam- and Hindi-language feature and Unnikrishnan Avala’s Malayalam drama “Life of a Phallus.” The Indian presence continues with Pradip Kurbah’s Khasi-language film “The Elysian Field” and “Shadowbox,” co-directed by Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi.

Latin America appears strongly this year. Ecuadorian filmmaker Ana Cristina Barragán brings “Hiedra,” while Swiss-Argentine director Milagros Mumenthaler’s “The Currents” and Chilean filmmaker Nayra Ilic’s “Cuerpo Celeste” join the slate. Argentina’s Luis Zorraquín adds “Kissing Bug,” and “Before the Body,” directed by Carina Piazza and Lucía Bracelis, also represents Argentina.

Central and West Asia are represented through Shahram Mokri’s Tajikistan–U.A.E. feature “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit” and Mohamed Rashad’s cross-regional drama “The Settlement,” spanning Egypt, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Turkey–Iran director Gözde Kural adds “Cinema Jazireh” to the competition lineup.

From East Asia comes Tom Shu-yu Lin’s Taiwan feature “Yen and Ai-Lee” and Sho Miyake’s “Two Seasons, Two Strangers” from Japan.

Beyond the competition, IFFK leans into its traditional strength: mapping the breadth of Malayalam and Indian cinema. The Malayalam Cinema Today strand includes new works such as “All the Living,” “Ambrosia,” “Await,” “Celebration of Death,” “Desire,” “Ebb,” “Girl and the Fools Parade,” “OAK” and others, underlining the diversity and restlessness of Kerala’s filmmaking ecosystem.

Indian Cinema Now broadens the scope with a slate including Kannada, Hindi, Bengali and multilingual Indian titles such as “Don’t Tell Mother,” “Flames,” “Full Plate,” “Hearth and Home,” “Mirage,” Venice winner “Songs of Forgotten Trees” and “Theatre.”

The Kaleidoscope section brings together eight films from across India, all of which have tasted global festival success, reinforcing the festival’s commitment to showcasing formally adventurous and regionally diverse work. The slate includes the Tamil feature “Bad Girl”; the Sundance-winning Marathi film “Cactus Pears” (“Sabar Bonda”); Hindi titles “Homebound,” which is India’s Oscar contender this year, “Pyre” and “Secret of a Mountain Serpent”; the Assamese-language “Kok Kok Kokoook”; the Nepali- and Sikkimese-language film “Shape of Momo”; and the Kannada–Malayalam production “Tiger’s Pond” (“Vaghachipani”).

This year’s Country Focus turns to Vietnam, presenting a curated five-film selection including “Cu Li Never Cries,” “Don’t Cry, Butterfly,” “Glorious Ashes,” “Once Upon a Love Story” and “The Tree House,” all emblematic of the country’s growing global festival presence.

Indonesia’s Garin Nugroho is honored with a Contemporary Filmmaker in Focus tribute featuring “A Poet: Unconcealed Poetry,” “Birdman Tale,” “Letter to an Angel,” “Samsara” and “Whispers in the Dabbas.”

IFFK also mounts retrospectives for two pivotal Indian filmmakers: Ritwik Ghatak, with screenings of “Meghe Dhaka Tara,” “Komal Gandhar,” “Subarnarekha” and “Titash Ekti Nadir Naam”; and Saeed Mirza, with “Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan,” “Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro” and “Naseem.”