The 15th International Film Festival commenced at the Kalabhavan Theatre with the Thai film “Unreal Forest”. In stark contrast to the previous edition, the theatre had a comparatively thin audience to the first screening.

The film was a replacement of the originally scheduled screening of “Cameroon’s Love Letter”. “Unreal Forest” was a film that was made as part of the International Festival Rotterdam’s Forget Africa programme. The film is a pot purri of experimental documentary, magic realism and commentary on colonialism. “More than the plot itself, what allured me most is the geographic landscapes that add considerable weight to the thread of the movie”, opines Rohit, an IFFK delegate who has come all the way from Chennai to watch the films at the festival.

The Zambia film from Thailand, the movie is directed by Jakrawal Nikthamrong. Taken in documentary style, the film traces the background of African culture and civilization. The film is an attempt to emboss the political scenario of Africa into images. The film begins with the arrival of a shaman who promises to cure a young boy of his deadly sickness. Through a series of scary rituals, he tries by all means to attain his cause. Yet, the boy could not be relieved of his illness with all those superstitious rites and finally he is left deserted in the rivers that cascades to enormous waterfalls.

As the first screening of the 15th International Film Festival got over, expectations were mounting in the delegates minds to watch more classic clicks in other venues. The heat has begun!