Thirty-one films scheduled to be screened at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), which begins in Thiruvananthapuram on September 25, are yet to receive screening clearance from the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B), three days before the festival.
The ministry later granted exemptions for the films in stages, while Kerala authorities had announced that screenings would proceed despite the pending clearances. The issue echoes a similar controversy at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in December 2025, when the Centre initially withheld exemptions for 19 films.
The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, which organises IDSFFK, had sought exemption from certification for 347 films, most of which have already received clearance. Of the 31 documentaries 19 are from the international category comprising films from Libya, Spain, Iran, Canada, France, Australia, Argentina, Philippines, Romania, Czech Republic & Nepal, according to an official at the Academy. Remaining are 12 Indian films including one Malayalam film ‘Globe’. Papa, revisits the 2009 Maguindanao massacre through the story of the daughter of a photojournalist whose body was never recovered. Under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, films generally require certification for public exhibition. Section 9 of the Act empowers the Centre to exempt films from certification, subject to conditions. The ministry’s guidelines say festival organisers should preferably submit applications a month in advance and at least 15 days before the event, with complete documentation.
Because of the subject matters of a few films, an I&B official told HT on Monday that the films had been referred to the ministries of home affairs, defence and external affairs for further verification. “Permission has not been denied to any film for screening in the 18th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Keralam. Six films have been requested to provide more detailed synopsis. Depending on the subject of the films, some have been sent to various sectoral authorities for their review,” I&B wrote on X. 58th, directed by Filipino filmmaker Carl Joseph E. I&B guidelines provide for such exemptions for films screened at non-commercial film festivals. Films that have a Central Board of Film Certification certificate do not require exemption from the ministry.
The ministry had not received responses from the three ministries as of Monday morning, the official said. Other films include The Match, Cover Up, 58th, Shot Reverse Shot and One in a Million, according to the Academy official.
However, I&B through their X account clarified that permission hasn’t been denied, but that they asked the organisers to provide more detailed information about six films and a few others have been sent to sectoral authorities for review. The festival’s Instagram account said the ministry had denied screening permission to the 31 films.
