Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala State Chalachitra Academy plans to expand its activities beyond organising film festivals and use cinema as an educative tool to reach out to children, young people and Gen Z under its new leadership. Actor and festival curator Raveendran, who has taken charge as the academy chairperson, said the institution needed to broaden its scope and explore newer ways of engaging with society.“The academy should not be limited to holding film festivals. I am working on a plan to broaden its activities and use films to explore different possibilities,” Raveendran told TOI.Raveendran said his experience in curating films and organising festivals would help the academy develop new programmes. He said he maintains a collection of around 2,000 films and had curated festivals based on diverse themes, including romantic poets, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.“I want to use that experience to explore different ideas and reach out to people,” he said. The proposed initiatives could include programmes that use films to introduce literature, sports, ethics and social reform to younger audiences. Films, he said, could be used to take sports to children, literature to young people and important social ideas to those who have grown up in the digital age.“There are many possibilities — literature and films, romantic poets and films, and using films to discuss ethics and social reforms. We need to find ways to present such ideas to the youth and Gen Z,” he said.In addition to acting — the recent films in his filmography include DNA, Haal and Vaazha II — Raveendran has worked as a film curator and festival organiser. Drawing on his experience as an archivist, he has curated festivals such as the Kochi Metro Short Film Festival, several theme-based festivals and film appreciation programmes.The academy is expected to soon consult members of the film fraternity and seek their feedback on its proposed expansion of activities.
