T’puram: Film scholar and art curator Ashish Rajadhyaksha said that documentaries are not being permitted to be screened at International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Keralam (IDSFFK) probably because there is a fear of documentary truth that can later turn into evidence.Speaking at a lecture on contemporary documentary in India at the 18th IDSFFK in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, Rajadhyaksha referred to the uncertainty surrounding films awaiting permission to be screened at the festival as out of 31 films, only 24 have received permission to be screened.“I want to suggest that this particular structure of making and showing films, and the conditions under which they are allowed or not allowed to be shown, are governed by a fear of the truth. The idea of documentary cinema’s capacity to produce truth is where the problem lies,” Rajadhyaksha said.This condition of asking for permission to screen films at festivals is not covered in the Cinematograph Act, he said.“Films are being held up, with directors having no recourse. Sometimes, the festival may end before the films are screened,” he added.Films are being censored under the provision of incitement to violence in which harm is assumed.“It is a struggle that directors go through,” he added.Rajadhyaksha said, “In the 60s, the censor looked at sex. Now, it’s incitement to an offense. That is like apprehending an offence. But who decides that?”
