US EditionCrisis at IFFK as I&B Ministry denies censor exemption to 19 films, including 100-year old Battleship Potemkin
The ministry denied censor exemptions to 19 films, disrupting the festival schedule and causing cancellations, with no reasons provided by officials, sources said.
- The I&B Ministry refused to grant exemptions to 19 films at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram, a disruption reported on December 15, 2025.
- The Kerala State Chalachithra Academy had sought exemption for over 180 films this year, receiving clearance mails for 154 and over 20 titles, but no reasons were given for the denials by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
- Classics and festival favourites like Battleship Potemkin and The Hour of the Furnaces were included, alongside Palestinian films such as Palestine 36, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, All That’s Left of You, and Wajib, plus Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu and Bamako and Sandhya Suri’s Santosh.
- The denials triggered immediate cancellations and protests at festival venues, forcing sudden schedule disruptions and prompting organisers to warn of financial losses from films procured at lakhs of rupees with no compensation.
- Critics framed the denials as a political intervention that curbs expression, accusing the Union government of sabotaging the festival while organisers say this mass refusal is unprecedented despite past individual denials.
15 Articles
15 Articles
19 films barred from Kerala film festival, including Palestine and Spanish titles
The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry denied permission for the screening of 19 films at the 2025 International Film Festival of Kerala, including several on Palestine and the Spanish film Beef, prompting public protests and criticism from organisers.
Centre delays censorship exemption for 19 movies at IFFK, sparks protests, cancellations irk delegates
Academy officials said that the cancellation of movies has major financial implications, as well..IFFK censorship, International Film Festival of Kerala, film censorship exemption, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Battleship Potemkin censorship, Kerala State Chalachithra Academy, film festival regulations, Indian film censorship laws, censorship in film festivals AI, freedom of expression in cinema, denied film screenings IFFK, internat…
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