Kerala docu fest to open with Oscar-winning 'The Phone Call'

Thiruvananthapuram: The eighth edition of International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, beginning here on June 26, will feature Mat Kirkby's Oscar winning short fiction "The Phone Call" and Javier Espada's "Following Nazarin" on the opening day.

The five-day festival, organised by the Kerala State Chalachithra Academy, is scheduled to be held at the government-run Kairali-Sree-Nila Cinema complex here till June 30, Academy secretary S Rajendran Nair said in a release.

"The Phone Call", which bagged the Oscar for the best short fiction this year, tells a wrenching story of loss and depression amd the narration ends on a very positive note, it said.

The movie revolves around Heather, a shy woman who works in a helpline call centre. When she receives a phone call from a mystery man, the encounter changes her life forever, the release said.

"Following Nazarin" goes back to the places where the movie "Nazarin" by Luis Bunuel was filmed.

"In this shoot came together, in an extraordinary way, a group of artists and technicians who post marked the passing of a very important part of filmmaking, photography and performance, not only Mexican but international," the release added.