Orma Film Festival

Orma is a documentary video festival organized by the Kerala Information and Public Relations Department in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

Orma 2004

The 2004 dates for the festival were 27 July - 29 July.

The festival was inaugurated by Mr. M.M. Hassan, Minister for Information and Parliamentary Affairs. The renowned poet, lyricist and film maker, Mr. P. Bhaskaran presided over the function.

Orma 2004 included documentaries on eminent Malayalis. These documentaries are a part of a series produced by the Kerala Information and Public Relations Department on the Malayalis who contributed to the shaping of modern secular Kerala. Seventeen of the productions in the series were completed in August 2004.

Films

Orma 2004 showcased the following films:

EMS

Directed by K.S. Ranjith. History and biography. Depicts the independence and anti-land lord movements in Kerala. While EMS challenged the Brahmin orthodoxy through the symbolic acts of burning sacred thread, C.J. Thomas, the playwright and one of the original thinkers in Malayalam upturned the Christian orthodoxy through tearing away the sacred dress.

Malayalathinte Priya CJ

Directed by A.V. Thampan. Portrays the life of an eminent genius of Malayalam, including an interview with his wife Mrs. Rosi Thomas.

K. Kelappan

A documentary directed by Satheesh Poduval. Depicts the independence movement through the biographical narrative of Kelappan.

Njeralath Rama Poduval – the Fakir

Directed by Satheesh Venganoor. Depicts the life and legacy of Njeralath Rama Poduval, Malayalam artist and ‘sopanam’ music maestro.

Ayyankali

Directed by Mr. Kannan. Documentary on the social revolutionary who fought against all forms of social oppression and envisioned the formation of secular modern Kerala.

Vaikkam Abdul Khader

Directed by Mr. K. Satheesh Biographical documentary on statesman for modern Kerala democracy.

Pattam Thanu Pillai

Directed by Mr. B.S. Ratheesh Biographical documentary on Pattom A. Thanu Pillai, statesman in Kerala. Depicts the political values of Kerala during the independence movement.

Aravindan

Directed by Mr. K.K. Chandran. Biographical documentary on the filmmaker, Aravindan.

Sahodaran Ayyappan

Directed by Mr. Majid Gulisthan. Narrative documentary recreates events in the life of Sahodaran Ayyappan – the great organizer of Sree Narayana Movement.

SK

Directed by Mr. K. Rajgopal. Depicts the life and times of S.K. Pottekkad, an eminent Malayalam travelogue writer.

Sri Narayana Guru

Directed by Mr. P. Baburaj, portrays the different facets of Sri Narayana Guru – spiritual reformer, renaissance intellectual and social organizer.

Goda Varma Raja

Directed by Ms. Indira and Mr. Ajith. Documentary biography.

Akkamma Cheriyan

Directed by Ms. Sreebala K. Menon. Documentary biography.

Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon

Directed by Mr. N.P. Gopinath. Documentary biography.

Vaidyaratnam P.S. Warrier

Directed by Mr. Krishnanunni. Documentary biography on the great ayurvedic physician of Kerala.

Arnoos Pathiri

Directed by Mr. Ravidran Depicts the polyphonic trends of cultural formation of modern Kerala, including the process of secularization through the contributions of non-Malayali writers and intellectuals.

Varna Bhedangal

Directed by Mr. Damodar Prasad. Depicts the intellectual and creative evolution of one of the greatest Malayalam painters, K.C.S. Panicker and his contribution to the emergence of modernist sensibility in art.

External links

• August 2004 Synopsis Brochure (pdf)