K Shabas Haris
The cast of the Indian short film ‘Karinji’ expressed their support for Palestine during the closing ceremony of the prestigious 30th Busan International Film Festival.
The team members made a collective statement on the red carpet by wearing traditional Palestinian kefiyah scarve and pinning small card versions of the Palestine flag to their chests. One crew member was also seen holding a sign that read “Free Palestine.”
‘Karinji’ is a 24-minute docu-fiction film that portrays the real-life character of Karinji and explores the lives of the working class in the Malabar region during the 20th century. The film was created as a postgraduate diploma project by its director, Sheethal N.S., of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
In a statement, the crew explained that their action was a deliberate collective decision. “It was the collective decision of the crew to show Palestine solidarity in the red carpet walk of the prestigious Busan International Film Festival. Within the helplessness, we used this global stage to show our solidarity to the people of Gaza; this is the least thing we can do for them,” a representative of the crew said.
The 30th edition of the festival also featured other films highlighting the situation in Palestine, including the docudrama ‘Voice of Hind Rajab,’ directed by Kauther Ben Haniya. The film documents the killing of a five-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
According to Irfan Hadi, the sound designer for ‘Karinji,’ the screening of ‘Voice of Hind Rajab’ resonated strongly with the audience. “‘Voice of Hind Rajab’ was screened with a large audience, and most of them got emotionally hooked. Most of the audience were Koreans, and they welcomed this movie wholeheartedly” Hadi said.
The 30th Busan International Film Festival has now concluded, with ‘Karinji’ being one of the many films screened during the event.
