The
26th
International
Film
Festival
of
Kerala
(IFFK)
2022
has
been
postponed
in
the
wake
of
surging
COVID-19
cases,
State
Cultural
Minister
Saji
Cherian
said.
The
annual
festival,
organised
by
Kerala
State
Chalachitra
Academy
on
behalf
of
Department
of
Cultural
Affairs,
Government
of
Kerala,
was
set
to
be
held
from
February
4-11,
2022
in
Thiruvananthapuram.
The
minister
said
the
IFFK
will
now
take
place
after
bringing
the
COVID
situation
under
control.
The
prestigious
eight-day
movie
gala,
which
is
usually
held
in
December
each
year,
screens
films
from
across
the
world
in
coveted
categories
like
International
Competition,
Malayalam
Cinema
Today,
Indian
Cinema
Now,
World
Cinema,
Country
Focus,
Retrospectives
of
major
filmmakers
among
others.
Kerala
has
been
witnessing
a
sharp
spike
in
the
COVID-19
cases
for
the
past
one
week.
On
Sunday,
January
16,
the
state
reported
18,123
fresh
infections,
taking
the
total
number
of
COVID-19
positive
cases
to
53,69,706.