THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Chalachithra Academy has submitted a revised proposal to the state government to conduct International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) with half the budget as that of last year, in the wake of the flood disaster in the state.Cultural affairs minister A K Balan said here on Saturday that the government would reconsider the proposal and take a call on conducting the festival once chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is back in the state from the US.“The academy has given its revised proposal, in which the total expenses for conducting the festival is only half that of the previous year. Last year’s expenses were Rs 6 crore,” he said.The minister said the academy has also said that two third of the expenses could be met through the delegate fees and has also proposed increasing the delegate fee this year. “As per the proposal, Rs 2 crore can be raised through the delegate passes and other revenue incomes itself. Remaining Rs 1 crore can be met from their plan funds. This way, the festival can be conducted without compromising on the content,” the minister said.He said that the film societies have also given a proposal saying that the festival can be conducted by cutting down expenses, including on bringing judges from abroad. He said that the academy had begun the preliminary discussions on holding the festival even before the floods struck the state.The government had issued orders cancelling all the festivals, including IFFK and State School Kalolsavam, but had later decided to reconsider the order. The youth festival, which was cancelled, has been reinstated, and will be held without fanfare at Alappuzha . It is learnt that the government will follow suit in the case of film festival as well.

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