more-in Filmmaker and Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman Kamal has said that with fascist forces beginning to dictate terms to filmmakers, aspiring filmmakers and film professionals should be ready to wage constant battles for their creative freedom. Delivering the keynote address at the convocation ceremony of the LV Prasad Film and Television Academy here on Wednesday, Mr. Kamal pointed out that while film schools would arm aspiring filmmakers and professionals with the necessary tools to make films, they would have to learn much more from society. Learn from society “Stay close to the society in which you live, both for aesthetic inspiration and sharpening your perspective about life,” he said. Mr. Kamal said he had not had any formal training as a filmmaker and had learnt filmmaking during the long years of struggle in Chennai and elsewhere, working under and alongside professionals of great talent and success. What he had learnt from experience was that cinema was not just about technology, he said. “Much more than aesthetics, it is about what you imbibe from society. We are passing through a very difficult time for freedom of expression. You are not going to get the kind of freedom that we had. The Censor Boards want to decide what we must make and show the people. You should be ready to wage battles for your freedom. You may have to compromise in terms of the equipment or facilities for filmmaking, but never compromise on what should go into your works,” he said. Among those present on the occasion were LV Prasad Academy director Ravi Guptan, academy director Bina Paul Venugopal, and film professionals K.G. Jayan and Baiju Kurup, and KINFRA Film and Video Park general manager Suraj Ravindran.

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