From village library to a window on world cinema
On the second Sunday of every month, a modest village library at Kolazhy, barely seven kilometres from Thrissur city in Kerala, undergoes a quiet transformation
On the second Sunday of every month, a modest village library at Kolazhy, barely seven kilometres from Thrissur city in Kerala, undergoes a quiet transformation. Books make room for a screen, chairs fill up, and a rural reading room becomes a cinema hall. For nearly a decade, the Kolazhy Grameena Vayanasala has been home to ‘Cinema Kottaka’ — a community film movement that has introduced world cinema to hundreds of viewers with Malayalam subtitles. As the initiative celebrates its 100th screening, it stands as a rare example of how a village library has evolved into a vibrant cultural space. The audience is as diverse as the films themselves. Homemakers, students, senior citizens, children and film enthusiasts gather every month, unconcerned whether the film is in Persian, Spanish, Hindi, Marathi, English or any other language. Malayalam subtitles bridge every linguistic barrier. “Our aim was to take the activities of the library beyond books and create a richer cultural space.
That is how the idea of Cinema Kottaka was born,” says P.P. Prashanth, secretary of Cinema Kottaka. The first screening was held in February 2016 with a Persian film subtitled in Malayalam. Keeping audiences returning month after month was the biggest challenge in the early years, recalls Mr. Prashanth. That concern gradually disappeared as the screenings found a loyal audience. “The fact that women, homemakers and elderly people became regular viewers gave us tremendous confidence. We realised that there was a genuine appetite for meaningful cinema even in a rural setting,” he says. The organisers believe geography should never determine access to quality cinema. “There are many people in villages who love serious national and international cinema, but travelling to film festivals in Goa or Thiruvananthapuram is not always possible. Malayalam subtitles became the key. Once people could understand the films, the response was overwhelming,” says K.B. Madhusoodanan, one of the organisers.
The monthly screenings are supplemented with special retrospectives marking the birth or death anniversaries of legendary filmmakers such as Akira Kurosawa and Kim Ki-duk. Separate screenings are also organised for children during vacations. “We realised that Malayalam subtitles were the best way to remove language barriers and make world cinema accessible. Several subtitle collectives have supported us in this effort, and that has become one of Cinema Kottaka’s defining strengths,” says Mr. Madhusoodanan. The movement has also stepped beyond the library walls. During special occasions and school vacations, terraces and courtyards of homes in Kolazhy have been converted into open-air screening venues, taking cinema directly to neighbourhoods. The initiative combines film screenings with discussions, encouraging viewers to engage critically with cinema rather than merely consume it. “People often assume only mainstream films have an audience. Our experience has been exactly the opposite.
The BriefWire