SIGNS

The prestigious John Abraham Awards were instituted in 1999 by the Federation of Film Societies of India

Federation of Film Societies of India

The Federation of Film Societies of India was formed in December 1959. This was an association of film societies of Calcutta , Delhi, Bombay , Madras and Patna....

 (Keralam) as an annual award for the best Malayalam Feature, Short Feature and Documentary in memory of John Abraham

John Abraham

John Abraham is the name of:* John Abraham , Bollywood actor* John Abraham , Malayali Indian filmmaker and scriptwriter* John Abraham , NFL defensive end playing for the Atlanta Falcons...

, the guiding spirit behind radical initiatives for people’s cinema

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, who extended the horizons of cinema both aesthetically and politically.
2005 onwards, the competition has been extended to the national level, focusing on documentary

Documentary

A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...

 and short film in video format, opening a new festival-SIGNS.
SIGNS became the platform for showcasing the best of digital/video productions made in the country every year. The festival provides filmmakers a rare opportunity to present their work, discuss and interact with the viewers and fellow film makers, and possibly to get new ventures and partnerships. A touring festival of selected films from SIGNS is also conducted in different parts of South India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

.

PROGRAMME

SIGNS includes a national level competition for documentaries and short features. Apart from awards for categories like short feature, documentaries, cinema of resistance and cinema experimenta, there will be another award for the best film in video made from campus inside Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, “campus cuts”, from 2011. The awards for cinema of resistance and cinema experimenta are irrespective of category.

JURY

For the first edition, the three-member jury for selecting the best from SIGNS was chaired by Shri. Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...

, with Smt. Chandita Mukherjee and Shri Sunny Joseph

Sunny Joseph

Sunny Joseph, ISC is an Indian Cinematographer and director from Kerala, most known for his work in Shaji N. Karun classic, Piravi, for which he won the 1988 Kerala State Film Award for Best Photography. He has Post Graduate Diploma in Cinematography from the Film and Television Institute of...

 as members. In the second edition, Shri. Syeed Akhtar Mirza was the chairman and Smt. Bina Paul Venugopal and Shri M.R. Rajan were members of the Jury. The third edition Jury was chaired by Shri. Kumar Shahani

Kumar Shahani

Kumar Shahani is a noted Indian Film director, born in Larkana, Sindh , on 7 December 1940. After the Partition of India his family shifted to the city of Bombay...

 and Dr. C.S. Venkateswaran and Shri. T.K. Rajeev Kumar, members. In the fourth time there was a competition section for Feature film as well. The Feature film Jury was headed by Shri Mani Kaul

Mani Kaul

Mani Kaul was an Indian film director of Hindi films. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later became a teacher. Started his career with Uski Roti , which won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie, he went on to win...

 and Smt. Fareeda Mehta and Shri. Rajeev Vijayaraghavan were the jury members. The jury for non-feature films was chaired by Shri. Arun Khopkar, Shri. Chalom Bennurkar and Shri. B. Ajith Kumar were members.

External links

• http://www.ffsi.in
• http://expressbuzz.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/%E2%80%98signs-2011%E2%80%99-to-begin-tomorrow/247422.html
• http://www.asianetindia.com/news/documentary-film-fest-signs-2011-begins-today_241312.html