Kerala State Motion Picture Academy is an autonomous non-profit institution based in Trivandrum, working under the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. It was founded in August 1998 for the promotion of cinema in Kerala, considering that cinema is the most popular art form in the state. The academy was first of its kind in India; it was formed on the basis of the Karant committee report (1980), which proposed the formation of a national film academy. Under the leadership of T. K. Ramakrishnan, The Minister for Cultural Affairs appointed Shaji N. Karun as its first chairman. In August 2024, Ranjith, the then-chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, resigned following a sexual harassment allegation made by Bengali film actress Sreelekha Mitra. Despite the subsequent release of the Hema Committee report, Renjith has not publicly admitted to nor apologised for the allegations.

Objectives

The objectives and functions of the academy are:

Activities

Kerala State Film Awards

The academy organises the Kerala State Film Awards, which are given away yearly for the achievements in Malayalam films. The awardees are decided by an independent jury formed by the academy and the Department of Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Kerala. The jury usually consists of eminent personalities from the film field. For the awards for literature on cinema a separate jury is formed. The academy annually invites films for the award and the jury analyses the films that are submitted before deciding the winners. The awards intends to promote films with artistic values and encourage artistes and technicians. The awards are declared by the Minister for Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Kerala.

Kerala State Television Awards

The emergence of Television as a popular medium found acceptance at the academy as separate awards were constituted for Television programmes also. The academy organises the Kerala State Television Awards since 1993, which are given away yearly for the achievements in Malayalam Television. The awards are declared by the Minister for Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Kerala.

IFFK

The IFFK (International Film Festival of Kerala) is one of the prominent film festivals hosted in India, and it is managed by the academy. The festival gives weightage to films from the Third World. It only allows films from Asia, Africa and Latin America in its competition section. The festival is always noted for its public support. The festival is perhaps the only one to have screenings for residents of a jail, a juvenile home (Poojappura Central Jail, Thiruvananthapuram) and a poor home (Sri Chitra Poor Home).

IDSFFK

The IDSFFK (International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala) is an annual documentary and short film festival conducted by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, at the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.