IFFK to honour Canadian filmmaker Kelly Fyffe-Marshall with Spirit of Cinema award

The 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will honour Canadian filmmaker Kelly Fyffe-Marshall with the ‘Spirit of Cinema’ award. The award was introduced in 2021 to honour women filmmakers whose passion for cinema shines through even in the most trying of circumstances and who uses the medium as a weapon of struggle against the injustices in society.

Kelly Fyffe-Marshall has been known for her films which challenge racial prejudice against Black communities. A winner of the first-ever Changemaker Award at the Toronto International Film Festival for her short film Black Bodies (2020), she made her debut with Haven (2018), which also focused on Black lived experiences. She is the co-founder of Make Ripples, a non-profit organisation dedicated to accessible activism, racial justice, and empowering communities through storytelling.

Active in television and advertising as well, her campaign film Black Elevation Map has earned several international recognitions. Her 2025 short film Demons was selected for the official programme at the Toronto International Film Festival. Kelly’s films challenge perceptions of Black communities while celebrating love, resilience and the Caribbean diaspora.

The Spirit of Cinema award was first awarded to Kurdish filmmaker Lisa Calan. Iranian filmmaker Mahnas Mohammadi, Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu and Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia have been the previous recipients.