Thiruvananthapuram | Four out of 19 movies awaiting central government approval for screening at the 30th edition of the IFFK being held here, have been granted official censor exemption, sources said on Tuesday.

The movies granted permission for screening are 'Beef', 'Eagles of The Republic', 'Heart of The Wolf' and 'Once Upon A Time In Gaza', the sources said.

'Beef' follows Lati, a young woman from the outskirts of Barcelona, who turns to freestyle rap to confront grief, prejudice, and gender barriers after her father's death, sources said.

The remaining 15 films awaiting clearance include Sergei Eisenstein's 100-year-old classic 'Battleship Potemkin' and several films related to the Palestine conflict.

Sources said Battleship Potemkin is one of cinema's most influential works, dramatising the 1905 mutiny aboard the battleship Potemkin, where sailors rebelled against brutal officers and provision of maggot-infested food, turning their struggle into a symbol of collective resistance.

Denial of clearance to Sergei Eisenstein's film was termed as "laughable" by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a post on 'X'.

The 30th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) is being held from December 12 to 19.