Indian Catholic priest Isaac Alappat, who was known as a film director, editor, cameraman, and script writer, died on Tuesday, May 5. He was 86.
Father Alappat, a member of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate congregation, founder and directors of the Chetana group of institutions, died in a hospital in Kerala.
The priest was known for the establishment of the Chetana Film and Television Institute at Chiyyaram in Kerala in 1980.
He founded the Chetana Sound Studio, one of the best studios in south India and the only underground studio in the country in those days.
Local and international musicians and film personalities made use of the facilities, which were modelled after the film studios in the United States.
Chetana later branched into several media training institutions that offer courses in visual communication, mass communication and journalism, and film and television program production.
During his lifetime, Father Alappat directed two feature films in Malayalam — “Kunjikaikal” and “Chakravalangal.”
His script “Kuttavum Sikshayam (Crime and Punishment),” which was written while he was a student, was included in the syllabus of the Loyola Marymount University in the United States.
The priest authored several books, including “Thiruvachanam Thettidharichavar,” “Minnaminungu,” and “Anuyugathile Vranitha Sabha.”
Father Alappat started as a zoology teacher at Christ College in Irinjalakduda before taking up higher studies in Communication Arts at Loyola Marymount University. – with a report from Radio Veritas Asia
