Kerala State Chalachitra Academy (Motion Picture Academy of the Kerala State), an autonomous institution under the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala has been functioning as the key State agency to promote cinema.  

In a pioneering initiative, the Government of Kerala set up the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in August 1998. The first of its kind in the country, the Academy is an effort to counter the gross commoditization of the film medium and a rightful recognition of the contribution of cinema to the cultural enlightenment of the society. It is guided by the motto that Cinema should contribute to the complete development of human being, both as an individual and as a social being.

The Academy today has become a major player in the cultural landscape of Kerala reaching students, teachers, and ordinary people through various initiatives designed to carry the message of cinema as not only a means of entertainment but of serious academic reflection and a tool to preserve and document the history of society.

The main activities of the Academy include functioning as a link between the Government and the film industry, the conduct of Film Festivals including International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), Regional IFFK (RIFFK), National Film Festival of Kerala (NFFK) every year, the preservation and propagation of Malayalam cinema, to intervene in film education, to document the history of Malayalam cinema, the honouring of persons and films that contribute to the aesthetics of Malayalam cinema. The Academy conducts the State Film Awards for the Government of Kerala.