DD India

The 29th edition of Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), scheduled from December 5 to 12, is set to showcase a rich and diverse lineup of 219 films from 39 countries. The festival encompasses various competitive categories, including national and international feature-length films, short films, and documentaries.

Esteemed personalities like Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Mahesh Bhatt, Shatrughan Sinha, and Sourav Ganguly are expected to attend the event. The festival will feature masterclasses, with Saurabh Sukhla providing insights on acting, Saugata Mukherjee covering film production, and Manoj Bajpayee and Sudhir Mishra delving into acting and direction, respectively.

The festival will pay homage to luminaries who passed away this year, such as Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, Spanish director Carlos Saura, English film critic Derek Malcolm, cinematographer Soumendu Roy, and Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui. Centenary tributes are dedicated to the likes of Lindsay Anderson, Richard Attenborough, Charlton Heston, Ousmane Sembene, Mrinal Sen, Dev Anand, Mukesh, and Shailendra.

The festival, which received an impressive 1,590 film submissions, will host screenings at Radha Studio using a 35mm projector. As part of its special focus on Australia, 15 films across three categories will be showcased. Additionally, six contemporary films from Spain, the designated focus country, will be screened.

Adding to the excitement, the festival’s title song and a captivating film produced for the occasion are being aired on various audio-visual platforms in the state. Srijato penned the lyrics for the song, set to music by Indraadip Das Gupta, with Arijit Singh lending his vocals. The associated short film is directed by PB Chaki.

This year, a new competitive Bengali film segment offers a prize of Rs 7.5 lakh for the winner. The International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images jury, headed by Russian director Pavel Lungin, includes director Tigmanshu Dhulia.

Expressing enthusiasm for the upcoming event, KIFF chairperson and filmmaker Raj Chakrabarty said, “The 29th KIFF is not just a festival; it’s an emotion for all cinephiles of Kolkata. It has evolved into one of the biggest film festivals in India, attracting filmmakers and cinephiles from around the world.”