Kolkata International Film Festival 2023 – an elaborate affair
The 29th edition of the Kolkata International
Film Festival organized by the Information and Cultural Affairs Department,
Government of West Bengal is scheduled to be held between 5 – 12 December, 2023
in Kolkata, the cultural capital of the State. Accredited by the International
Federation of Film Producers’ Association, 29th Kolkata International Film
Festival promises to be more appealing, satisfying and exciting to the cinema
lovers as they will continue to feel the allure of world class cinema in the
City of Joy.
The
Kolkata International Film Festival which had started in the year 1995, had
drawn inspiration from film legends in Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen
and many more intrepids of cinema from Bengal, who have contributed to world
cinema; hence the festival has earned international accolade since the very
beginning. But during that time the Kolkata International Film Festival was
somewhat confined to the more sophisticated and learned fraternity.
It
was only in the year 2011 under the able leadership of the Hon’ble Chief
Minister, West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee that the doors of this gala event were
opened to the masses and since then, the spectacle of Kolkata International
Film Festival has never failed to reach to the common man. This Kolkata Film
Festival touches the hearts of thousands of cinema lovers who wait impatiently
every year to get absorbed in this culmination of world cinema.
One
of the flagship events of the State Government, Kolkata International Film
Festival not only caters to the cinema lovers in Kolkata but it captivates
viewers who have penchant for cinema of international standard. With each year,
Kolkata International Film Festival has grown greater, bigger and more
fulfilling in terms of its popularity, expanse and variety. Keeping the zestful
tradition alive, the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival promises to be
even more magnificent and true to its style and charisma.
The 29th
edition of Kolkata International Film Festival is scheduled to kick off on 5th
December 2023 in Netaji open Indoor stadium. According to certain reports,
the inaugural film will be a Uttam Kumar classic. Many Bollywood celebrities
including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Anil Kapoor, Jaya
Bachhan and Mahesh Bhatt, are expected to grace the inauguration of Kolkata
International Film Festival on December 5. This week long Kolkata International
Film festival will be attended by various dignitaries and foreign delegates
from all across the world who would gather together to pay tribute to film
maker Mrinal Sen, and veterinary actor Dev Anand. According to Raj Chakraborty,
the chairman of Kolkata International Film Festival, this year’s the festival’s
main focus would be on the countries of Spain and Australia. The 29th
Kolkata International Film Festival will also include Bengali Panaroma in the
competitive section for the first time in history of Kolkata International Film
Festival with a prize money of 7.5 lakhs. Prosenjit Chatterjee, the newly
appointed chairman of Kolkata International Film Festival’s reception
committee, applauded Raj Chakraborty for his extraordinary work in this
Festival and promised that he and his colleagues would ensure that every
visitor enjoys this Kolkata International Film festival to the fullest.
The masterclass section of Kolkata
International Film Festival, which has always remained the talk of the town
will feature famous personalities like, Manoj Bajpayee, Sudhir Mishra, Anurag
Basu, Mani Ratnam and others in this year.
A total of seven movies have been selected for the Bengali
Panorama section of the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival and most of
them are made by debutant directors and film makers
For the first time in
the festival which will begin on December 5, the Bengali Panorama section has
been made a competitive zone this year and the winner’s purse is Rs 7.5 lakh, a
KIFF official said. Barring the director
duo of Rajdeep Paul and Sarmistha Maiti whose ‘Mon Potongo’ (Mind Flies) is one
of the selected films, the makers of all six other movies are first-timers.
Their ‘Kalkokkho’ (House of Time) won the Best Bengali Film award at the
National Film Awards in August. Abhijit Sridas’ ‘Bijoyar Pore’
(Autumn Flies) and Rajesh Roy’s ‘Matripaksha’ (Invisible Chord) will also be
the contenders for the top honour in the KIFF. Rajdeep Ghosh’s
‘Bonbibi’ (Widows of the Wild), Amartya Sinha’s ‘Asampurno’ (The Relentless
Search), Debapratim Dasgupta’s ‘Abar Ashibo Firey’ (We Shall Come Back) and Anisul’s
‘Awnath’ (Orphan) are the remaining films chosen for the Bengali Panorama
section. In a post on social media, popular actor Swastika Mukherjee
said that out of the seven films, she acted in two – ‘Bijoyar Pore’ and
‘Matripaksha’. She said, “Over the years people have
asked me why I always choose to work with newcomers. Yes, there are a lot of
constraints, lot more hard work and then there are results as amazing as
this!”
Anjan Dutt’s
Chalchitra Ekhon, a tribute to auteur Mrinal Sen on his birth centenary, will
be screened at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) 2023, set to
commence on December 5. The film traces Dutt’s journey with the master
filmmaker which began with the film Chalchitra (The Kaleidoscope) in 1981,
marking the beginning of a mentor-protégé relationship that would endure over
the years.
Malayalam feature film Ozhuki, Ozhuki,
Ozhuki (Quiet Flows The Dead) directed by Sanjeev Sivan has been selected
in the competition section of the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival
(KIFF) 2023. The film is dedicated to the thousands of unidentified dead bodies
floating in the global waters without getting a proper funeral from their loved
ones. The story revolves around a 12-year-old boy, determined to give a
decent farewell to one such floating body. However, in his pursuit, he gets embroiled
in murder charges, and his life takes a turn. Soubin Shahir, Narain, and Baiju
don major roles in the film.
