With a bouquet of 189 films from 63 countries, the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) beginning Nov 10 will highlight the contribution of South East Asian films to international cinema, its organisers said Monday.
The films will be screened at 13 venues across the city. The fest will honour the best film from the region with the Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) award. Films from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, China, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand will vie for the award.
"There are seven films from south east Asia that will be screened at the festival. It is in recognition of the films which have showcased the region to a global audience," KIFF director Yadab Mandal told mediapersons here.
Moreover, a special segment has been reserved for contemporary black and white films in the category 'Shades of Black and White', which will screen eight such films.
Seven movies that mark their 50th year this year will be screened as part of the Golden Jubilee segment. This includes Satyajit Ray's "Mahanagar".
Paying homage to late filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh, his cinematic brilliance will be captured through showings of eight of his movies including "Unishe April", "Dahan", "The Last Lear" and "Chitrangada".
More From This Section
His unreleased film "Taak Jhaank" (Sunglass) will be screened for the first time in the inaugural ceremony of KIFF.
The eight day-long KIFF is scheduled to be inaugurated by megastar Amitabh Bachchan here Nov 10. It will also be attended by a number of luminaries including superstar Shah Rukh Khan - also the state's brand ambassador - as well as versatile actor Kamal Haasan.