Big B to inaugurate the Kolkata film festival

Bollywood badshah Amitabh Bachchan will inaugurate the festival at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on November 14. 

The West Bengal  Chief Minister Mamata Bandopadhyay will preside over the inauguration. The event will feature an innovative performance by “Maestros of Bengal”. The inaugural film is “Blanka” by Kokhi Hasei from the Philippines.

This year, for the second time, the KIFF is all set to take on a competitive avatar. The Royal Bengal Tiger Trophy will be awarded to the Best Film and the Best Director. This competition focuses on films directed by women. This year, the festival authorities have received 121 entries from 40 countries for this competition.  Legendary actors of yesteryears Sharmila Tagore is the Chairperson of the Jury this year. “The festival seems to be heading in the right direction”, ace film director Sandip Ray,  a member of the Executive Council of the festival, told Millennium Post.

The KIFF has two main themes – bringing good world cinema to Kolkata and taking cinema to the common man. There are fifteen sections in the festival including the competitive section. The Royal Bengal tiger awards, NETPAC award, with completions for short and documentary films will be an interesting aspect of this edition of the festival. For the first time this year, the festival authorities will have a Critics award for the best Indian language film.

The Great Master section will showcase 6 films by the legendary director, Jean Renoir. A segment on sports-based films will feature popular Indian films like  Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Kony. This year, the festival will pay tribute to the legendary Portuguese director, Manoel de Oliveira. A section, titled India unheard, will feature Nepali, Tulu and Ladhakhi films. The Section on Hollywood will feature films by Frank Capra and Francis Ford Cuppola. The International Competition segment will feature 14 entries. All films will be screened at 12 venues across the city over 8 days. The musical theme for the KIFF reflects the interaction between Kolkata and the world – each musical phrase is started by an Indian instrument and echoed by world instruments in the “sawaal jawaab” tradition.