25th Kolkata Int'l Film Festival: Nandan gets mega makeover

Kolkata: Nandan is ready to welcome film lovers for the 25th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) scheduled to commence from Friday.

The 25th KIFF will begin on November 8 in a star-studded inaugural function at Netaji Indoor Stadium. Rest of the screenings will be held at Nandan from November 9 to 15.

"Amitabh Bachchan will inaugurate the 25th edition of KIFF. Shah Rukh Khan, Jaya Bachchan, Rakhi Gulzar and Mahesh Bhatt will also be present during the inauguration ceremony at Netaji Indoor Stadium. This year, Nandan has got a makeover for the 25th edition of the KIFF. The interior decoration has been redesigned. This apart, a new sculpture of three film workers at work has been installed at the main entrance. A special selfie zone will also be there," said an official of the Information and Cultural Affairs department.

During the festival, 56 foreign film personalities from 24 countries and 60 film personalities from India will be participating as filmmakers and speakers on various important sections (completion and non-competition).

An exhibition titled 'KIFF: A journey of 25 years' on the 25 years of the KIFF will be inaugurated at Gaganendra Pradarshala on November 9. The Satyajit Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Kumar Shahani, eminent film director and screenwriter, best known for his parallel cinema on the topic 'Future of the Individual.' Four films for children will be screened at Sisir Mancha on November 14.

"There will be 214 feature films and 152 short and documentary films (shortlisted from 2,492 entries) from 76 countries which will be showed at 17 screening venues. 35 mm projection systems will be reintroduced. In this category, a total of 10 films will be screened at Sisir Mancha and Chalachitra Satabarshiki Bhavan," the official mentioned.