30th KIFF draws record-breaking crowd of over 1L cinephiles: Min

KOLKATA: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, currently on an official visit to Digha, could not attend the closing ceremony of the 30th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) in person. However, she addressed the audience over the phone, a connection facilitated by minister Aroop Biswas.

The CM extended her congratulations to the winners and expressed gratitude to the foreign delegates for their enthusiastic participation. She also praised renowned filmmaker Goutam Ghose, the chairman of this year’s festival, for his dedicated efforts in organising the event and hinted that he might continue as chairman for next year’s edition.

Speaking over the phone, the CM said: “Although I couldn’t be there in person, I congratulate all the winners, the foreign delegates and the entire festival committee for making this event a grand success. I also encourage our international guests to visit Bengal again next year. I hope you enjoyed your time here. Your participation brought us immense love and encouragement, not just for the film industry but for everyone in Bengal. On behalf of the

people of the state, I invite you to come again.” The closing ceremony took place on Wednesday at Rabindra Sadan, with ministers Aroop Biswas, Indranil Sen, IAS officer Santanu Basu, also DG of the festival, Ghose and actors Soham Chakraborty, Paoli Dam and Ritabhari Chakraborty in attendance. This year’s festival drew a record-breaking crowd of nearly 1,10,000 cinephiles, informed Basu.

Banerjee said the festival’s overwhelming energy and acknowledged that many attendees couldn’t find seats due to the massive turnout.

She congratulated Ghose for successfully managing such a large-scale event and urged him to begin planning for the next edition with innovative ideas.