Cinephiles brave rain to enjoy films at KIFF
KOLKATA: The city awoke to sporadic rainfall and chilly wind on Thursday, disrupting daily life as people grappled with traffic jams on their way to work.
Given the cloudy skies, it seemed as though the 29th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) might be dampened. However, when it comes to movies, the spirit and enthusiasm of Kolkata cinephiles are unparalleled.
Armed with umbrellas and some donning raincoats, cinephiles made a beeline
for films at Nandan premises to watch their favourite
movies. Lengthy queues formed for films such as director Aurelia Mengin’s ‘Scarlet Blue,’ featured in the International Competition section. A similar scene unfolded for Venezuela-based filmmaker Carlos Daniel Malave’s ‘One Way,’ also competing internationally.
Law student Soumya Deb, completely drenched, remained undeterred in his excitement. “I love watching films and didn’t want to miss the chance,” he said.
Retired Ashok Kumar Dey, a 12-year veteran of the film festival, expressed his unwavering passion for cinema. “I have been a film fanatic since 1974. So, it doesn’t matter if I’m old or not. My love for cinema is forever young,” smiled the Andul resident.
Surprisingly, the queues stretched even longer for ‘How to Have Sex,’ a British drama film written and directed by Molly Manning Walker. The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and won the Un Certain Regard prize, undoubtedly drawing significant attention.
Parikshita Sharma, a
film student from Assam, revelled in the film ambience at KIFF. Director Debasish Sen Sharma initially anticipated a smaller crowd due to heavy rain but was pleasantly surprised by the fervour among Kolkata’s film lovers.
“It only shows the spirit of Kolkata and how much we love watching films.
That people are coming to watch films only shows there’s still life left in Kolkata,” he said.
KIFF chairman Raj Chakraborty, also entered Nandan with an umbrella, and said: “Even a few years ago, it rained like this, but people defied the rain to watch films. The same is happening now.”
