Kolkata Int’l Children’s Film Fest to celebrate 60 yrs of Feluda
KOLKATA: Imagine a film festival curated especially for children, built around themes of mystery, adventure and hidden treasures. The 12th Kolkata International Children’s Film Festival is all set to start from January 23 to January 29, 2026, at the Nandan premises. This year, the theme is ‘treasure hunt’.
The week-long festival will screen 180 films from 32 countries. The inauguration ceremony will be graced by eminent filmmakers Sandip Ray and Gautam Ghose, along with Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, ministers Indranil Sen, Aroop Biswas, and Avinav Barua, the child actor from ‘Nayan Rahasya’.
The festival will also celebrate 60 years of Feluda with a curated showcase of 16 films, opening with Satyajit Ray’s ‘Sonar Kella’ (1971). The closing film is the fantasy drama ‘Pokkhirajer Dim’, directed by Soukarya Ghoshal, which
was screened at IFFI in 2025. “This children’s film festival is a brainchild of our CM Mamata Banerjee and she takes special interest in this initiative. Also, the inauguration is on January 23, which marks Netaji Jayanti and Saraswati Puja. So, I guess, the kids will enjoy a lot,” said Sen.
The films will be screened at Nandan- I, II, III, Rabindra Sadan, Sisir Mancha, Chalachchitra Satabarsha Bhavan, Rabindra Okakura Bhavan and Rabindra Tirtha. Centenary tribute will be paid to Salil Chowdhury (Marjina Abdulla), Santosh Dutta (Joy Baba Felunath) and Tripti Mitra (Manik) at Sisir Mancha on January 26.
Apart from Bengali cinema, films from across the world will also be screened. Just like the Kolkata International Film Festival, this children’s film festival also has sections for sports films, shorts and documentaries.
As many as 40 films made by children on mobiles in workshops organised by Shishu Kishore Akademi will also be screened. Arpita Ghosh, chairperson, Shishu Kishore Akademi informed that a special exhibition, titled ‘Guptodhoner Abhijane’ will be on at Gaganendra Shilpapradarshashala.
