Kolkata, January 6: The annual Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), a yearly delight for movie lovers and must visit annual trip for cinephiles, will kickstart its 26th edition from January 8. The festival will last for a week and conclude on January 15. However, this year the festival will be held in "virtual mode", given the COVID-19 pandemic, said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Inviting everyone for the festival, she said that the Kolkata International Film Festival is "truly international and biggest in India," and termed it as a festival "for everybody". She informed that the festival will be on a small scale this year.

Here's the Announcement by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

The Chief Minister Also Tweeted Later

Iconic filmaker Satyajit Ray's timeless classic, ‘Apur Sansar’, will be screened at the inauguration of 26th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF). A special tribute will be paid to the late actor, Soumitra Chatterjee, who passed away last year due to Covid-19 complications. Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan To Inaugurate 25th Kolkata International Film Festival on November 8.

How to Register?

Those interested can visit the official website of the festival- kiff.in and register for passes.

What is Special This Year?

Special tributes to Amala Shankar, Basu Chatterjee, Farnando Solanas, Irfan Khan, Kim Ki Duk, Rishi Kapoor, Tapas Pal.

What are the Competition Categories?

1. Asian Select (NETPAC Award)

2. Competition on Indian Language's Films

3. International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images

Who is the Chairperson of the Jury Member?

The chairperson of the Jury member is Brillante Mendoza.

What is the Movie Schedule?

Here's the PDF for venue wise movie schedule.

Here's the link for Category Wise Schedule.

A total of of 131 films — in feature, short and documentary formats — will be screened at different theatres of the city, including Nandan and Rabindra Sadan. A total of 1,170 entries from 45 countries were received, of which 131 have been selected for the film carnival, said the minister of state for cultural affairs,  Indranil Sen.

Director Anubhav Sinha will deliver the annual Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture, an important part of the festival. This year’s topic is ‘Social Responsibility in mainstream Indian cinema’. Besides, six films of master filmmaker Federico Fellini will also be screened at the week-long festival.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 06, 2021 01:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).