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29th Kolkata International Film Festival

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29th Kolkata International Film Festival
Official Logo
Opening filmDeya Neya by Sunil Bannerjee
LocationNetaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata
Founded1995
Awards
  • Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Film:
    • Children of Nobody by Erez Tadmor
  • Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Director:
    • Carlos Malave for One Way
Hosted byInformation and Cultural Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal
No. of films219 films from 39 countries
Festival dateOpening: 5 December 2023 (2023-12-05)
Closing: 12 December 2023 (2023-12-12)
Websitekiff.in
Kolkata International Film Festival

The 29th Kolkata International Film Festival began on 5 December 2023 at Netaji Indoor Stadium, in Kolkata, India. A 1963 romantic comedy Bengali film Deya Neya by Sunil Bannerjee opened the festival, which screened 219 films from 39 countries.[1] Spain and Australia were country of focus in this edition of the festival.[2] The opening ceremony was attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha, Mahesh Bhatt and cricketer Sourav Ganguly among others.[3]

The festival closed on 12 December with the announcement of the awards in the closing ceremony, attended by filmmaker Sudhir Mishra, actor-dancer Mamata Shankar and actress Aditi Rao Hydari among others. Children of Nobody by Erez Tadmor, an Israeli film on the challenges faced by inmates of a shelter for at-risk youths was awarded 'Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award' for the best film whereas Carlos Malave of Venezuela, received the 'Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Director' for his film One Way.[4]

Highlights of the year

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KIFF's title song

The title song of the festival, written by Srijato, composed by Indraadip Dasgupta and sung Arijit Singh is highlight of this year.

Paying tribute to legends

Indian filmmaker Mrinal Sen, Indian actor Dev Anand, British feature-film, theatre and documentary director Lindsay Anderson, English actor, film director and producer Richard Attenborough, American actor Charlton Heston, Senegalese film director, producer and writer Ousmane Sembène, Indian playback singer Mukesh and Indian Hindi-Urdu Poet, lyricist and film producer Shailendra all having birth centenary this year will be given special tribute in the festival.[5]

Exhibitions of Mrinal Sen and Dev Anand were unveiled at Nandan and Nazrul Tirtha on 7 December.[6]

Bengali Panorama section

The section is a competitive section from this year and the winner's purse is ₹7.5 lakh.[7][8]

Paying homage through special tribute

Italian actress, model, photojournalist Gina Lollobrigida; Spanish film director, photographer Carlos Saura; English film critic and historian Derek Malcolm; Indian cinematographer Soumendu Roy and Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui, who all passed away in 2023 will be paid homage.[8]

PR and social media

A new category called 'PR and social media' is introduced to reach out to people interested in films across the globe.

Jury

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International jury

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International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images

  • Pavel Lungin, (Chairperson), Russian film director.
  • Laurence Kardish, author of Reel Plastic Magic (1972), a textbook on American filmmaking, and has also been a playwright and filmmaker
  • Tigmanshu Dhulia, Indian film dialogue writer, director, actor, screenwriter, producer and casting director.
  • Ángela Molina, Spanish actress
  • Manijeh Hekmat, Iranian film director

Competition on Indian language's films

  • Rüdiger Suchsland, German film journalist, film critic and director
  • Amal Ayouch, Moroccan actress
  • Mariam Al Ferjani, Tunisian actress, scriptwriter, director, and artist

Asian Select (NETPAC Award)

  • Patrick F. Campos, associate professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman and Film Institute and a member of NETPAC.
  • Madhurima Sinha, Indian writer and filmmaker
  • Ilgar Guliyev, Azerbaijan film director

Bengali Panorama

Competition on Indian short films

  • Amaresh Chakraborti, retired professor of Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata
  • Abhro Banerjee, film editor
  • Paresh Kamdar, Indian director and editor

Competition on Indian documentary films

  • R.V. Ramani, Indian filmmaker, cinematographer and teacher,
  • Putul Mahmood, filmmaker, producer and teacher
  • Malati Rao, Indian filmmaker

Official selection

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Sections

Inaugural film

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Year English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
Inaugural Film
1963 Give and Take Deya Neya Sunil Bannerjee India

Competition categories

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International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images

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Source:[9][10]

Highlighted title indicates award winner
Year English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
2023 60 Days Ismail Doruk Turkey
2022 A Letter from Helga Svar við bréfi Helgu Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir Iceland, Netherlands, Estonia
2023 Broken Borders Soy lo que nunca fui Rodrigo Alvarez Flores Mexico
2022 Children of Nobody Erez Tadmor Israel
2023 Clara Sabin Dorohoi Romania, Germany
2022 Filip Michał Kwieciński Poland
2023 Four Seasons Maxim Shabalin Russia
2023 Gondola Veit Helmer Germany, Georgia
2023 Kaleidoscope Now Chalchitra Ekhon Anjan Dutt India
2023 Land of Our Mothers Tierra de nuestras madres Liz Lobato Spain
2022 One Way Carlos Daniel Malave Venezuela
2023 Scarlet Blue Aurelia Mengin France
2023 We Will Not Fade Away Alisa Kovalenko Ukraine, Poland, France

Competition on Indian Language's Films

[edit]

Source:[11][12][13]

Year English title Original title Director(s)
2023 Avni Ki Kismat Shonet Anthony Barretto
2023 Quiet Flows the Dead Ozhuki Ozhuki Ozhuki Sanjeev Sivan
2023 Blue Sunshine Samyuktha Vijayan
2023 Kherwal Uttam Kamati
2023 Joseph’s Son Haobam Pabankumar
2023 The Ascension Onkara Unni KR
2023 Valli Manoj Shinde
2023 Wild Swans Gorai Phakhri Rajni Basumatary
2023 Kandeelu The Ray Of Hope K Yashoda Prakash
2023 Surrender Samarpan Arup Manna
2023 Autumn Afternoon Hemantar Aparanha Ashoke Viswanathan
2023 A Boy Who Dreamt of Electricity Jigar Madanlal Nagda
2023 SUZIE Q Chandan Roy Sanyal
2023 Whispers of Fire and Water Lubdhak Chatterjee
2023 The Nellie Story Parthajit Baruah
2023 Saayavanam Anil Kumar

Asian Select (NETPAC Award)

[edit]

Source:[14]

Year English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
2023 Gods Gift Tenirberdi Asel Zhuraeva Kyrgyzstan
2023 Barren Waters Nona Pani Syeda Neegar Banu Bangladesh
2023 Broken Dreams: Stories from the Myanmar Coup ကျိုးပဲ့အိပ်မက်များ The Ninefold Mosaic Myanmar
2023 Walker Joel Lamangan Philippines
2023 Nanda School of Tradition Nanda Master'nka Chatasali Pranab Kumar Aich India
2023 No Winter Holidays Rajan Kathet, Sunir Pandey Nepal
2023 And, Towards Happy Alleys Sreemoyee Singh India

Competition on Indian Short Films

[edit]
English title Original title Director(s)
Alvida - The Last Goodbye Dilu Maliackal
Beep Mrinal Deka
Funeral Bier Gahvara Tariq Mohammad
Last Rehearsal Kamil Saif
Letterbox Suman Bhaduri, Suvadeep Sarkar
My Father Is Afraid Of Water Papa Ko Pani Se Dar Lagta Hai Prateek Rajendra Srivastava
Pardon Sahdev Gholap

Competition on Indian Documentary Films

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English title Original title Director(s)
Tiger Army Sourabhkanti Dutta
Forged in Fire Bindu Nair,Sayyam Khanna
Someday Vishal P. Chaliha
Music of Rejuvenation Nobo Jagoroner Gaan Subha Das Mollick
LANGUR The Man Monkey Haider khan
Challenge Ramen Borah
Shrinking Of The Sturdy : Sabar Tales Abhijit Chakraborty

Bengali Panorama

[edit]

Source:[15]

Year English title Original title Director(s)
2023 Mind Flies Rajdeep Paul, Sarmistha Maiti
2023 Autumn Flies Bijoyar Pore Abhijit Sri Das
2023 Widows of the wild Bonbibi Rajdeep Ghosh
2023 Asampurno Amartya Sinha
2023 Invisible Chord Matripaksha Rajesh Roy
2023 We shall come back Abar Ashibo Firey Debapratim Dasgupta
2023 Awnath Anisul

Non-Competition Categories

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Best of Contemporary Australian Cinema

[edit]
Year English title Director(s)
2023 Shayda Noora Niasari
2021 The Dry Robert Connolly
2021 My Name Is Gulpilil Molly Reynolds
2023 Limbo Ivan Sen
2023 Sweet As Jub Clerc
2023 The Survival of Kindness Rolf de Heer

Centenary tribute

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International
Year English title Director Production countrie(s)
Charlton Heston
1958 Touch of Evil Orson Welles United States
1959 Ben-Hur William Wyler United States
Charlton Heston
Year English title Original title Production countrie(s)
Richard Attenborough
1982 Gandhi United Kingdom, India
Lindsay Anderson
1968 If.... United Kingdom
Ousmane Sembene
1963 Borom Sarret Charretier Senegal
Indian
Year English title Original title Language
Mrinal Sen
1972 Calcutta 71 Bengali
1980 Akaler Shandhaney আকালের সন্ধানে Bengali
1983 The Case is Closed Kharij Bengali
1977 The Marginal Ones Oka Oori Katha Telugu
1969 Bhuvan Shome Hindi
1971 Interview Bengali
Year English title Original title Director
Dev Anand
1951 Sazaa Fali Mistry
1970 Johny Mera Naam Vijay Anand
1967 Jewel Thief Vijay Anand
1949 Jeet Mohan Sinha
1965 Guide Vijay Anand
1956 C.I.D. Raj Khosla
1951 Baazi Guru Dutt
Mukesh (singer) and Shailendra (lyricist)
1966 Teesri Kasam Basu Bhattacharya

Cinema International

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English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
Sweet Dreams Ena Sendijarević Netherlands, Sweden
Anatomy of a Fall Anatomie d'une chute Justine Triet France
How to Have Sex Molly Manning Walker United Kingdom
Concrete Utopia 콘크리트 유토피아 Um Tae-hwa South Korea
The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer United States, United Kingdom, Poland
Monster 怪物 Hirokazu Koreeda Japan
About Dry Grasses Kuru Otlar Üstüne Nuri Bilge Ceylan Turkey, France, Germany
Cobweb 거미집 Kim Jee-woon South Korea
Sleep Jason Yu South Korea
Perfect Days Wim Wenders Japan, Germany
Fallen Leaves (film) Kuolleet lehdet Aki Kaurismäki Finland, Germany
Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert Margarethe von Trotta Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg
Lost in the Night Perdidos en la noche Amat Escalante Mexico, Germany
Kidnapped Rapito Marco Bellocchio Italy, France, Germany
Club Zero Jessica Hausner Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, United Kingdom
A Brighter Tomorrow Il sol dell'avvenire Nanni Moretti Italy, France
Last Summer L'Été dernier Catherine Breillat France
The Old Oak Ken Loach United Kingdom, France, Belgium
Critical Zone Mantagheye bohrani Ali Ahmadzadeh Iran, Germany
Behind the Mountains Oura el jbel Mohamed Ben Attia Tunisia, Belgium, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
Explanation for Everything Magyarázat mindenre Gábor Reisz Hungary, Slovakia
Essential Truths of the Lake Lav Diaz Philippines, France, Singapore, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World Nu aștepta prea mult de la sfârșitul lumii Radu Jude Romania, Luxembourg, France,Croatia
The Promised Land Bastarden Nikolaj Arcel Denmark, Germany, Sweden
The Beast La Bête Bertrand Bonello France
The Monk and the Gun Pawo Choyning Dorji Bhutan, France, United States, Taiwan
Green Border Zielona granica Agnieszka Holland Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium
Io capitano Matteo Garrone Italy, Belgium
Daaaaaalí! Quentin Dupieux France
The Palace Roman Polanski Italy, Switzerland, Poland, France
For Night Will Come En attendant la nuit Celine Rouzet France, Belgium
Red Island L'Île rouge Robin Campillo France, Belgium
Homecoming Catherine Corsini France
Through the Night Quitter la nuit Delphine Girard Belgium
MMXX Cristi Puiu Romania
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Bên trong vỏ kén vàng Phạm Thiên Ân Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain
Moro Brillante Mendoza Philippines
Mira Мира Dmitry Kiselyov Russian

Films on Environment

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English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
Antarctica Calling Voyage au pôle Sud Luc Jacquet France
All That Breathes Shaunak Sen India, United Kingdom, United States

Focus Country: Spain

[edit]
English title Original title Director(s)
Matria Álvaro Gago
Strange Way of Life Extraña forma de vida Pedro Almodóvar
20,000 Species of Bees 20.000 especies de abejas Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren

Focus on Australian Horror

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As spotlight is on Australia, being Special Feature Country, a selection of Australian outback horror films were presented. The festival also launched the 'Kolkata Tram of Horror', to embark on a spine-chilling tram ride through the world of Australian horror films.[16]

English title Original title Director(s)
100 Bloody Acres Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes
Picnic at Hanging Rock Peter Weir
Wolf Creek Greg McLean

Game On

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Year English title Original title Director(s)
2022 Shabaash Mithu Srijit Mukherji
2023 Ghoomer R. Balki
2022 Jersey Gowtam Naidu Tinnanuri

Homage

[edit]
English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
Gina Lollobrigida
A Dog's Life Vita da cani Mario Monicelli, Steno Italy
Stornellata Romana Pietro Francisci Italy
O Sole Mio Pietro Francisci Italy
Na sera e maggio Pietro Francisci Italy
Soumendu Roy (cinematographer)
Distant Thunder অশনি সংকেত Satyajit Ray India
Year English title Original title Production countrie(s)
Carlos Saura
1990 ¡Ay Carmela! Spain
J Beyond Flamenco Spain
Dariush Mehrjui
2020 A Minor La minor Iran

Kurdish Cinema: In Search of Identity

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Seven films by the directors of the Kurdish origin will be presented at the festival in a package.[17]

Year English title Original title Director Production countrie(s)
2016 The Swallow Die Schwalbe Mano Khalil Switzerland
2017 Zagros Sahim Omar Kalifa Belgium

Pavel Lungin

[edit]

Pavel Lungin is a Russian film director.

Year English title Original title Production countrie(s)
2009 Tsar! Царь Russia
1990 Taxi Blues Такси-блюз Soviet Union
2006 The Island Остров Russia
2012 The Conductor Дирижёр Russia
2016 The Queen of Spades Дама пик Russia
2019 Leaving Afghanistan Братство Russia
2005 Poor Relatives Бедные родственники Russia

Restored classics

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Year English title Original title Director Production countrie(s)
1973 Enter The Dragon Robert Clouse Hong Kong, United States
1973 The Exorcist William Friedkin United States

Retrospective: Bruce Beresford

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The festival presented a retrospective of six films by the Australian director Bruce Beresford including the 1989 oscar-winning film Driving Miss Daisy.[18]

Year English title Original title Production countrie(s)
1980 Breaker Morant Australia
1989 Driving Miss Daisy United States
1991 Black Robe Canada, Australia
1990 Mister Johnson United States
1999 Double Jeopardy United States
2016 Mr. Church United States

Short & Documentary Panorama

[edit]
English title Original title Director Production countrie(s)
The Saga Of A Couplet Jugoleshu Palash Das India

Special screening

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Year English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s)
2023 Junks & Dolls ASHGHAL HA VA AROUSAK HA Manijeh Hekmat India

Unheard India: Rare Language Films

[edit]
English title Original title Language Director(s)
Bird Thief Peta Dochcho Sounak Kar

Winners

[edit]

Source:[19][4]

  • Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Film:
    • Children Of Nobody by Erez Tadmor
  • Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Director: Carlos Daniel Malave for One Way
  • Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Short: Last Rehearsal by Kamil Saif
  • Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Documentary: Challenge by Ramen Borah, Sibanu Borah
  • Special Jury mention (Innovation in Moving Pictures): Kaleidoscope Now by Anjan Dutt
  • Hiralal Sen Memorial Award Best Film (Indian language's films) : Wild Swans by Rajni Basumatary
  • Hiralal Sen Memorial Award Best Director (Indian language's films) : Shonet Anthony Barretto for Avni Ki Kismat
  • Bengali Panorama Best Film : Mind Flies by Rajdeep Paul, Sarmistha Maiti
  • Special Jury mention (Indian language's films):
    • Josephs Son by Haobam Paban Kumar
  • NETPAC Award for Best Film : Broken Dreams: Stories from the Myanmar Coup by the Ninefold Mosaic

References

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  1. ^ "219 movies to be screened in Kolkata International Film Festival". The Week. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  2. ^ Ruman Ganguly (16 November 2023). "KIFF 2023 to be a starry celebration of cinema". Times of India. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Kolkata International Film Festival 2023 opening ceremony LIVE UPDATES: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Anil Kapoor and others make event a starry affair". Indian Express. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b Sudeshna Banerjee (13 December 2023). "29th Kolkata International Film Festival ends with screening of best films in Nandan". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  5. ^ "29th Kolkata International Film Festival to pay tribute to Mrinal Sen and Dev Anand". Times of India. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  6. ^ Sudeshna Banerjee (8 December 2023). "Centenary tribute to evergreen hero". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  7. ^ "KIFF Young directors to vie for honour in Bengali Panorama section". The Week. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b Priyanka Dasgupta (30 November 2023). "Uttam-Starrer 'Deya Neya' To Kick Off Kol Film Festival". Times of India. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  9. ^ "International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images". Kolkata International Film Festival. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  10. ^ Agnivo Niyogi (23 November 2023). "Kolkata International Film Festival 2023: Anjan Dutt's Chalchitra Ekhon only Indian film selected for international competition section". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Malayalam feature film 'Ozhuki Ozhuki Ozhuki' makes Kolkata film fest". New Indian Express. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Manipur Film Joseph's Son To Compete In 29th KIFF". Times of India. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Onkara' to compete at 29th Kolkata International Film Festival". Kaumudi. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  14. ^ "'Nona Pani' nominated for Kolkata Int'l Film Festival". Bangladesh Post. 18 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  15. ^ Shamayita Chakraborty (17 November 2023). "KIFF: Bengali Panorama section welcomes fresh filmmakers". OTT Play. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Kolkata International Film Festival Launches 'Kolkata Tram Of Horror' As Australian Horror Films Grace The Event". ABP Live. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  17. ^ Priyanka Dasgupta (29 November 2023). "Kurdish Film Package To Be Part Of KIFF Screenings, A First In India". Times of India. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Australia Takes Centre Stage As Special Feature Country At 29th Kolkata International Film Festival". ABP Live. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Winners". Kolkata International Film Festival. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
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