The 24th Kolkata International Film Festival took place from 10 Nov 2018 – 17 Nov 2018. Celebrating 100 Years of Bengali cinema, Around 171 films and 150 short and documentary films from 70 countries was screened at the festival.
Inauguration 24th Edition of Kolkata International Film Festival was inaugurated at Netaji Indoor Stadium by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
Apart from the entire Bengali film industry, Bollywood stalwart Amitabh Bachchan, who has been a regular in the inaugural function of KIFF for the last few years, was also invited this year, along with Shahrukh Khan. Along with them, other nationally famed film personas like Jaya Bachchan, Wahida Rehman, Nandita Das, Mahesh Bhatt were also present.
Themes & Highlights The highlight of the festival this year was 100 years of Bengali cinema – fourteen restored Bengali classics and a few contemporary regional language films was screened at Nandan and Rabindra Sadan. The special focus of KIFF this year was on Australia and Tunisia films. Selected contemporary and iconic Australian and Tunisian movies was also screened, along with three retrospective series with films by Majid Majidi, Phillip Noyce and Bimal Roy. Änother category "Unheard India" was showcase eight lesser-known Indian language films from across the country – Sinjar (Jasari), Saakibaayi (Banjaara), Kittath Preeti, Boldu, Navleri, Death Certificate (Bengali), Nabon (Khasi) and Nana A Tale Of Us.
‘Antony Firingee’ starred by Uttam Kumar was chosen as the inaugural movie of the festival . A special theatre play named ‘Hirala Bioscope’ was staged on 13 November. It is based on Hiralal Sen, who is considered to be one of the country's first filmmakers.
Official Selections
Competition Categories
Asian Select (NETPAC Award) TitleDirectorNotesManta RayPhuttiphong AroonphengAmra And The Second MarriageMahmoud SabbaghAbrahamKonarak MukherjeeThe Sweet RequiemRitu Sarin, Tenzing SonamNETPAC Award for Best FilmSaga Of A NobodySoumendu BhattacheryaHouse of My FathersSuba Sivakumaran
International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images TitleOriginal TitleDirectorCountryNotesUnicornUnicornioEduardo NunesJudgement DayYomeddineAbu Bakr ShawkyEgyptGolden Royal Bengal Tiger for Best DirectorSheOluSHAJI N KARUNIndiaEndless-Maryam ZahirimehrIranThe He Without HimRunanubandhaAmartya BhattacharyyaIndiaA TimelineTarikhChurni GangulyIndiaJury Special MentionBlack MexicansLa NegradaJorge Perez SolanoSibelGuillaume Giovanetti, Cagla ZencirciThe Third WifeAsh MayfairGolden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best FilmPersons of InterestRALSTON GONZALES JOVERGenesisGenezisArpad BogdanI Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As BarbariansRadu JudeStrangers Of PatienceSTRANNIKI TERPENIYAVladimir AlenikovThe Widowed WitchCAI ChengjieFORNACISAurelia Mengin
Competition on Indian Language's Films TitleDirectorNotesSun Goes Around The EarthArijit BiswasBest DirectorPixeliaRatheesh RavindranHalf SongsSriram RajaCertain Lives In TwilightPraveen SukumaranKedaraIndraadip DasguptaSpecial Mention JuryVartak NagarAtul TaisheteNirmal EnrouteRishi DeshpandeObyaktoArjun DuttaKANTHAN THE LOVER OF COLOURSHAREEF EASAWidow of SilencePraveen MorchhaleHiralal Sen Memorial Award' for Best FilmMishingBobby Sarma BaruahIn a Land far awayJoshy MathewHiralalArun Roy
Competition on Indian Documentary Films TitleDirectorNotesSAY CHEESEIshani K. DuttaBest DocumentaryTIDES OF LIFESuhel BanerjeeMELTING ICEDevanshi asherSWORD OF LIBERTYShiny Jacob BenjaminPONY TALEAlexander Leo PouLADLISuipta KunduMEMOIRS OF SAIRA & SALIMEshwarya GroverAN ORIGINAL CLOUD IN THE MOUNTAINSJill MistryPROTULBABUDebasish GhoshalTHE MONKS WHO WON A GRAMMYAparna SanyalTHE JUNGLE MAN LOIYAFarha KhatunJIBANPUR STATIONRavi R
Non-Competition Categories
100 Years of Bengali Cinema TitleDirectorNotesUDAYER PATHEBimal RoyMUKTIPramathesh BaruaUTTAR FALGUNIAsit SenCHOKHUtpalendu ChakrabartySTREER PATRAPurnendu PattreaSAPTAPDIAjoy KarPADMA NADIR MAJHIGoutam GhoseKONISaroj DeyKABULIWALATapan SinhaGANGARajen TarafdarGANADEBATATarun MajumdarUNISHE APRILRituparno GhoshALIBABAMadhu Bose
Bengali Panorama TitleDirectorNotesAsukhwala - The Pain HawkerPalash DeyWatchmakerAnindya BanerjeeIye - The OthersDebesh ChatterjeeBisorgoArunava KhasnobisAndarkahiniArnab K Middya
Cinema International TitleDirectorCountryNotesAt warStephane BrizeFranceBirds Of PassageCristina Gallego, Ciro GuerraColombiaThe RiverEmir BaigazinKazakhstanBorderAli AbbasiSwedenWorking WomanMichal AviadIsraelBlack HoleDiego AraujoEcuadorLike Cat And DogJanusz KondratiukPolandA Land ImaginedSiew Hua YeoSingaporeThe Man who killed Don QuixoteTerry GilliamUnited KingdomKnife+HeartYann GonzalezFranceCobain (film)Nanouk LeopoldNetherlandsThe Reports on Sarah and SaleemMuayad AlayanPalestineRetabloAlvaro Delgado AparicioPeruRafikiWanuri KahiuKenyaLemonadeIoana UricaruThe Snatch ThiefAgustin ToscanoArgentinaThe Happy Prince Rupert EverettUnited KingdomLes Salopes, or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of SkinRenee BeaulieuCanadaWhite Chamber Paul RaschidUnited KingdomHomelandAnindya ChatterjeeIndiaTouch Me NotAdina PintilieRomaniaAnimalArmando BoArgentinaSew the Winter to My SkinJahmil X.T. QubekaSouth AfricaGirls Of The SunEva HussonFranceJumpmanIvan I. TverdovskyBreath Of LifeDavid RouxUnited StatesBallonMichael HerbigGermanyTreat Me Like FireMarie MongeFranceSunsetLaszlo NemesHungaryTroteXacio BanoSpainA Twelve-year NightAlvaro BrechnerUruguaySavageVincent MarietteCapernaum Nadine LabakiLebanonQUIEN TE CANTARACarlos VermutDaughter Of MineLaura BispuriItalySTRIPPEDYARON SHANIGENIZASJuan Sebastian Jacome
Documentary Films TitleDirectorNotesLAASYAMVinod MankaraShuhaib The Immortal Fighter Of Kannur Killing Fieldpt chackoKaliSubrata SenCAL-KATA KOL-CUTTAHannah Mitchell, Alan De OliveiraLADAKH CHALE RICKSHAWALAIndrani ChakrabortyIN HIS INNER VOICE : KULDIP NAYARMeera DewanTHE SLAVE GENESISAneez K MWB KHADI & VI BOARD A SUSTAINABLE JOURNEYSusanta BiswasCHASING DREAMSVaishali KendaleFINDING PRAYERSNilay Samiran NandiATASIPutul MahmoodTHE LAST KNELLKAKALI CHAKRABARTYAN ENGINEERED DREAMHEMANT KUMAR GABAGULDARKumar ShivamNURSERY OF HOCKEY-SIMDEGANikhil ShardaSMART CITY BLUESDebarun DuttaTHE MAN WHO PLAYED WITH LIGHTSSHOUNAK MAJUMDARINCLUSIVE EYESDevender DahimaDUSK WITH DUSTAashish KatiyanIN THUNDER LIGHTNING AND RAINRajesh JamesECHO FROM THE PUKPUI SKIESJoshy JosephGODDESS IN THE MOSQUEPriyashanker GhoshCHANDUA - A UNIQUE HERITAGEKRISHNA BASUMOTHERS WITH IRON HEARTSSanjiban NathAN ICONIC GENIUSSougata BhattacharyyaThe Granite Clad NevaIgor GankinABARTANSantanu Halder05.05.2015Arthur YakubovIN THE MEMORY OF THE MASTERJyotirmay DebBANARAS PINKPEARL SANDHUA JOURNEY OF PASSIONBijaya Kumar NishankaThe IslandAdam WeingrodThe KingAleksander KrzystyniakEastern MemoriesNiklas Kullstrom, Martti KaartinenMythLeonid Kanter and Ivan YasniyTale Of A Fair Ujjal PaulRANGABHOOMI BHALOBASHISANTANU SAHAThe Mountain Of LawSurya Shankar DashBHAURAO DATAR - A CURTAIN CALLBharat Yashwant KanhereScorchedAkshay GouriTOMARI MATIR KONNYASekhar DasDREAMS ON WHEELSVEDIKA KRUTIAND THEY MADE CLASSICSRatnottama SenguptaNEMAI GHOSH - A RAY OF LIGHTAnirban Mitra, Tirtha Dasgupta
Children's Screening TitleDirectorNotesAdventures KidsN.M.JoshiThe Great Indian Road MovieSohan LalMaassabAditya OmSupa ModoLikarion Wainaina
Contemporary Australian Cinema TitleDirectorNotesPeter Rabbit Will Gluck1 PercentStephen McCallumSwinging Safari Stephan ElliottMary MagdaleneGarth DavisJirgaBenjamin GilmourBreath Simon BakerDancing The InvisibleAxel GrigorAli's WeddingJeffrey Walker
Iconic Australian Cinema TitleDirectorNotesTHE STORY OF THE KELLY GANGCharles TaitTHE SENTIMENTAL BLOKERaymond LongfordTHE DRESSMAKERJocelyn MoorhouseBLESSEDAna KokkinosCLAYGiorgio MangiameleFORTY THOUSAND HORSEMENCharles ChauvelMALCOLMNadia TassPICNIC AT HANGING ROCKPeter WeirPRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERTStephan ElliottROMPER STOMPERGeoffrey WrightTEN CANOESRolf de Heer
Great Master: Bimal Roy TitleDirectorNotesPEHLA AADMIBimal RoyMAABimal RoyYAHUDIBimal RoyDO BIGHA ZAMINBimal RoySUJATABimal Roy
Homage: Supriya Devi TitleDirectorNotesMEGHE DHAKA TARARitwik Ghatak
Centenary Tribute: Ernst Ingmar Bergman TitleYann GonzalezNotesWinter LightIngmar BergmanWild StrawberriesIngmar BergmanThrough A Glass Darkly Ingmar BergmanThe Seventh SealIngmar BergmanPersonaIngmar BergmanFanny And AlexanderIngmar BergmanCries And Whispers Ingmar BergmanBergman IslandMarie Nyrerod
References