TIFF begins on Saturday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  Minister for Forest and Film KB Ganesh Kumar will inaugurate the 16th Trivandrum International Film Festival (TIFF) to be organised by the Chalachithra Film Society on August 6 at Kalabhavan theatre at 6.15 pm. This was announced by Narayanan V.K, Secretary, Chalachithra Film Society, in a press meet held here on Tuesday. Dani Menkin, filmmaker from Israel, will be the special guest of honour.The inaugural film ‘Barneys Version’, directed by Richard J Lewis, will be screened at Kalabhavan theatre at 5.45 pm.The festival, which will be on till August 12, will screen around 53 films from 24 nations at Kalabhavan theatre, German cultural centre and Kesari Memorial Hall. Entry to the Kalabhavan theatre will be restricted through delegate passes whereas the entry to other two venues will be open to all.Five films will be screened at Kalabhavan theatre every day, whereas Kesari Hall will have two screenings and German cultural centre will have one screening. Films are categorised into six packages viz. Asian Cinema, World Cinema, Focus French Cinema, Golden Globe/ Oscars, Masters’ Series and World Cinema. The World Cinema category will have 20 films from 14 nations of which 16 are award-winning films.To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, a package of seven films made by well-known directors based on his stories will also be screened at the Kesari Memorial Hall. ‘Teen Kanya’ and ‘Charulatha’ directed by Satyajit Ray, ‘Nauka Dubi’ and ‘Chokar Bali’ by Rituparno Ghosh, ‘Kabuliwala’, ‘Kshudita Pashan’ and ‘Athiti’ by Tapan Sinha comprise the package.Delegate passes will be available at the Kalabhavan theatre from August 4. Delegate pass costs ` 250. Student pass is available at Rs 150.