Thiruvananthapuram: The 27th Kerala International Film Festival will start from today. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the Mela at Nishagandhi Auditorium today at 3.30 pm on Friday. British Film Institute resident pianist Jonny Best will be the special guest. 186 films from 70 countries will be screened at the eight-day festival from December 9 to 16. 14 films will be screened in the international competition category, 12 films in the Malayalam Cinema Today category and seven films in the Indian Cinema Now category. 78 films will be screened in the world cinema category. The fair will be the venue for the premiere of 12 films.
At the inaugural function, the Chief Minister will honor director Mahnas Mohammadi, who is fighting for women’s rights in Iran, with the Spirit of Cinema Award. Greek filmmaker and jury member Athena Rachel Sangari will receive the award on behalf of Mahnas, who will not be able to attend the festival in person due to travel restrictions. Jury chairman and German director Witt Helmer will be present at the ceremony.
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After the opening ceremony, there will be a sitar concert by Purbayan Chatterjee at 5 pm. After the concert, the opening film Tori and Lokita will be screened. This is the first screening of the film in India, which is a joint venture between Belgium and France. The film, which screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last May and won the 75th annual Cannes prize, tells the story of the bond between a boy and a girl who are refugees born in Africa and raised on the streets of Belgium.
The exhibition of the fair will be held in 14 theatres. The minister said that around 12000 delegates will participate. Culture Department Secretary Rani George, Film Academy Chairman Ranjith, Vice Chairman Premkumar, Secretary C. Ajoy and festival director Deepika Sushilan attended the press conference.
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