AS-GIFF- The Week

Guwahati international film fest begins, to screen 100 movies
from 65 nations
    Guwahati, Oct 31 (PTI) The 3rd Guwahati International
Film Festival (GIFF) began here on Thursday with a platter of
100 movies from 65 countries that is likely to attract over
5,000 domestic and foreign delegates during the next one week.
    The inaugural ceremony was attended by Polish film
director Krzysztof Zanussi and National Award winning
filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar.
    Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated
the seven-day-long extravaganza saying that the festival is
aimed to integrate the world as a family.
    "Assam has a rich cultural heritage and is full of
natural beauty. The state is also full of talents," he said
while welcoming a host of dignitaries here.
    In presence of the National Award winning actor Adil
Hussain, Sonowal said the Assamese actor has conquered the
world with his acting prowess.
    Sonowal invited filmmakers to shoot their films in
Assam and assured all support from the state government.
    Zanussi highlighted the heights that cinema has
achieved over the years.
    "I have seen that cinema over the years has achieved
something surprising. In many of it's manifestations, it has
reached a level of art which is not only popular, but also
belongs to higher shelf," he added.
    Dwelling on the role of film festivals in promoting
quality cinema, Zanussi said, "Film festivals promote high art
rather than regular cinema. Festivals bring to local people
global cinema which otherwise is not available to them."
    During the festival, nearly 70 personalities from
India and abroad will take part with their films, while envoys
from South Korea, Hungary, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago,
Bolivia, Argentina and Bangladesh will be present.
    Festival Director Monita Borgohain said due to heavy
rush of delegates, offline registration had to be stopped from
October 26, while online was shut down from Wednesday evening.
    "We have already seen over 5,000 registration. Spot
registration at the venue will continue till the last day and
usually we get another 2,000 names during that. So, we expect
a total of around 7,000 registration this year," she added.
    The Assam Government-owned Jyoti Chitraban (Film
Studio) Society is the organiser of the festival, which will
be held from October 31 to November 6, in association with Dr
Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television
Institute.
    The 3rd GIFF will begin with screening of Iranian film
'Charcoal' (Komur) by Esmaeel Monsef, while 'To The Desert'
(Al Desierto) by Argentinian director Ulises Rosell will be
the closing film.
    This year, Iran is the country of focus with five
films, while the focus region is Latin American and Caribbean
countries with seven films in the GIFF 2019.
    Apart from these countries, films from Sri Lanka,
Hungary, South Korea, Spain, Israel, the USA, Taiwan, Italy,
Iceland, China, Canada, Philippines, Bangladesh, France,
Portugal, Bhutan, Bolivia, Poland, Russia, Japan, Nepal,
Germany, Belgium, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Vietnam,
Qatar, Slovenia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Syria, Denmark
and Tunisia will also be screened.
    The festival has been divided into eight categories
with the tribute section being dedicated to eminent film
personalities Mrinal Sen and Girish Karnad, who passed away
during the year.
    The other categories include World Cinema, Indian
Showcase, Competition Section, North-East Kaleidoscope,
Retrospective Section, 150 years of Celebrating the Mahatma
and Indian Panorama. PTI TR
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