New Delhi: The second edition of the Cinevesture International Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled an exciting line up of movies that feature prestige international titles such as “Emilia Perez” and “The Girl with the Needle” as well as Indian films like Dibakar Banerjee’s “Tees” and Vetrimaaran’s “Viduthalai 2”.
The festival, to be held in Chandigarh from March 20 to 23, will open with the India Premiere of “A Normal Family”, the Korean Award-winning feature film by Hur Jin-ho. The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
This year’s edition will present 15 award-winning international features in the World Cinema section. The India Unveiled category will showcase 17 remarkable indie films.
VS Kundu, festival director, said the line up will appeal to both seasoned film enthusiasts and those new to cinema.
“The festival will showcase an eclectic mix of celebrated international films, regional Indian cinema, and hidden local gems from Haryana & Punjab to immerse the viewers in a wide range of cinematic experiences. We welcome you to experience the special magic of cinema possible only in community viewing on a big screen,” Kundu said.
Bina Paul, artistic director of the festival, said, “The people of Chandigarh are in for a treat with many famous films, many small gems, Regional Indian cinema, and films from Haryana & Punjab hitherto unseen. The films have something for the hardcore cineaste as well as the person who is discovering cinema. Looking forward to a great response from the audience!”
Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez”, which is part of The World Canvas segment, won best supporting actress and best song Oscars recently, while Magnus von Horn true-story inspired drama “The Girl with the Needle” was nominated for Oscars.
The segment also has titles such as Lawrence Valin’s “Little Jaffna” and Min Bahadur Bham’s “Shambala”, “Crickets, It’s Your Turn” by Olga Korotko, “The Queen of my Dreams” by Fawzia Mirza, “Brief History of a Family” by Jianjie Lin, “Dahomey” by Mati Diop, “Panopticon” by George Sikharulidze, “Stranger Eyes” by Yeo Siew Hua, “A Fly On the Wall” by Nilesh Maniyar & Shonali Bose and “Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust” by Ishan Shukla.
Other titles in the category are “Happyend” by Neo Sora, “My Favorite Cake” by
Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaie Ha, “My Sunshine” by Hiroshi Okuyama, “Stranger Eyes” by Yeo Siew Hua and “Waves”by Jiri Madl.
Banerjee and Vetrimaaran’s films are part of the India Unveiled segment, which will also feature films such as Tigmanshu Dhulia’s “Ghamasaan”, Raam Reddy’s Berlinale film “The Fable”, “Little Thomas”, starring Gulshan Devaiah & Rasika Dugal and Aditya Watts’Haryanvi film “Kaansya.
“A Boy Who Dreamt of Electricity” by Jigar Nagda, Vipin Radhakrishnan’s “Angammal”, Aranya Sahay’s “Humans in the Loop”, “Now & Forever” by Shalini Ushadevi, “Rhythm of Dammam” by Jayan Cherian, “Second Chance” by Subhadra Mahajan, “The Tiger” by Nikhil Mahajan are also part of the line up.
The festival will pay tribute to legendary filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who passed away in December last year, by showcasing three celebrated films from his filmography — “Manthan”, “Mammo” and “Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda”.
A special screening of the short film ‘The Cycle’, a Punjabi film by Arpita Mukherjee, set in Chandigarh and featuring Chandigarh’s cast and crew will also be screened at the opening ceremony.
There will also be two special screenings: the French documentary ‘The Eden of La Ciotat’, directed by Alain Bergala, and ‘The Cycle’.
Additionally, the festival will present a carefully curated selection of 3 student films –Aman Punia’s “Chulha Nyond”, Prateek Singh’s “Bhor” and Amit Dhanda’s “Baar”
The Punjabi-language film “Fathers and Sons”, directed by Ankur Singla, will have its World Premiere, while “Little Thomas”, directed by Kaushal Oza, will make its India Premiere at the festival.
Many film screenings will be followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers and engaging conversations.
