Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (KR)
Mangaluru, Jun 6: The Nitte International Film Festival (NIFF), organized by the students of Nitte Institute of Communication, Mangaluru, is all set the hit the cinemas, for its four-day annual film festival, informed festival coordinator Prof Raviraj Kini.
This film spectacular, featuring over 100 films and 40 filmmakers, will take place from June 8 to June 11 at Bharath Cinemas, Mangaluru. The event brings together the best films and filmmakers across the country, to the vibrant and diverse city of Mangaluru.
Vice president, the Federation of film societies of India, and general secretary, FIPRESCI India, Premendra Mazumdar will be the chief guest for the inaugural function of fourth edition of NITTE international film festival, Pro chancellor NITTE DU will be the guest of honour.
The Nitte International Film Festival was first launched in 2017 by the students of Nitte Institute of Communication and the festival has been a grand success ever since. To mark the fourth edition of this great festival, this year’s line-up will showcase award-winning films in various Indian dialects including Hindi, Tulu, Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu, Marathi, and Tamil, as well as critically acclaimed cinema from different parts of the world. The festival will host eminent personalities including Raj B Shetty, Manish Saini, Shivadwaj, Shishir Jha, Rahul PK, Mansore, Jeo Baby, Champa Shetty, Bharath Mirle, Saurabh Kanti Dutta, Amartya Bhattacharya and Umesh Badiger, along with many others.
The festival also offers the public various opportunities to expand their knowledge and fuel their interest in the film industry. There will be interactive sessions with each filmmaker after the screening of their film, a retrospective exhibition of Osmane Sembene’s greatest works, a screening of Irrfan Khan’s last film, Song of Scorpions, a photo exhibition portraying the journey of Kannada cinema, and master classes by renowned personalities of the industry.
In collaboration with Goethe Institute and the German Embassy, Bengaluru, NIFF draws its focus to Germany, a country known for its rich film traditions, this year. The festival will exhibit 13 German films, which include the riveting films Zuhur’s Daughters, Generation Incompatible, Exil, New Building, and Dear Future Children. Besides, NIFF will also be showcasing films from Bangladesh, Nepal, Singapore, Persia, France, and Senegal.
The retrospective exhibition will feature the works of Senegalese filmmaker and author, Osmane Sembene, who is considered the Father of African Films, in celebration of his 100th birth anniversary. Restored versions of Sembene’s Mandabi (1962) and Black Girl (1963), along with a documentary on Sembene, by Samba Gadjago, will be presented in his honour.
Veteran actor Irrfan Khan’s last film, The Song of Scorpions, will also be screened to pay homage to the late actor.
NIFF will also display a photo exhibition titled, ‘Snapshots from Sandalwood’s History’ by photojournalist Ashwath Narayana. This will showcase rare, unpublished photographs cataloguing 60 years of Kannada cinema through a nostalgic collection of working stills, publicity stills, portraits of actors and technicians, and significant events related to Kannada cinema. The film and photo enthusiasts will get an opportunity to interact with Ashwath at the venue.
In addition to this, NIFF has also provided an opportunity for the public to delve deeper into the film landscape by conducting five master classes on The Art of Film Reviewing, The Art and Craft of Art Direction, The Art of Storytelling, Film Direction, and Short Filmmaking. All these masterclasses will be conducted by award-winning professionals in the industry.
The Nitte International Film Festival at Bharath Cinemas, Mangaluru will be free, and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The festival will commence on Thursday, June 8, with the screening of the opening film for this year, Hadinelentu, a Kannada film by Prithvi Konnanur.