Kolkata International Film Festival: Govt eyes world-class tourism

NEW DELHI: The 23rd Kolkata International Film Festival is already being touted to be a success, with big Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kamal Haasan, Mahesh Bhatt and Kajol on board.
The festival, which will be organised from November 10-17, will emphasise on 'Focus Country' United Kingdom. British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom is also slated to attend the inaugural ceremony.
143 films from 53 countries will be screened across 12 venues during the festival. In fact, local theatres will also participate, in a bid to enhance the connect with the people.
As a tribute to late actors Om Puri and Tom Alter, and cinematographer Ramananda Sengupta, the festival will showcase movies like 'Sadgati', 'Shatranj ke Khiladi' and 'Headmaster.'
The screening of Jean-Luc Godard's 1986 film 'The Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company' will be one of the high points of the fest.
Six movies by Winterbottom and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang will be played as part of the retrospective section.
The 'Hiralal Sen Memorial Award' will be presented to Indian language film winners.
The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government wants to transform the festival into a draw for tourists.
"We want to transform it like the October Fest of Germany or the Hornbill Festival in the North-East, so that it can be a world-wide tourist attraction," said minister and co-chairman of the festival Indranil Sen.
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