219 films, 39 countries, 23 venues: KIFF 2024 set to amp up the celebration of cinema

The 29th Kolkata International Film Festival is set to kick off on December 5. Here’s what movie lovers can expect at the week-long fest:
A star-studded start

The December 5 inauguration at Netaji Indoor Stadium will be attended by Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Mahesh Bhatt, Shatrughan Sinha and Sourav Ganguly, among others. Actress Aditi Rao Hydari will attend the closing ceremony.

Cine Adda, the main attraction of the fest, will be held regularly in the evening

Stars galore at KIFF masterclasses
The masterclasses will have Saurabh Sukhla speaking on acting, Saugata Mukherjee, on film production, while Manoj Bajpayee and Sudhir Mishra will speak on acting and direction


The festival will also pay homage to Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, Spanish director Carlos Saura, English film critic & historian Derek Malcolm, cinematographer Soumendu Roy and Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui – all of whom passed away this year.


KIFF includes a wide array of contemporary cinema and we’ve also been able to curate masterclasses and interactions with stalwarts from Indian and global cinema that students of cinema from the city will find interesting
– Arindam Sil, filmmaker who’s chairing four KIFF sub-committees & is a member of the fest apex advisory committee
KIFF prides itself for its ability to give all kinds of viewers exposure to global cinema. And the crowd, even during the pandemic, proves that Kolkata people love films
– Soham, actor

KIFF is a celebration of cinema, and this festival gives us the chance to watch films from all over the world. No wonder, the fest has grown in popularity over the years
– Mimi Chakraborty, actor-MP

It’s time for the 29th KIFF, which all of us had been waiting for. Now it’s not just a festival but an emotion for all cinephiles of Kolkata. I guess it’s fast turning into one of the biggest film festivals of India attended by filmmakers & cine lovers from the world over
– Raj Chakrabarty, KIFF chairperson and filmmaker

Centenary tributes will be paid to British director Lindsay Anderson, filmmaker Richard Attenborough, American actor Charlton Heston, Senegalese director, producer & writer Ousmane Sembene, filmmaker Mrinal Sen, actor Dev Anand, singer Mukesh, and poet & lyricist Shailendra

1,590 films were submitted for the festival

Films will be screened at Radha Studio using a 35mm projector

15 films in 3 categories from Australia, the fest’s special focus, will be screened

6 contemporary films from Spain, the focus country, will be screened

The title song and a short film created for the fest, started playing across audio-visual mediums in the state from Thursday. While Srijato has penned the lyrics and Indraadip Das Gupta has composed the music, Arijit Singh has lent his voice to the festival song. The short film has been directed by PB Chaki

A new segment
A competitive Bengali film segment has been introduced this year, with the winner set to take home a prize money of `7.5 lakh. The International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images jury comprises Russian director Pavel Lungin (chairperson) and director Tigmanshu Dhulia