West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the 44th death anniversary celebrations of actor Uttam Kumar (Mahanayak), in Kolkata on Wednesday | Photo Credit: ANI

The 30th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) will have a competitive section on Bengali language films called Bengali Panorama. It will also have a competitive section for Indian language films. The festival is organised by the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs of the West Bengal government and will be held between December 4 and 11, CM Mamata Banerjee announced on Wednesday.

The dates of the festival were announced on the 44th death anniversary of Bengali actor Uttam Kumar. The event was held at Dhandhanya Auditorium in Kolkata.

The competitive category for Bengali language films will carry a cash prize of ₹7,50,000 and the winner of the Indian language films category will get a cash prize of ₹10,00,000 which will be divided equally between the director and producer of the film. In both the cases, the director of the film will also be awarded the Golden Royal Bengal Trophy.

The CM appointed senior filmmaker Gautam Ghosh as the chairman of KIFF and eminent actor Prosenjit Chatterjee as the vice-chairman. Ms Banerjee said at the event that like every other prestigious edition of KIFF, this year too the festival to be held in December will showcase the best international films.

On Ghosh and Chatterjee being appointed as president and vice-president, she said, “They will form a committee of other experts to organise this year’s festival in a grand manner, showcasing the best films.” Recalling a moment from her past, Ms Banerjee said how as a child her mother would take her to watch films of legendary actor Uttam Kumar. She also said how Mr Kumar helped give a concrete form to Bengal’s culture and heritage in cinema.

Ms Banerjee also said, “The playback [on Uttam Kumar’s lips] He will remain immortal in films. He is inseparable from the heritage of West Bengal. He has taught us not to lose our identity and roots.”

All entries for the Kolkata International Film Festival are now open and can be viewed from their website. The official selection for the festival will be announced by November 15.

The film festival will have competitions in these categories, International Competition: Innovation in Moving Image, Competition on Indian Languages, Asian Select (NETPAC Award), Bengali Panorama, National Competition on Documentary, National Competition on Short Fiction. There is also a non-competition category called Cinema International.

According to their official statement, the aim of this film festival is “to provide a platform for a better understanding of the world’s past and present films in an atmosphere of appreciation of film culture and to advance the cinematic art and industry towards excellence.”

KIFF also said, “A film which is not accepted for the Competition section may be screened in Contemporary World Cinema or any other non-competition section with the consent of the participant.”