PIFF announces the list of films to be showcased in the ‘World Competition Section’

Jyothi venkatesh

This year’s festival will showcase 14 selected international movies and will also hold lectures and discussion programs on film related things. The Pune Film Foundation in association with the Government of Maharashtra will showcase 14 selected movies in the ‘World Competition Section’ at its 18th Pune International Film Festival. Dr. Jabbar Patel, Director & Chairman of the festival announced the names of the films at a Press Conference held today along with the details of the events and programs to be held under the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and the PIFF forum.

Dignitaries including Samar Nakhate, Creative Director, Satish Alekar, Sabina Sanghavi, Trustee, Pune Film Foundation, Makrand Sathe and Abhijeet Randive, Members of the Film Selection committee & Amit Tyagi, Principle, MIT Film Institute were present at the conference.

This year, the official Film Festival of Maharashtra, which is scheduled to be held from January 9 to 16, 2020 has received 1900 film entries from more than 60 countries and out of that 191 films will be presented at the festival. The theme being ‘Maharashtra’s Diamond Jubilee Year’ the festival this year will feature films, which will highlight the cultural values of Maharashtra.

The films which will be showcased under the ‘World Competition Section’ will include

1) The Humorist – (Director- Michael Idov- Czech republic, Latvia, Russia)
2) Marighella – (Director- Wagner Moura- Brazil)
3) The Painted Bird- (Director- Vaclav Marhoul- Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine)
4) The Science of Fiction- (Director- Yosep Anggi Noen- Indonesia, Malaysia, France)
5) Mosaic Portrait- (Director- Zhai Yixiang- China)
6) The Teacher- (Director- Denis Dercourt- Germany, France)
7) Tall Tales – (Director- Attila Szasz- Hungary)
8) Supernova- (Director- Bartosz Kruhlik- Poland)
9) A Son- (Director Mehdi M Barsoui Tunisia, France, Lebanon, Qatar)
10) Liza’s Tale- (Director- Alexander Zhovna- Ukraine)
11) Homeward (Director- Nariman Aliev- Ukraine)
12) Beanpole (Director- Kantemir Balagov- Russia)
13) Market (Director- Pradip Kurbah- India)
14) Adults in the room (Director- Costa Gavras- France, Greece)

The annual PIFF Forum this year will be held this year. The events taking place at the Forum are as follows:

– A discussion on the topic- ‘Makeup Designer Creating an Illusion’ by renowned makeup artist, Vikram Gaikwad.
– An interactive session by Samar Nakhate, Pankaj Saxena and Amit Tyagi on the topic- ‘Film Education.’
– A discussion on the topic- ‘OTT Platforms and Successful Marketing of Films’ by Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal.
– Vijay Tendulkar Memorial Lecture by renowned filmmaker and writer, R Balki.
– An interactive program on ‘Film Insurance’ by New India Assurance.
– An interactive session on ‘Sound’ by Bishwadeep Chatterjee and on ‘Acting’ by Benjamin Gilani.

Accordingly, the names of the films to be showcased in the Indian film section were also announced. The films include- ‘A Night A Day’ (Director-Prathap Joseph T), ‘Nirwana Inn’ (Director- Vijay Jayapal),  ‘Axone’(Director- Nicolas Kharkongor), ‘KD’ (Director – Madhumita Sundararaman), ‘Widows of Silence’ (Director- Praveen Morchhale), ‘The Shadow of Othello’ (Director – Ishteyak Khan), ‘The Home and the World Today (Director – Aparna Sen), ‘Trees Under the Sun,’ (Director – Dr Biju), ‘The Seed’ (Director- Rajni Basumatary), and ‘Single Slipper Size 7’ (Director – Radhakrishnan Parthiban).