Mamata Banerjee Reschedules Kolkata International Film Festival to January 2021 Due to Covid-19
Due to the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, the internationally acclaimed Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) has been rescheduled to January 2021 by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee.
It was learnt that as per initial plan the KIFF was supposed to be held during November 5-12, 2020 but the dignitaries and global film fraternity suggested the state government to postpone it to January.
Confirming the development, Banerjee, tweeted on Thursday, said, “After receiving global film fraternity’s consent, I hereby inform all stakeholders of Kolkata International Film Festival & Cine lovers that our festival has been rescheduled, given the current circumstances. It will now be held from Jan 8-15, 2021. Let the preparations begin!”
After receiving global film fraternity’s consent, I hereby inform all stakeholders of Kolkata International Film Festival & cine lovers that our festival has been rescheduled, given the current circumstances. It will now be held from Jan 8-15, 2021. Let the preparations begin!
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) October 29, 2020
There are three competition categories in the festival, including Asian Select (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema Award), Competition of Indian language’s Films and International Competition based on innovation in moving images.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the 26th edition of KIFF has been designed in a smarter frame considering the need of social distancing in this time of crisis. This edition has been proposed primarily in online mode for the cine lovers, critics, actors and others so that they continue to feel the pulse of the film festival.
The Kolkata Film Festival was started in the year 1995 after being inspired from the masters of Bengali Cinema – Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen and many more. Last year the KIFF was inaugurated by actor Shah Rukh Khan in November after Amitabh Bachchan, had to cancel his visit at the last minute due to health reasons.
The KIFF is an annual affair and several international films are showcased during the festival. During this period Kolkata welcomes arrival many international and nationally acclaimed artists, film directors and producers.