Cinephiles Unite: Chandigarh Is Hosting Its First-Ever International Film Festival

Cinephiles of Chandigarh, unite! The city is hosting its first-ever international film festival - the Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF). The 5-day event, with its extensively diverse and rich film curation, is taking the best of world cinema and cinematic gems from across our nation and bringing them together under one roof. The festival will present 24 internationally acclaimed films in the World Cinema category, 17 independent treasures in the India Unveiled category, 27 short films in the Brief Encounters category, a carefully selected collection of children's films, and timeless classics.

CIFF will kick off with the Indian premiere of the Cannes-winning French film, The Taste of Things, featuring Juliette Binoche and close with Exhuma, South Korea's highest-grossing horror film, which premiered at the 2024 Berlinale. Other internationally acclaimed films that will be showcased include The Zone of Interest, a Holocaust drama that was a contender for the 2024 Oscars, Hirokazu Kore-eda's Monster, which won the Palme d'Or and was nominated for an Academy Award, The Whale, a 2023 Academy Award-winning film starring Brendan Fraser, the gripping documentary Seven Winters in Tehran, which won an award at the Berlinale, Breaking Ice, Singapore's entry for the Oscars, and Paradise, starring Roshan Mathew are also on the cine menu.

The festival is not short on bringing the national cine-treasures to the limelight. The showcased films and documentaries will include award-winning Indian productions such as the Marathi film Sthal, which won at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival film Stolen, Rima Das’ Assamese film Tora’s Husband, Gurvinder Singh’s Punjabi feature Adh Chanani Raat, Harjit Singh’s documentary on the late Punjabi painter and writer Imroz, Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Malayalam film Malaikottai Vaaliban, Sreemoyee Singh’s documentary And, Towards Happy Alleys, which pays tribute to Iranian cinema and poetry with Jafar Panahi, Varun Grover’s short film Kiss, and the short film Dammi starring Riz Ahmed.

In addition to the three theaters at Cinepolis Jagat, CIFF is planning to install a cinema screen in the central square of the Government Museum & Arts Gallery, Sector 10, Chandigarh, which will be 60 feet wide. Apart from the opening and closing films, this venue will showcase the classic movies Jalsaghar (a 1958 musical by Satyajit Ray), Kaagaz Ke Phool (a 1959 film by Guru Dutt), and The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (a 2020 recut version of Godfather 3 by Francis Ford Coppola, created to commemorate the film's 30th anniversary). Additionally, there will be an experiential cinema exhibition in the Rose Garden Underpass, celebrating the works of Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, who both lived to be centenarians. Screenings of children’s films are open to children ages 10-17 at 9 AM at Cinepolis Jagat.

The inaugural edition of this festival will include CIFF/market, which aims to financially support the filmmaking industry. Over 15 carefully selected projects by established creators from the Indian film industry will be showcased at CIFF/market. In addition, CIFF will organize workshops, master classes, and panel discussions for festival attendees and industry professionals. The festival will also host public events such as production design installations, karaoke nights, and late-night outdoor film screenings.

The festival is being organized by Cinevesture Pvt. Ltd., which Nina Lath, the Founder & CEO of the company, heads. The festival is supported by the Government Museum & Art Gallery, Chandigarh, the Department of Tourism Chandigarh, and the Chandigarh Administration. Mr. VS Kundu IAS (Retd), a former Head of the National Films Division of India, has joined as the Director of the Film Festival, and industry veteran Ms. Bina Paul is the Artistic Director of CIFF. The festival advisory board includes notable figures such as Rana Daggubati, the star of Bahubali and a leading film producer, Jerome Paillard, former Head of Cannes Film Market, Nicole Guillemet, former Co-Director of Sundance Film Festival, and acclaimed Indian filmmaker Ajitpal Singh (known for Fire in the Mountains and Tabbar), among others.

Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF)

Date: 27-31st March, 2024

Venue: Government Museum & Art Gallery, Sector 10

Cinepolis, Sector 17 | Underpass, Sector 17

You can find detailed information about the festival schedule, registration, and passes here.

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