Shyam Benegal to be felicitated

Filmmaker Shyam Benegal will be felicitated at the ninth Third Eye Asian Film Festival, to be held in Mumbai from October 29 to November 4. The festival will showcase 80 films and 50 short films from Asian countries.

Festival director Sudhir Nandgaonkar said Son of Babylon, an Iraqi film, will open the festival and confirmed that Benegal will be the recipient of a special honour. "Shyam Benegal is a great force in Indian cinema. We will be honouring him with the Asian Film Culture award," said Nandgaokar.

The award honours the achievements of Asian directors, and is given each year to the master of Asian cinema. Six films by Mrinal Sen would be screened this year under the Asian Masters section.

Nandgaonkar said during the last 20 years, Asian cinema has gained immense popularity by winning top awards at world's important film festivals. The festival's closing film will be Marathi film Mee Sindhutai Sapkal.