The 18th edition of the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) will be focussing on two themes, 60 years of Maharashtra and 60 years of FTII, announced Jabbar Patel, chairman and director of the Pune International Film Festival, at a press conference on Monday.
The inaugural session of PIFF will be held on January 9 at the Film and Television Institute of India. The festival be held from January 9-16, 2020, at various theatre locations in the city.
Patel said, “Maharashtra was formed in 1960, and 2020 marks the 60th year of the momentous event. So, we will be celebrating 60 years of Maharashtra and also the 60th year of FTII. The idea is to celebrate film education in India. We are concentrating on the cultural values of Maharashtra.”
He added that this year films from the United Kingdom will be shown in the ‘country focus section’ with two special packages by the British Council. Abhijeet Randhive, said, “The Bafta shorts 2019 will represent storytelling that reveals the breadth and diversity of British society, together with world class artistic and technical flair, and will feature some of the UK’s finest acting talents.”
Prakash Magdum, director, National Film Archive of India, said, “We have always been working in close association with PIFF. Apart from being a venue, we will also be hosting the ‘retrospective section’ featuring films by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. We will also be screening the world cinema.”
{{/usCountry}}Prakash Magdum, director, National Film Archive of India, said, “We have always been working in close association with PIFF. Apart from being a venue, we will also be hosting the ‘retrospective section’ featuring films by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. We will also be screening the world cinema.”
{{/usCountry}}Magdum added that the venue will also showcase an exhibition on the evolution and growth of Maharashtra through posters.
Bhupendra Kainthola, director, FTII, was glad to be a part of the event. “FTII is entering its diamond jubilee year in 2020 and we will be organising the opening and closing ceremony of PIFF at the campus. We will also be organising screenings, panel discussions, workshops for acting, cinematography and sound design.”
The online registration process for the audience will be open from December 10 on www.piffindia.com
The age group is 18 and above.
There will be several film sections at the festival which will include opening film, awardees section, world competition, Marathi competition, MITSFT international student competition, Tribal research and training institute short film competition, global cinema, country focus - art and culture and Bafta shorts.