Cinema, city & celebrities: Cinephiles are in for a treat as the first edition of Cinevesture International Film Festival, City Beautiful’s very own movie extravaganza, takes off on March 27

Nonika Singh

It’s quite a think-tank. The creative team, all set to unveil the first edition of Cinevesture International Film Festival, which boasts of names like artistic director Bina Paul, an award-winning film editor, shares why Le Corbusier’s City Beautiful deserves a festival of its own and what all it will entail.

With decades of experience behind her, the former Managing Director, National Film Development Corporation, Nina Lath Gupta, whose brainchild the festival is, says, “Look at the demography of Chandigarh; it has academia, artists and an educated populace that appreciates finer things of life. Since cinema is a culmination of many arts, this hub of North was the ideal place.”

VS Kundu, former Director General Films Division of India, and Director of CIFF, believes there was a huge vacuum not only in the city, but the entire north region. He adds, “With a vibrant Punjabi film industry apart from a rocking music scene and Haryana’s cinema picking up, there was an urgent need to be the bridge between producers and talent from the region.”

Unique flavour

In fact, what makes the festival different is the thrust on the market and with former Head of Cannes Film Market, Jerome Paillard, on the advisory board, one can expect a host of innovative ideas. Paul agrees that every festival must have a unique flavour and what distinguishes CIFF is the producers’ forum. Actually, the festival has three major verticals, namely movies, workshops and market. For workshops, big names like Shekhar Kapur, Sudhir Mishra, Hansal Mehta et al are likely to enlighten cinephiles on the craft of cinema.

Of course, ultimately cinema is what makes the festival. Paul, who has been associated with International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) for over two decades, has given the first outing of CIFF much thought. The audiences’ tastes, representation, particularly from the region, and movies that viewers normally don’t get to see, are some of the factors that Paul has weighed in while designing the festival, which she finds as challenging as editing a film.

Screen magic

If the opening film is the Cannes-winner French movie The Taste of Things, starring Juliette Binoche, the closing one is South Korea’s highest grossing horror film Exhuma (Pamyo), which premiered at 2024 Berlinale. The 2024 Oscar contender Holocaust drama, The Zone of Interest, Palme d’Or Winner and Academy Nominee Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster, 2023 Academy Award-winner, The Whale, starring Brendan Fraser, Seven Winters in Tehran; Singapore’s Oscar entry, Breaking Ice, Deepa Mehta’s TIFF film, I am Sirat, and the Roshan Mathew-starrer Paradise, stand out in the fine line-up. The number of films may not be staggering, but not any less significant.

Indian features and documentaries include Toronto International Film Festival winner Marathi film Sthal, Venice Film Festival movie Stolen, Rima Das’ Assamese film Tora’s Husband, and, not to miss, Harjit Singh’s documentary on the late Punjabi painter and writer Imroz. Auteur filmmaker Gurvinder Singh’s much-acclaimed Punjabi feature Adh Chanani Raat will also be screened during the festival. He has designed the CIFF poster too, keeping the spirit of Chandigarh and legacy of Le Corbusier in mind.

Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Malayalam film Malaikottai Vaaliban, Sreemoyee Singh’s documentary, And, Towards Happy Alleys, an ode to Iranian cinema and poetry featuring Jafar Panahi, Varun Grover’s short film Kiss and the Riz Ahmed-starrer short Dammi, are some of the other highlights.

Old is gold

Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal, Roshan Mathew, Gulshan Devaiah, Varun Grover, Rasika Duggal, Rashmeet Kaur and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana will add lustre to the proceedings. Of course, as Bina who has built audiences for IFFK assiduously over the years, observes, “Ultimately, it’s the audiences that make the festival.”

Movie buffs, keep your date with the festival that brings in its fold an experiential exhibition on Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand (at Underpass, Sector 17) to mark their birth centenary year. ‘Old is gold’ will also reflect in screenings of classics such as Satyajit’s Ray’s 1958 musical Jalsaghar and Guru Dutt’s Kaagaz Ke Phool. The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (2020), a recut of the original Godfather 3 by Francis Ford Coppola, will mark the 30th anniversary of the iconic film. To be held in Chandigarh from March 27 to 31, venues for the festival are Cinepolis Jagat and the Government Museum, Sector 10, Chandigarh. Fault finders can rest easy, the festival promises to get bigger and better with each edition. Of course, first time is the charm and the organisers insist the festival has all that it takes to create a buzz.

(One can register at ciff.in)