20th Chennai International Film Festival Has Begun: Here’s All You Need to Know

Here are the movies that you should look out for at the 20th Chennai International Film Festival

20th Chennai International Film Festival is set to happen from 15 December to 22 December.

(Photo: CIFF)

The festivities have already begun. Ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, here’s how cinephiles are all set to kick up their heels this holiday with the 20th Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF).

When? The weeklong event will be held from 15 December to 22 December, and it will feature 107 films from 48 countries.

Where? The filming venues are PVR Multiplex, Santham Screen, Serene Screen, Six Degrees Screen, and Seasons Screen in Sathyam Cinemas.

International Highlights: Films that were recognized at Oscars, Cannes and Golden Lion will be screened at the Chennai International Film Festival. German film 'AEIYU' will be screened as a special screening for women. Phillipe Faucon’s Les Harkis, Marcelo Gomes’ Paloma and Caterina’s Semret are a few of the international films that will be screened.

Apart from showcasing World Cinema locally, CIFF also promotes Tamil cinema internationally.

Local highlights:

The 12 Tamil films that will be screened at the prestigious festival include:

• Sai Pallavi’s Gargi

• Pa Ranjith’s Natchathiram Nagargiradhu

• Parthiban’s directorial and AR Rahman’s musical Iravin Nizhal

• Vijay Sethupathi’s Maamanithan

• Ramnath Palanikumar’s Aadhar

• Chimbu Devan’s Kasadathapara

• Karthik Subbaraj’s production Buffoon

• Mano Ve Kannathasan’s Irudhi Pakkam

• Nayanthara’s O2

Beginning, Yuddha Kaandam and Kida are the three other Tamil films that have not yet been released yet have reached the list.

The Malayalam films that will be screened include Manju KB’s Appan and Tharun Moorthy’s film Saudi Vellakka.

Kannada flick Hadinelentu, directed by Prithvi Konanur, and Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s Hindi film The Storyteller, the Telugu movie Cinema Bandi, and Dhabari Kuruvi in Irula are some of the other Indian films that will be screened apart from Bengali, Marathi and Assamese films.

The Indian Panorama section features 15 Indian films which include Tamil films namely Vijay Sethupathi’s Kaidisi Vivasayi, Maalainera Malipoo and Pothanur Post Office. Also, Oriya and Sanskrit language films will be screened for the first time.

What more is CIFF offering? In addition to the screenings, the films will be considered for competition under several categories like Best Tamil Feature Film, Second Best Tamil Feature Film, Special Jury Award (to an individual not covered in the above two awards), Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematographer, Best Editor and Best Sound Recordist.

A look at CIFF’s past: Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation, the home for world cinema lovers in Chennai, along with the support of the government of Tamil Nadu, has been organizing the Chennai International Film Festival since 2003. They present the best of international and Indian Panorama films and also have an exclusive "in competition" section, where the local Tamil films compete every year.

For more details, visit the link here.