20th Chennai International Film Festival thrown open

CHENNAI:  The 20th Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) was formally launched on Thursday with an inaugural ceremony. The eight-day film festival (December 15-22) was inaugurated by Minister for Information and Publicity MP Saminathan, who expressed his elation that the festival was taking place in a grand manner, especially after the pandemic. 

Thanking the government of Tamil Nadu and Chief Minister MK Stalin for providing Rs 75 lakh for the film festival this year, he added, “I hope the film institute students benefit from this festival.” Organised by the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF) in association with PVR Cinemas, the CIFF films will be screened at Sathyam Multiplex and Anna Cinemas in Chennai.  

In his welcome address, Sivan Kannan, the president of ICAF, said the delegation count for this year’s CIFF crossed 2,500. Narahari Rao, the artistic director of Bangalore film festival, spoke in reverence about the CIFF and noted that it has become an inspiration for other film festivals in India. 

Other guests at the inaugural event included actor Poornima Bhagyaraj, Katharina Gorgen, the director of Goethe Institut, and Deputy Consul General of Switzerland in Bengaluru, Patrick Mueller. Incidentally, this will be the first time CIFF will have an exclusive screening for women.