For the first time, Tamil Nadu is set to witness its first-ever independent film festival this year. The virtual film festival will be held between October 25 and November 15.
According to the organisers of the film festival, a total of 396 entries from 55 countries were received, out of which, 298 films were selected for screening. Film categories included for screening are Narrative Features, Documentary Features, Short Films, Short Documentary, Animated Films, Music Videos, Ad Films, and Student Productions from film schools.
Films from Cuba, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Estonia, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Denmark, Netherlands, Kyrgyzstan, Greece, UAE among other countries will be screened at the film festival. Indian film names are also abuzz in the lists which include Monsters, Look at the Sky, Kutla, One Mustard Seed, Men of God, Six Sacred Days, Kayantar, and others.
The jury members include names of Vivek Mohan, who is the creator of the National Award-winning documentary called Malana – In Search Of, Krishnasamy Gopalsamy, who has been a DOP in more than 54 Tamil films, and Ranjith Shankaran, who has mentored hundreds of filmmakers. The appointed jury members will select the winners for films in competitive categories; propose Special Jury Awards and honourable mentions to any deserving film/s from any category, according to the official website.
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The best films will be chosen for nominations in 150 categories of awards that the festival is presenting.
Ever since the pandemic began, film festivals have taken the step towards virtual screenings and have received positive responses. Festivals like the Kerala chapter of the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI), Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF), all were successfully screened and recorded a high number of participants as well as viewers.
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) also recently announced its program for its ninth edition. The festival will screen 60 movies in 17 languages over the course of eight days.