Eminent
actor
Shabana
Azmi
will
be
the
chief
guest
of
18th
edition
of
the
International
Film
Festival
of
Kerala,
beginning
here
tomorrow
with
the
screening
of
Israeli
movie
Ana
Arabia
(Me,
the
Arab)
by
Amos
Gitai,
a
film
shot
in
85-minute-long
single
sequence.
IFFK,
one
of
India's
leading
regional
movie
galas
which
attracts
viewers
from
towns
and
villages
alike,
will
be
inaugurated
by
Chief
Minister
Oommen
Chandy
at
Nishagandhi
open
air
auditorium
in
the
heart
of
the
city.
Spanish
Filmmaker
Carlos
Saura
will
be
presented
with
the
Lifetime
Achievement
Award
at
the
inaugural
ceremony
of
the
8-day-long
festival.
As
many
as
211
films
from
64
countries
under
various
categories
like
Competition
Section,
World
Cinema,
Indo-German
Connection
Section,
Samurai
Film
Section,
Retrospective
Section
and
Homage
Section
will
be
screened
during
the
festival.
A
total
of
14
movies
from
Asia,
Africa
and
Latin
America
have
been
selected
for
the
Competition
Section,
while
the
World
Cinema
segment
has
79
movies.
Seven
films
including
those
of
noted
Japanese
directors
like
Kon
Ichikawa
and
Kenji
Mizoguchi
will
comprise
the
Samurai
Film
section.
Seeking
to
mark
the
centenary
celebrations
of
Indian
cinema,
a
special
section
titled
Original
Glory:
100
Years
of
Indian
Cinema
has
been
included.
It
includes
Indian
classics
like
Satyajit
Ray's
Charulata
and
Bhuvan
Shome
of
Mrinal
Sen.
The
country
focus
segment
has
seven
Nigerian
movies,
Kerala
Film
Academy,
the
organisers
of
the
event,
said.
Veteran
Mexican
filmmaker
Arturo
Ripstein
will
chair
the
jury
panel
of
the
Competition
Section,
which
also
comprises
Thai
film
maker
Aditya
Assarat,
South
African
director
Khalo
Matabane
and
south
Indian
actor
Gautami.
Click
here
to
vote
for
Best
Debut
2013
Around
9000
delegates
are
expected
to
participate
in
the
eight-day
event,
against
the
7500
participants
in
the
last
year,
they
said.
Elaborate
arrangements
have
been
made
at
11
theaters
here
for
the
screening
of
the
movies.
Various
cultural
programmes
and
interactions
with
global
film
personalities
will
be
the
added
feature
of
the
annual
event.
The
festival
will
conclude
with
a
grand
valedictory
ceremony
on
December
13.