15th PIFF begins with a bang

A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature

By Anirban Lahiri

Aparna Sen, 15th PIFF, Pune International Film Festival


Pune International Film Festival set in on the 12th January evening among a colourful  panoply of cultural events. The festival was inaugurated in the hands of Dr Mohan Agashe, in the presence of Arvind and Prakash Chaphalkar and the festival chairman Dr Jabbar Patel.

Aparna Sen and Seema Deo were honored with the PIFF Distinguished Award, on this occasion.

The prestigious ‘S. D. Burman International Award for Creative Sound and Music’ was presented to Tabla Maestro, Composer and Percussionist Ustad Zakir Hussain this year. Speaking on the occasion, Zakir Hussain said, “I am really honored to receive this award in the name of great musician S.D. Burman and I thank PIFF team for this.”


More than 250 films, including shorts, animation and documentaries will be screened in this festival on thirteen screens spread over seven venues. The festival continues between 12 – 19 January.

PIFF has three competitive sections – World Competition, Marathi Competition, and Student Competition sponsored by Volkswagen. The student competition is further divided in to Live-action and Animation sections.

The countries in focus this year are Argentina and Vietnam.

Among the other sections, Global Cinema, A package from the contemporary Fench cinema, Asian Cinema, Latin American attractions, a new section called Kaleidoscope, films on nature, a section on Indian cinema would draw attention to the cinephiles.

Retrospectives of Andrezej Wajda, Aparna Sen and one film on Federico Garcia Lorca by Carlos Saura would be shown.

There will be additional screenings of rare classics from the National Film Archive of India and films made by the Films Division.

On the occasion of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 125th birth centenary, a special package of films on social awareness is curated.

Last, but not the least, there is a tribute section showcasing critically acclaimed films from the cross-section of industry and personal filmmaking.

A brilliant stage performance by the Flamenco dancer Monica, accompanied on the guitar by Carlos Blanco and Subrata De stole the evening. 

Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!  

Previous PostCheck out these awesome pictures of Kangana Ranaut from Rangoon

Next PostGraduation (2016) - Movie Review

Complete List of Reviews


People who liked this also liked...
Share on Google Plus

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for sharing for valuable opinion. We would be delighted to have you back.