Cinefan Festival of Asian cinema begins

Jayanta Chattyapadhyay and Rokeya Prachi, in a scene from Matir Moyna

It is perhaps for the first time that a film by Masood is featuring in an Indian festival and that too in the competition. The Cinefan festival is being organized by the film quarterly "Cinemaya".

In the last India International Film Festival of India, organized here by Indian government, Tanvir Mokammel's "Lal Shaalu" was the only Bangladeshi entry.

Seventy five films drawn from thirty countries will be screened during the weeklong Cinefan festival where the jury will be headed by octogenarian film-maker Mrinal Sen.

The festival will begin with the screening of the much-hyped film "Hero" which had made it to the Academy award as a nominee in the category of best foreign language film.

One of the Indian entries for the competitive section is well-known director from Kerala state T V Chandran's "Padam Onnu: Oru Vilapam" (Lesson One: A Wail) which portrays the plight of teenage Muslim mothers in a particular area of Kerala.

The festival will also showcase "Osama", the first film made in post-Taliban Afghanistan which earned a special mention by the jury at the prestigious Cannes festival recently.

Among the leading Indian Bengali director's films which will figure in the Cinefan festival are "Shubho Muhurat" by Rituparno Ghosh and "Aabar Aranya" by Gautam Ghosh who made it as a sequel to maestro Satyajit Ray's "Aranyer Dinratri."

The Cinefan festival has acquired added importance in the Indian capital since the Indian government's decision to permanently shift the official Indian International Film Festival to the western state of Goa on the coast of Arabian Sea.

For lovers of meaningful cinema, Cinefan festival will undoubtedly be the only opportunity to have a look at the latest developments of film-making in Asia.