Seven Islands film Fest to celebrate world cinema

Chennai, Oct 20 (IANS) As many as 50 films from 18 countries will be screened at the Seven Islands International Film Festival (SIIFF), to be held here Oct 26-29. The theme of the festival is 'Women rising, against all odds'.

Launched at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, this 'touring festival', aims at creating a platform where different communities and students come together to watch, deliberate and discuss independent cinema.

The theme of the festival will change each year, depending on the broader socio-political happenings around the world.

This year, the festival, with its theme, intends to celebrate the achievements of the contemporary woman who is strong, resilient and inspirational.

"Women across the world are making a difference through their unique and remarkable achievements. Last year, especially, has seen women rise against different socio-political and economic odds - from participating in the Arab Spring revolution to taking charge of the opposition party in Myanmar. We decided to celebrate the strength and resilience of women and their inspirational stories," Sakshi Ojha, festival director, said in a statement.

Chennai was chosen as the venue because the city is known for its cultural engagement and an intellectual crowd that is accepting of different kinds of cinema.

The festival will host two India premieres, which form the highlight of the festival - "Berlin Telegram" by Leila Albayaty, and Sudipto Chattopadhyay's "Shobhna's Seven Nights", a bold story of a seductive socialite. The latter will be the closing film at the fest.

Films from countries such as Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Romania, Egypt, France, Japan and many more will be screened across four days of the festival.

The Indian films include Manjari Makijani's "The Last Marble", Girish Kasarvalli's "Gulabi Talkies", Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar's "Ek Chup Chya", and Aparna Sen's "36 Chowringhee Lane".

SIIFF, in association with the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) will also organise 'Women in cinema', a poster exhibition of women-centric films, commemorating 100 years of Indian Cinema.