7th Asian film festival from December 23

The 7th Asian Film Festival, organised by the Aashay Film Club and Kensho Entertainment, will begin in the city from December 23. Presented by the Serum Institute, the film festival will be held simultaneously in three cities including Mumbai, Pune and Kolhapur. In Pune, the films will be screened at Inox, National Films Archives of India (NFAI), Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) and the MES auditorium at Bal Shiksha Sadan Auditorium, Mayur Colony.

The opening ceremony of the seven-day festival will be inaugurated by well-known film director Govind Nihalani at Inox multiplex. Kiran V Shantaram, chairman, Asian Film Foundation, Mumbai, will be the chief guest.

As part of the festival, film director Priyadarshan will be honoured with the Zenith Asian Award on December 25 at NFAI. A special screening of Priyadarshan's film Kanchi Varam will be organised.

Festival director Satish Jakatdar said, "This year, one section will focus on films from Turkey while another on European cinema will be devoted to Jan Jakob Kolski." The festival will screen 40 films from Japan, Iran, China, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Israel, Korea, Egypt and 15 other Asian countries. In commemoration of Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary, a special screening of Ardhangini -Ek Ardhasatya, which is based on Tagore's story Ghaire-Bahire, will also be held.

The recipient of this year's Dada Saheb Phalke award, director K Balchander's Taneer Taneer will also be screened and noted film director Sudhir Mishra will be felicitated. The festival will conclude on December 29.

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