The 17th Pune International Film Festival aka PIFF 2019 will be held in Pune, Maharashtra, India from January 10-18. The festival is organised by the Pune Film Foundation and the Maharashtra Government under the guidance of Festival Director Dr. Jabbar Patel, a renowned filmmaker. Other eminent personalities involved in PIFF 2019 are Samar Nakhate who is the Artistic Director, and the PIFF Selection Committee members - Makrand Sathe, Satish Alekar and Abhijit Randive.
PIFF 2019 will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi, this year being the 150th year of the Father of the Nation's birth anniversary. A similar homage was paid to Mahatma Gandhi at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2018) at Panaji, Goa, India, last November. The exhibit at IFFI 2018 was presented by the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), which is based at Pune.
Films and workshops
The eight-day PIFF 2019 will showcase around 150 films from over 100 countries from around the world. The festival will have workshops, seminars and film centric panel discussions.
PIFF 2019 Venues
The festival films will be showcased in 10 screens at four venues located in Pune, the multiplex City Pride Kothrud being the main venue. The multiplexes City Pride Satara Road and City Pride Mangala, and the premises of the National Films Archives of India (NFAI) on Law College Road are the other venues for PIFF 2019.
The Competitive and Non-Competitive sections involved in PIFF 2019 are:
Competitive Sections:
1) World Competition
2) Marathi Competition.
Non-Competitive Sections:
1) Awardees
2) Student Section: i) Live Action ii) Animation
3) Theme - 'In search of truth - Celebrating 150 year birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi'
4) Documentary
5) Country Focus
6) Tribute
7) Asian Cinema
8) Global Cinema
9) Retrospective
10) Indian Cinema
11) Marathi Cinema Today
12) Special Screening
13) Kaleidoscope.
Delegate Fee:
The online registration for PIFF 2019 delegates is available at the official website
www.piffindia.com . Interested delegates can fill the form online and get an acknowledgement number for reference. Once the online registration is complete, they can visit spot-registration desks at the venues - City Pride Kothrud, City Pride Satara Road and City Pride Mangala in Pune between 11.00 am and 7.30 pm IST.
Students (above 18 years), Film Club Members (with valid ID) and Senior Citizens (over 60 years), the catalogue fee is at a discounted rate of Rs 600/- for the entire festival, whereas for open category it is Rs 800/-.
Dr Patel said in a statement about PIFF 2018's Gandhi theme: "Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution is not limited to the struggle of Indian Independence. His thoughts influenced the world and have its effect on many Indian and World movies too. This year along with other movies, PIFF will showcase some selected movies based on the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi."
