KIFF office-bearers pick their fave films from the festival

These filmmakers are office-bearers of the ongoing 26th Kolkata International Film Festival where 81 full-length feature films from 45 countries and 51 short films and documentaries are being showcased. In between hosting the event and attending to guests, Sudeshna Roy, Arindam Sil, and PB Chaki are making the most of the festival by indulging in their favourite films from across the globe.CT asked them to choose their top five films from the overall entries. Read on to find out what they picked...

Difficult to choose just five from so many: Sudeshna Roy
“It is so difficult to choose just five films out of so many entries at KIFF. But the following films are on my must-watch list as each of these tells a unique story based on a different backdrop. While Blindfold, which is based on a war background, talks about a woman’s fight for emancipation and freedom from set images, Coldfire looks at death in a new perspective. All the films have a distinct flavour.”
Sudeshna’s top 5 picks:
Aquarium by Deepesh T
Blindfold by Taras Dron
Avijatrik: The Wanderlust of Apu by Subhrajit Mitra
Fire of Teak Flame of Chinar by Kumar Choudhury
Coldfire by Riddhi Sen

Cinema is the champ at KIFF this year: Arindam Sil
“Despite all the difficulties and fear, cinema has emerged as the champion in this year’s KIFF. Nandan is back to being its usual vibrant self and we are absorbing confidence from the electrifying scenes here”
Arindam’s top 5 picks:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring by Kim Ki-duk
Truth about La Dolce Vita by Giuseppe Pedersolli
Laila In Haifa by Amos Gitai
The Salt In Our Waters by Rezwan Shahriar Sumit
True Mothers by Naomi Kawase

Festivals let you watch films of many genres: PB Chaki
“Festivals allow us to watch films belonging to different genres. I’ve selected these five films as each of these tells a different story. While True Mothers is about the parents who adopt a five-year-old and later get anxious when the child’s birth mother wants to take her baby back, There Is No Evil talks about the death penalty in Iran.”
Chaki’s top 5 picks:
La Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini (4k restore version)
Blindfold by Taras Dron
There Is No Evil by Mohammad Rasoulof
Dear Comrades by Andrei Sergeyevich Mikhalkov
True Mothers by Naomi Kawase