'Cinema of Resistance' fest comes to Kolkata Jan 22

Films and documentaries portraying the common man's resistance to fascism and the fight against gender violence will be screened at the second edition of Kolkata People's Film Festival (KPFF) that begins here Jan 22.

The KPFF is also the 44th edition of the 'Cinema of Resistance' festival and is centred on 'people's culture with people's support'.

Running till Jan 24, this year's fest will pay homage to famed Bengali writer Nabarun Bhattacharya, a Sahitya Akademi awardee known for his radical left and anti-establishment views and championing of the marginalised urban milieu.

As many as 18 films and documentaries will be screened, spanning sections like 'Tributes', aNew Indian Feature', 'New Indian Documentary', 'Documentary Classic' and 'Feature Classic'.

Prominent shows include Nagarjun Manjule's "Fandry", Deepa Dhanraj's "Invoking Justice", Ajay T.G.'s "First Cry", Goutam Ghose's "Hungry Autumn" and renowned documentary maker Anand Patwardhan's "Jai Bheem Comrade".

Guests at the fest include directors of the participating films.

In addition, thought-provoking discussions on 'Our Nationhood Redefined', 'Faces of Fascism' and 'Class, Caste, Gender and Cinema' will see human rights activists, filmmakers such as Binayak Sen, Nakul Singh Sawhney, Samik Bandyopadhyay, Vidyarthy Chatterjee and Biren Das Sharma as participants.

Organised by Jan Sanskriti Manch and People's Film Collective (Kolkata), the event will be held at the Jadavpur University campus.

Cinema of Resistance is the film society of New York's Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts.