Maharashtra hosted its first Kazakhstan film festival, celebrating the history, culture and evolution of that Central Asian country.
The four-day festival was organised in Pune by the National Film Archives of India (NFAI), Pune International Centre (PIC) and the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.
Around 12 films will be shown during the festival and a panel discussion will be held where film experts will talk about Kazak films and their cinematic beauty.
"The aim of the festival is that people should know about the different kinds of films coming from different countries, so that they can take advantage of the medium of films and associate with it," said Director, National Film Archive of India, Prashant Pathrabe.
In the past, Pune has successfully hosted several film festivals, including those that celebrate the cinematic genius of countries like Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Organising committee member of the Pune International Centre, Latika Padgaonkar, said that the aim of this film festival was to create an awareness of cinemas which are rarely known in the country.
"I've particularly chosen countries from around the region (Central Asia) because we know American cinema, we see American cinema in the theatres. We sometimes get to see European cinema, but we rarely get to see cinema from Asian countries. If you see cinema from Asian countries, it may be at film festivals, Chinese films, Japanese films, Korean films or Iranian films but you rarely get to see Afghan films or Kazak films."
The films chosen for this festival are those that were made after the country gained independence after the dissolution of Soviet Russia in 1991.
The festival will conclude on July 7.
