The first edition of the Cinevesture International Film Festival closes on a high note

 Jaggi’ directed by Anmol Sidhu won the Walkers People’s Choice Award for Best Indian Film, ‘Seven Winters in Tehran’ directed by Steffi Niederzoll won the Cinevesture People’s Choice Award for Best International Film, and ‘Yellow’ directed by Elham Ehsas won the Westside People’s Choice Award for the Best Short Film~

A three-day phone filmmaking workshop hosted by Chitkara International School and produced by Cinevesture saw students from five schools participating. Ritisha Sinha’s film “Unveiled” from Mount Carmel School received an award among the showcased films. The films were shot at the Government Museum & Arts, Sector 10, Chandigarh~

The festival ended memorably with the screening of “Exhuma (Pamyo), the horror-mystery-thriller genre and South Korea’s highest-grossing film to date which premiered at the prestigious 2024 Berlinale~

~The day also concluded with a finale panel with Karan Johar, the Producer and Director from Dharma Productions, moderated by Namrata Joshi, a Senior Journalist, Film Critic, Programmer, and Market Curator of CIFF~

Esteemed film personalities such as Jaideep Ahlawat, Tahira Kashyap, Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal, Roshan Mathew, Abhay Deol, Sudhir Mishra, Suvinder Vicky from “Kohrra”, Boman Irani, Rasika Dugal, Rajshri Deshpande, Randeep Jha, director & writer of “Tabbar” Ajitpal Singh, director of “Kesri” Anurag Singh, Shekhar Kapur of “Mr. India” fame, and the director of the Academy Award-winning film “Elizabeth” graced the festival with their presence, sharing valuable insights and perspectives~

 After screening 25 award-winning international features in the World Cinema section, 16 indie gems in the India Unveiled, 30 shorts in Brief Encounters, a curated section of children’s films and timeless Classics, the first edition of Cinevesture International Film Festival concluded on Sunday with great success.

 CIFF was held from March 27th to March 31st, 2024, showcasing a diverse selection of films for audiences to enjoy.

CIFF closed its panel discussions with a conversation between Karan Johar, Dharma Productions, and Namrata Joshi, Senior Journalist, Film Critic, Programmer, and Market Curator of CIFF. Mr. Johar spoke extensively about his previous and upcoming work. He also spoke to Divya Sharma, a President Awardee, Disability Activist, Corporate writer, RJ, and a Blue Belt in karate, about the inclusivity of marginalised sections of society, such as visually impaired people.

The festival wrapped up with a screening of South Korea’s highest-grossing film of 2024 to date, the horror-mystery-thriller “Exhuma (Pamyo),”.

Seven Winters in Tehran’ directed by Steffi Niederzoll took home the Cinevesture People’s Choice Award for Best International Film, while ‘Jaggi’ directed by Anmol Sidhu was honoured as the Walkers People’s Choice Award for the Best Indian Film.  ‘Yellow’ directed by Elham Ehsas won the Westside People’s Choice Award for Best Short Film.

 A  three-day short film-making workshop was held at GMAG, produced by Cinevesture and sponsored by Chitkara International School. Students from five different schools made short films under the guidance of Executive Producer Hydra Sandhu.

 “Unveiled” by Ritisha Sinha, a student from Mount Carmel School in Sector 47B Chandigarh, received the award for best Students’ Film.

CIFF presented 20 projects under CIFF Market Projects on the festival’s sidelines, including three web series. Three debut projects were selected for the Mentorship Program at the CIFF Market.

The festival also hosted 20 masterclasses and panel discussions with an impressive lineup of sessions with acclaimed film personalities such as Jaideep Ahlawat, Tahira Kashyap, Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal, Roshan Mathew, Abhay Deol, Sudhir Mishra, Kohrra star Suvinder Vicky,  Boman Irani, Rasika Dugal, Rajshri Deshpande, Randeep Jha, Film Director & Writer, Tabbar director Ajitpal Singh, Kesri director Anurag Singh, Shekhar Kapur, Saugata Mukherjee, Head of Content, SonyLiv, Sony Pictures Network India, and more.

  Nina Lath, Founder & CEO of Cinevesture says, “We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible support and trust this pilot edition of CIFF has received from the film community, the response and acceptance of the beautiful people of Chandigarh, and the faith entrusted in us by our partners and collaborators. Without all of these,  it would have been impossible for us to pull off this event in a short span of ten weeks. We thank them all and look forward to building these relationships further over the years ahead.”

 CIFF Director, VS Kundu says, “The inaugural edition of CIFF was a resounding success in every way. All the delegates had a great time and very fruitful interactions. The masterclasses and panel discussions were lively and meaningful. The film market at CIFF built a solid foundation as an intimate yet professional networking and mentoring platform. We are grateful to all our guests and the people of Chandigarh for making it a grand success and we promise to return next year with a bigger and even better edition of CIFF.”

 Bina Paul, Artistic Director says, “Thank you Chandigarh for so warmly welcoming the Cinevesture International Film Festival. The film market at CIFF is emerging as a platform for producers and filmmakers across the country to network, build skills and do business. The film festival offers to the people of Chandigarh an opportunity to see the best films from across the world. This synergy creates a new culture and business.”

 The festival advisory board includes names such as Bahubali star and leading film producer, Rana Daggubati, former Head of Cannes Film Market Jerome Paillard, former Co-Director of Sundance Film Festival Nicole Guillemet, the celebrated Indian filmmaker Ajitpal Singh (Fire in the Mountains and TABBAR), Bangladeshi filmmaker and screenwriter Nuhash Humayun (Moshari) and the co-owner of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency Julian Friedmann.

 …

Ajay KR