The organisers of the 27th Kolkata International Film Festival have decided to go ahead with the event while limiting the capacity of the venues to 50 percent, amid the rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in West Bengal. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Kolkata, the organisers said that the one-week event will start from Friday and will feature 200 shows of 180 films. The films will be screened in 10 different theatres across the state capital. Actors Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Arindam Shil and Sayantika Bandyopadhyay were also present at the press briefing. They also said that the film festival will be inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a small function at the meeting hall of Navanna, which is the headquarters of the state secretariat. The inaugural function will also be screened virtually. Speaking to reporters, Chattopadhyay said, “The decision to organise the festival has already been taken. The range has to be reduced due to Covid-19." For this year's edition of the film festival, the focus country is Finland. The festival will pay special tribute to noted filmmaker Satyajit Ray on his birth centenary. The festival will open with Ray's 1970 classic 'Aranyer Din Ratri'. Among regional cinema, films in Rajbangshi and Tulu languages will also be shown. Meanwhile, Chairperson of the Kolkata International Film Festival and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Raj Chakraborty and his wife actress Subhashree Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. In a tweet on Tuesday night, he wrote, "Subhashree and I have been tested positive for COVID-19. We are practicing home quarantine. Please stay safe, wear a mask and follow the COVID precautionary guidelines."
