The inauguration ceremony of the 23rd Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) 2025 will kick off at Shri Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch, Swargate, Pune, on February 13 at 5:00 pm.Maharashtra Culture Minister Ashish Shelar will preside over the event, said festival director Dr Jabbar Patel.
Chairman of the film selection committee Samar Nakhate, member of the film selection committee Abhijeet Ranadive, deputy director Vishal Shinde (programme and film), deputy director Aditi Akkalkotkar (international communication and coordination) were also present on the occasion.The ‘Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) 2025’ will run from February 13 to 20.
The Pune International Film Festival is being jointly organised by the Pune Film Foundation, the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra, and Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari, Mumbai. This year’s theme is “Showman; Raj Kapoor” in celebration of his birth centenary.
Veteran actress Shubha Khote and veteran actor Anupam Kher will be honoured with the ‘PIFF Distinguished Award’ for their significant contributions to the Indian film industry, while veteran singer Kavita Krishnamurthy will be honoured with the SD Burman Award for her contribution to music.
Jabbar said, “Shubha Khote has had a remarkable career spanning over 200 films and several TV shows in both Hindi and Marathi Cinema. Some of her notable films include ‘Ek Duuje Ke Liye’, ‘Chhoti Behan’, ‘Dil Ek Mandir’, ‘Dil Tera Deewana’, ‘Paying Guest’, ‘Bharosa’, ‘Sasural’, and ‘Seema.”
Speaking about veteran playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy, Dr Patel said, “She has recorded over 18,000 songs and won four Filmfare Best Playback Singer Awards. She was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2005. Some of her most iconic songs include ‘Aankh Maare’ (Mohra), ‘Dola Re Dola’ (Devdas), and ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast’ (Mohra).”
Dr Patel added that Anupam Kher has had a prolific career spanning over 540 films across multiple languages. He has received two National Film Awards and eight Filmfare Awards for his performances. Kher has also served as the Director of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.
The opening ceremony of Pune International Film Festival will feature a performance by renowned woodwind player Vijay Chavan and his colleagues. The festival will kick off with the screening of Gloria (Italy, Switzerland), directed by Margherita Vicario, as the opening film. The closing film, The Room Next Door (Spain), directed by Pedro Almodóvar, will be shown at Balgandharva Rangmandir, said Dr Patel.
Abhijit Randive announced the names of the international jury for the festival, which includes Marco Bekis (Chilean-Italian film director and screenwriter), Margarita Schil (Portuguese film director and teacher), Petri Kotwica (Finnish film director and screenwriter), Taminhe Milani (Iranian film director), Georgy Stichkovic (Serbian cinematographer), Sudath Mahadivulwewa (Sri Lankan film director), Archana (South Indian actress), and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (Indian film director).
Samar Nakhate mentioned that the festival will feature several discussion sessions, including one by Film City MD Swati Mhase Patil on February 14 and workshops with renowned documentary filmmakers (Umesh Kulkarni, Anupama Srinivasan, Sarvanik Kaur, and Kuldeep Barve) on February 15.
Other notable events include the Veteran Literary Emperor Vijay Tendulkar Memorial Lecture by Boman Irani on February 16, Cinema and Soul; Tapan Sinha by Swapankumar Mallick and Gautam Ghosh on February 17, Film Content Production through AI Films by Paco Torres on February 18, and a Marathi Panel on Challenges in Marathi Films: From Production to Audience featuring Paresh Mokashi, Aditya Sorpotdar, Adinath Kothare, and Sunil Phadtare on February 19.
The films will be screened across 11 screens at three venues: PVR Icon (6 screens) in Pavilion Mall on Senapati Bapat Road, INOX (3 screens) in the Camp area, and Cinepolis Cinemas in Westend Mall in Aundh (2 screens).
The online registration process for the festival has already started on the official website, www.piffindia.com, and spot registration is also available at the cinemas. The catalogue fee for the audiences is Rs. 800.
– Jyothi Venkatesh
