Pune: The city will witness a three-day film festival, to be hosted jointly by NFDC-National Film Archive of India, FIPRESCI-India and Pune International Centre, from Aug 21 to 23 at the NFDC-NFAI Auditorium on Law College Road. Curated by film critic and writer Premendra Mazumdar, the festival will screen 10 contemporary Indian films spanning languages including Magadhi, Karbi, Rajasthani, Mising, Bengali, Malayalam, Marathi and Hindi.The festival aims to bring lesser-heard cinematic voices and stories from different regions to Pune audiences, offering a window into cultural experiences that are often underrepresented in mainstream cinema. The films include Adamya, Feminist Fathima, Gondhal, If on a Winter’s Night, In the Name of Fire, Magazine, The Lost Path, Victoria, Whispers of the Mountains and Yakasi’s Daughter.The selection includes films in Mising, spoken primarily by the Mising community of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh; Karbi, associated with the Karbi community of Assam; and Magadhi, a major regional language of Bihar and adjoining areas. Festival organisers said bringing these languages and cultural perspectives together would allow audiences to encounter storytelling traditions that they may rarely see in conventional film exhibition.Prakash Magdum, NDFC managing director, said India’s cinematic landscape is “as diverse as the country itself”, with distinctive voices emerging from different regions. He said the festival would bring some of these films closer to audiences and create an opportunity to discover the richness of Indian cinema beyond the mainstream and this collaboration would encourage greater appreciation, dialogue and engagement with contemporary Indian cinema.For Dinanath Kholkar, director, Pune International Centre, the festival is also an opportunity to look at cinema as a means of cultural exchange. “Cinema is far more than entertainment—it is a powerful medium for ideas, dialogue, and cultural understanding,” he said. Kholkar said the diverse perspectives presented through the festival could encourage audiences to reflect and connect across cultures and generations.Mazumdar, FIPRESCI-India president, said the organisers hoped the festival would draw film enthusiasts, students, researchers, filmmakers and the general public. Admission to all screenings is complimentary and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Through the collaboration, the three organisations aim to strengthen film appreciation and create greater access to significant works from different parts of India, while encouraging critical discussion and cultural dialogue around contemporary cinema.
