While the inaugural ceremony of the 18th Kolkata International Film is reserved for a double bonanza in the form of Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. Beyond that, this year’s film festival hopes to cover a wide spectrum of films from India and abroad.

“There will be 180 films from 60 countries and the region of focus will be Africa. Scanning the continent’s cinematic endeavour since 1960, eight classics and nine recent films are lined up for 18th KFF,” announced information and culture secretary Nandini Chakravorty.

Adding, “The festival will pay a “Centenary Tribute” to renowned Italian film maker Michael Antonioni with the screening of his five feature films and eight documentaries. The Retrospective section will be on Michael Cacoyannis, his repertoire of work numbered to 15 and we have access to 12 films and a documentary.

Contemporary world cinema will make its presence felt with 40 films, followed by Asian Select section where 13 films from 12 countries will compete for the NETPAC award. Indian cinema will be adequately represented through 10 films, besides that, Big Story will be exclusively an Amitabh Bachchan affair. Tributes will be paid to Rajesh Khana whose film Anand will once again enthral cinegoers.”

Since displacement and immigration is a major cause of concern in the real world, its reel reflection will happen with a newly formed category called Where Is My Land. Providing some more information, actor Ranjit Mullick said, “As Indian cinema completes a century, the milestone will be celebrated with ‘100 Years of Cinema’. We hope to travel back in time and recreate that era with bioscope tents and Dadasaheb Phalke’s film Raja Harishchandra.”

Responding to queries as to why the festival has not made the much awaited switch from non competitive to competitive, film maker Gautam Ghose said, “There are some specific directives that all competitive festivals need to follow and that process requires a little more brain storming. Eventually that change will happen.”

With an estimated budget of `3 crores, 20 international and 20 Indian delegates will attend the festival. A musical concert is planned for the opening ceremony on November 10 at Netaji Indoor Stadium, followed by the screening of Iranian film, A Separation.