Delhi CM opens eighth Asian film fest, galaxy of stars in attendance

New Delhi, July 15 (UNI) Curtains went up today on the eighth film festival of Asian cinema, which opened with France-based Indan filmaker, Pan Nalin's 'Valley of Flowers'.

The 10-day event, which will witness the screening of 120 films from 40 countries, was inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, at the Siri Fort Auditorium this evening, amidst the presence of a host of celebritries from the film world.

Those present included Bollywood actor Nasseruddin Shah and Manisha Koirala, film maker Bobby Bedi, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, and many other personalities from the world of international cinema.

Inaugurating the festival, Ms Dixit expressed pride in the fact that the festival, which began 8 years ago as a small endevour, had today become a huge success, thanks to the Chairman of OSIAN Neville Tuli and Mrs Aruna Vasudev of Cinemaya.

The festival is being organised by the OSEAN's connoisseur of art, in association with the Delhi government.

Over a hundred films from 40 countries representing the best of Asian and Arab cinema will be showcased at the Festival where outstanding cinematic works from Iraq, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Iran, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia will be screened.

While 'Valley of Flowers' was the opening film, the closing film will be Jafar Panahi's 'Offside' (Iran).

Unlike earlier years, when the entry to the film festival was free for the public, this year, the general public will have to pay Rs 20 per ticket to watch the films on show at the festival.

Besides the Indian competition and the Asian competition section, Osian's Cinefan will showcase a clutch of outstanding films in two of its well established sections - Cross cultural encounters (featuring films from different regions of the world) and Arabesque (the latest films from Arab countries) - as well as a large mosaic displaying the range of work being produced in Asia and India, in Asian Frescoes and Indian Osean respectively.

The film festival will have a special section on the Buddha, which will showcase a dozen films touching upon Buddhism on the occasion of the 2550th anniversary of the birth of the Buddha.

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