Directors and film personalities including Benegal, Dr MS Sathyu and Nafisa Ali graced the inaugural ceremony in the presence of senior officials of the UT Administration. As part of the film festival cultural programme, actress and dancer Hema Malini performed a ballet called Durga at the leisure valley in the evening.

This year, the festival will screen 32 films including six international films that will be screened at the Fun Republic. The four-day event will also see the screening of documentaries at the Government Musuem and Art Gallery in Sector 10. The highlight of the festival will be the informal interactions of cinema lovers with Shyam Benegal, Nafisa Ali and MS Sathu.

Meanwhile, addressing the festival, Dada Saheb Phalke awardee Shyam Benegal said that “Chandigarh is a great place to come to”. He added, “It was important that all state capitals of the country should have international film festivals and the process has already begun with cities such as Delhi, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Chennai and Chandigarh.”