10 films you cannot miss at the 8th Jagran Film Festival 

The 8th Jagran Film Festival is set to open for cinephiles in Delhi from 1 July. The week long festival will see a range of over 400 screenings scheduled across 16 cities including Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, and others before the concluding ceremony in Mumbai. 

On the ocassion, we take a look at 10 must watch films at the festival. 

1. The Fakir of Venice (India, 2017) 

The opening film of the festival is Farhan Akhtar's almost forgotten debut, The Fakir of Venice. The film emerged from stasis early this year, and will be a part of the film festival. Directed by Anand Surapur, the film sees Akhtar play an Indian conman hired to find a fakir (sage) for an art installation in Venice. Instead, he picks up a slum dweller to pass off as a wise sage. The film tells the story of a two characters who come together to pull off an incredible deception. 

2. Angamaly Diaries (India, 2017) 

Lijo Jose Pellissery's breakout fifth film, Angamaly Diaries, tells the story of a group of local rowdies in the town of Angamaly. Brilliantly shot, with a rapturous pace, the film has been hailed as one of the most watchable films of the year. The Hollywood Reporter called the film's one-take climax involving 1,000 actors as 'dazzling', while Anurag Kashyap called it 'an extraordinary film'. 

3. Tope (The Bait) (India, 2017)

National Award-winning director, Buddhadeb Dasgupta is one of India's finest filmmakers. In Tope (The Bait), he adapts Narayan Bandyopadhyay's macabre short story about the myths, fantasies and modern worlds colliding in the Sunderbans. A faded out aristocrat helps out a documentary film crew track down a tiger, while coming across a unique kaleidoscope of individuals including a tree-dwelling soothsayer and a little girl walking on tightropes to survive. The film combines an irresistible narrative with a mix of magical-realism that is unique to Dasgupta. 

4. Horses of God (Morocco, 2012) 

A Moroccan drama about the blasts that rocked the city of Casablanca in 2003, Horses of God competed in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes Film Festival in 2012. The film tells the story of two young friends who are recruited into the cause of fundamentalist terrorists. Directed by Nabil Ayoush, the film is a mesmerising peek behind the curtain into the lives of suicide bombers. 

5. Purple Horizons (Turkey, 2017) 

Olgun Ozdemir's film follows the life of a young woman who lost her entire family at sea while they were escaping the war in Syria. Rescued by a Coast Guard captain who marries her, the girl finds herself walking a precarious balance between her new family and her dead ones. The contemporary subject and its sensitive handling has earned the film a number of entries at film festivals across the world. 

6. Bravo Virtuoso (Armenia, 2016) 

Levon Minasian's film about a young clarinetist, Alik, forced to take on contracts for a hired killer, in order to save his orchestra was one of the much talked about films of the year. Bravo Virtuoso was an entry at the Berlinale 2017 as part of the Berlinale Talents, a collection of the most talented productions to emerge from the festival. 

7. Doctor Rakhmabai (India, 2017) 

Anant Mahadevan's biopic on the first woman to be a practicing doctor in India is a touching  tribute to the story of a courageous woman. Rakhmabai was at the heart of a landmark legal verdict on the Age of Consent Act, 1891, and was one of the first practicing female doctors in India. The talented Tannishtha Chatterjee plays Doctor Rakhmabai in the film. 

8. Mr Kabaadi (India,  2017) 
The death of Om Puri might have left a void in the hearts of fans, but they can relive the veteran actor's talent in Mr Kabaadi. A satirical comedy directed by Puri's former wife, Seema Kapoor, the film also has actors Sarika, Vinay Pathak and Annu Kapoor in important roles. It is the closing film of the festival. A fitting tribute to the great Om Puri. 

9. Chausar (India, 2013) 
Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been on an unstoppable rise since he first did Sagar Sarhadi's film, Chausar, in 2013. Penned and directed by Sarhadi, the film is a daring insight into the status and situation of women in society through the tale of a young woman as the central protagonist. Despite its brilliant narrative, the film never managed to find release in Indian theatres. The film is to be part of the 'Cinema Out of The Box' section at the festival. 

10. Trapped (India, 2017)