Habitat International Film Festival returns with in-person event this year

The Habitat International Film Festival will return to the capital city New Delhi after a two-year pandemic-induced break.

Scheduled to be held from 6–15 May at the India Habitat Centre, the festival will showcase films from across the globe and India which push the boundaries of the cinematic arts and reflect on the realities and perceptions of a changing world.

Celebrating the coming together of the film fraternity and cinephiles, this year’s festival has a line-up of award-winning and festival-favourite films that include Nathalie Alvarez Mesen’s Clara Sola, an entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards; Stefan Ruzowitsky’s Hinterland, which won the Prix du Public UBS award at the 74th Locarno Film Festival; The Last Austrians, winner at the Zurich Film Festival; The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See The Titanic, winner of numerous film awards, including at the Venice Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival; and The Metamorphosis Of Birds, the Portuguese entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.

This edition also brings together a pan-India selection of films from a plethora of languages such as Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Bhojpuri, Assamese and Bengali.

G Prabha’s Taya, Achal Mishra’s Dhuin, Ritesh Sharma’s Jhini Bini Chadariya, Ainu Baruah’s Dimasa, Madhuja Mukherjee’s Deep 6 and Nikhil Mahajan’s Godavari are some of the offerings at the festival.

A special selection of Korean films such as In The Name Of The Son, Chorokbam, Siere and The Cave will be screened at the festival in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Centre, New Delhi.

Speaking about the festival, India Habitat Centre director Sunit Tandon said, “The India Habitat Centre has become synonymous with the best in the arts and culture over the years. It is a great relief and pleasure for the entire team to be able to present another edition of the Habitat International Film Festival after a two-year gap necessitated by the pandemic.”

Vidyun Singh, creative head of programmes, India Habitat Centre, said, "HIFF, though smaller and more niche in comparison to other film festivals, has carved out a special space and a loyal audience. It is a cherry-picked curation of critically acclaimed and award-winning cinema, made possible by the generous cooperation and collaboration of the embassies and cultural centres, for which we are deeply grateful. We cannot wait to welcome back filmmakers and film lovers to Habitat.”