The 31^st Kolkata International Film Festival was inaugurated in the presence of eminent guests.

Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, former cricketer Sourav Ganguly, singer Arati Mukherjee, filmmakers Ramesh Sippy and Sujoy Ghosh graced the inauguration event.

Also present at the occasion were actress Tillotama Shome, Bengali actors like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta, Soham Chakraborty, Paoli Dam, Koel Mallick, and Dev. 

The focus country is Poland, and 19 Polish films will be screened at the 31^st KIFF.

Saptapadi was the inaugural film. The film was directed by Ajoy Kar and stars Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen, and Chhabi Biswas in pivotal roles.

KIFF is accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Association (FIAPF), Belgium.

1827 films were submitted for the film festival. Out of this, 215 films have been selected for screening. 39 countries will be participating in the film festival.

Special tribute will be given to Robert Redford, Claudia Cardinale, David Lynch, Shyam Benegal, Arun Roy, Raja Mitra, and Shashi Anand.

Cine Adda will take place at the Ektara Mancha every evening from 7^th to 12^th November 2025.

The venues where the films will be screened are Nandan I, II, III, Rabindra Sadan, Sisir Mancha, Rabindra Okakura Bhawan, Cinema Centenary Building, Nazrul Tirtha I, II, Navina Cinema, Binodini Theatre, Menoka Cinema, SSR Ajanta Cinema, PVR- Mani Square Mall, Inox: Metro, Inox: Quest Mall, Inox: South City, SS Globe Cinema, New Empire Cinema and Prachi Cinema.

The 31^st KIFF will take place till the 13^th of November, 2025.

The closing ceremony will take place on 13^th November at Rabindra Sadan at 5 pm.

Priyanka Dutta