The silver screens across Kolkata are set to glow brighter as the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) begins on Thursday, transforming the city into a cinematic carnival.

The week-long festival will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and legendary artistes like Sharmila Tagore, Shatrughan Sinha and iconic filmmaker Ramesh Sippy will attend the event at Dhono Dhanya Auditorium.

This year's curtain-raiser will feature a special screening of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen's timeless romantic classic "Saptapadi", paying homage to Bengal's golden era of cinema.

The festival, accredited by FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations), Belgium, will bring together films from 39 countries, spanning 18 Indian and 30 foreign languages, with screenings spread across 21 venues in the city.

The festival will host 43 feature films, 19 short films and 10 documentaries in competition categories, along with 143 non-competitive screenings.

The International Competition (Innovation in Moving Images) will confer the Royal Bengal Tiger Trophy for Best Film and Best Director, while other coveted categories include the Hiralal Sen Memorial Trophy, FIPRESCI Award and NETPAC Award.

The focus country this year is Poland, represented through 19 films showcasing both contemporary and classic works, including Agnieszka Holland's Franz, Krzysztof Kieslowski's The Double Life Of Veronique and animated films like Wladyslaw Slesicki's In Desert And Wilderness and Tomek Popakul's Winter.

The 'Bengali Panorama' section will screen Ritwik Ghatak's masterpieces 'Komal Gandhar' and 'Subarnarekha', along with films like 'Bari Theke Paliye' and 'Pinjar'.

A screening of the 1950s film Anand Math will mark 150 years of 'Vande Mataram', India's National Song, paying tribute to both the spirit of India's freedom movement and Pradeep Kumar's birth centenary.

Beyond the screenings, the festival will host seminars and lectures at Sisir Mancha and Bangla Academy, exploring topics such as AI and The Future of Cinema, Guru Dutt: The Melancholic Maverick and Displacement and Migration.

The Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture, Brillante Mendoza's masterclass and Adoor Gopalakrishnan's conversation with Anup Singh will highlight reflections on cinematic artistry and storytelling.

Nandan Foyer will host The Subaltern Voice: Centenary Tribute to Ritwik Ghatak, while Gaganendra Shilpa Pradarshashala will exhibit "Polish Cinematography in Posters" designed by the acclaimed Andrzej Pagowski.