MUMBAI: Guwahati is hosting the Guwahati festival that went underway from yesterday after it was inaugurated by Assam governor J B Patnaik.

Organized by Cine Arts Society, Assam (CineASA) for the second consecutive year, the festival will showcase nearly 40 films from the international arena for filmgoers of the region.

The Second CineASA Guwahati International Film Festival 2010 will be inaugurated on January 18 by the Assam Governor JB Patnaik.

The Sri Lankan film Akasha Kusum was the inaugural film. The director of the film, Prasanna Vithange graced the inaugural session.
Other important films to be screened in different venues including Rabindra Bhawan, Gauhati University, IIT Guwahati, Janokee Panjabari, include film works by Pedro Almodover, Christian Mungio, Jean Luc Godard, Francois Troufaut, Mahsin Makhmalbaf, Kiarostemi, Kim Ki Duk etc.

The festival will also have a retrospective section comprising films by Pedro Almodovar, a tribute section for film works by Kim Ki Duk and a focus section for the movies by Mahsin Makhmalbaf, Samira Makhmalbaf, Mazid Mazidi, Abbas Kiarostemi and Bahman Ghobadi, informed the organizer.

A package of Asian films which had won awards in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Pusan, London festival will also be screened.

Similarly, the Indian panorama section will include Golabi Talkies by Girish Kasarvalli, Frozen by Shivajee Chandrabhushan, Houseful by Bapaditya Banerjee and Mohandas by Mazhar Kamran.

Aai Kot Nai by Manju Bora and Dhunia Tirutabor by Pradyut Kumar Deka will be the Assamese entry to the festival. The festival will end with The Other Bank by George Ovashvili.