Pune International Film Festival postpones to March 18, 25

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) to be postponed for a third time. The festival will now take place between March 18 to 25 instead of March 11 and 18 as announced by the PIFF organizers earlier.

PIFF, organiSed by the Pune Film Foundation, is the official film festival of the Government of Maharashtra. Although PIFF is held in January every year, the 19th edition of the festival got pushed into March after the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) moved to this slot owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. IFFI, the biggest film festival in the country, was held between January 14 and 24, requiring the PIFF to be shifted to newer dates to avoid a clash.

Now, with COVID-19 cases rising in the state alarmingly, the organizers have decided to shift the festival ahead by a week.

“The decision has been taken on the backdrop of the current situation. Now, the festival shall take place between March 18th and 25th. Earlier it was scheduled to start from March 11th and 18th. This year the festival shall be organized in theaters and certain parts of it would also be made available through an online platform. There is no change in the format, only the dates have been changed,” Dr Jabbar Patel, Festival Director of PIFF.

As per the guidelines set by the state government, it will take place with 50% capacity in each designated theatre. This year, the festival shall take place at seven screens at venues like PVR on Senapati Bapat road, Inox Camp, and the NFAI on Law College Road.