Habitat International Film Festival to screen 67 films with Hungary as focus country

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) The seventh edition of the Habitat International Film Festival will open here on March 13 with 67 films from 18 countries, across nearly 20 languages, and Hungary as the focus country.

The curated selection includes contemporary award-winning films, landmark retrospectives, major international festival winners, NETPAC selections, and a strong presence of women directors, with 24 films helmed by women filmmakers, the organisers said in a statement.

The festival opens with "Manch", a documentary from Tanuja Shankar Khan chronicling a theatre workshop conducted with children from Delhi’s MIMA NGO, adapting Hungarian folk tales into Hindi stage performances. The film serves as a symbolic cultural bridge between Hungary and India.

With Hungary at its centre, the HIFF will feature 21 Hungarian films, including 11 contemporary features and 10 retrospective classics honouring two of the country's most celebrated post-war masters: Istvan Szabo and Zoltan Fabri.

Szabo, whose "Mephisto" won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1982, is known for his psychologically rich explorations of ambition, power, and moral compromise, while Fábri’s morally engaged dramas, including "The Boys of Paul Street" (Academy Award nominee in 1969) and "The Fifth Seal", established Hungarian cinema as a force on the global stage.

These retrospectives trace Hungarian cinema’s engagement with war memory, totalitarian regimes, national identity, and moral crisis.

Other films from Hungary include the country's official Oscar submission "Semmelweis", "I Accidentally Wrote a Book", "Orphan", and "Pelikan Blue".

"This curated selection brings together a vibrant constellation of contemporary voices alongside timeless international classics. Though rooted in diverse cultural landscapes, the films are united by a shared sensitivity to memory, identity, displacement, and the fragile yet enduring bonds that shape human experience. Together, this selection invites audiences into a rich cinematic dialogue across cultures, reminding us that while stories emerge from specific soils, their emotional truths travel far beyond borders,” Vidyun Singh, creative head - programmes, said.

The festival also features some of the most talked-about films from the international festival circuit, including Cannes 2025 Palme d’Or winner "It Was Just an Accident", Cannes Jury Prize 2025 winners "Sirat", "The Sound of Falling", Berlinale 2025 Grand Prix winner "The Botanist", Venice 2025 Orizzonti Award winner "Hiedra/IVY" and BAFTA Scotland 2025 winner "Four Mothers".

Marking the centenary of legendary Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda, recipient of the Honorary Oscar, the HIFF will present a special six-film retrospective celebrating his contribution to world cinema, including "Ziemia Obiecana / The Promised Land" (1975), "Człowiek z Marmuru / Man of Marble" (1977), "Panny z Wilka / The Maids of Wilko" (1979), and "Tatarak / Sweet Rush" (2009).

The festival will come to a close on March 22 with "Chopin, A Sonata in Paris" (2025), directed by Michał Kwiecinski. The Polish-language biographical drama revisits the life and artistic exile of legendary composer Frederic Chopin, tracing his years in Paris against the backdrop of 19th-century European political upheaval. PTI MAH MAH RB RB