Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Sanjay Budhia and Goutam Ghose at Max Mueller Bhavan on Tuesday. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Wags — Wives and Girlfriends of Germany was one of the inaugural films on Tuesday

The ninth Kalpanirjhar International short fiction film festival started at Goethe-Institute Max Mueller Bhavan on Tuesday evening.

Filmmaker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury inaugurated the festival. “I am privileged to be present today. This festival encourages young filmmakers from all across the country and abroad. I am not so young, but as a filmmaker I am only two films old, so I’m young!” he quipped.

This year, 70 short films from 11 countries will be screened at the festival. Out of these, five were screened as inaugural films on Tuesday.

“This is a fantastic platform for filmmakers to present their work. Next year, the festival will be in its 10th year and we will definitely plan something special,” promised Martin Waelde, director, Max Mueller Bhavan.

Thirty-one student films from various film schools, including those from Germany and Scotland, will be shown in the GeNext section of the festival. There are eight Indian and four German films as independent entries. Seven shorts will be screened at the Capalbio Cinema Meets Kalpanirjhar section. Thirteen animation films apart, there are 10 films eyeing the 23rd European Film awards.

“It’s interesting to note that makers of short films are experimenting with their ideas a lot. Earlier there would hardly be any Indian entry, but this year the numbers have shot up,” smiled Goutam Ghose, the chairman of the festival.

Like every year, this year too there’s a Patton award, a cash prize of Rs 20,000, for the best Indian short film. The festival is on till November 5.