March 10: The Gauhati Cine Club (GCC) has decided to organise a central European film festival in the city this month.

Though the dates have not yet been finalised, GCC secretary Kanak Chandra Kalita said 25 films would be screened at the festival.

According to Kalita, the Polish embassy will help the club organise the festival. Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia have confirmed participation.

The club will celebrate its 41st foundation day on April 26. Film director from Manipur Aribam Shyam Sharma will deliver the third Jyotiprasad Agarwalla memorial lecture on the occasion.

As part of its regular programmes, the club will screen the Satyajit Ray classic, Aparajita, and the Marathi film, Shwaas, at the Lakshmiram Baruah Sadan on Saturday and Sunday.

Aparajita is based on a novel by Bibhuti Bhuasan Bandopadhyay, while Sandeep Sawant?s Shwaas was India?s official entry for the 77th Academy Awards.

Requesting the members of the club to be present during the shows, Kalita said the next screening would be held on March 26 and 27. The GCC, the oldest cine club in the state, publishes a journal on cinema, Chitra Chinta. The club regularly organises shows, seminars, symposia and workshops on films and training courses for both filmmakers as well as viewers. The club has screened some of the world?s greatest classics, including those by Akira Kurosawa and Alfred Hitchock.