Germany is set to host the Stuttgart Indian Film Festival from the 23rd to the 26th of this month, bringing Indian cinema to the international stage. The festival will feature more than 70 films, including feature films, documentaries and short films from across India. Malayalam cinema will be one of the main attractions of the festival.

The curtains for the festival rise on the 23rd of this month with the Malayalam thriller ‘Eko: From the Infinite Chronicles of Kuriachan’, directed by Dinjith Ayyathan. On the same day, school students will get a special screening of director Varsha Bharath’s coming-of-age film ‘Bad Girl’. The documentary section will also feature several films focusing on social issues and people from different walks of life.

Among the major titles is ‘Saath Paar Zindagi – Life Beyond 60’, directed by Haider Khan, which tells the stories of five Padma Shri awardees, including folk dancer Manjamma Jogati and elephant trainer Parbati Barua. Other documentaries include ‘Lives for Leaves – Tea Production in Assam’, which offers a glimpse into the lives of tea plantation workers. Several films across feature, documentary and short film categories have also been nominated for the festival’s film awards.