Kolkata, Nov 22 (PTI) A total of seven movies have been selected for the Bengali Panorama section of the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) and most of them are made by debutant directors. For the first time in the festival which will begin on December 5, the Bengali Panorama section has been made a competitive zone this year and the winner's purse is Rs 7.5 lakh, a KIFF official said.

Barring the director duo of Rajdeep Paul and Sarmistha Maiti whose 'Mon Potongo' (Mind Flies) is one of the selected films, the makers of all six other movies are first-timers. Their 'Kalkokkho' (House of Time) won the Best Bengali Film award at the National Film Awards in August.

Abhijit Sridas' 'Bijoyar Pore' (Autumn Flies) and Rajesh Roy's 'Matripaksha' (Invisible Chord) will also be the contenders for the top honour in the KIFF.

Rajdeep Ghosh's 'Bonbibi' (Widows of the Wild), Amartya Sinha's 'Asampurno' (The Relentless Search), Debapratim Dasgupta's 'Abar Ashibo Firey' (We Shall Come Back) and Anisul's 'Awnath' (Orphan) are the remaining films chosen for the Bengali Panorama section.

In a post on social media, popular actor Swastika Mukherjee said that out of the seven films, she acted in two - 'Bijoyar Pore' and 'Matripaksha'.

She said, 'Over the years people have asked me why I always choose to work with newcomers. Yes, there are a lot of constraints, lot more hard work and then there are results as amazing as this!' PTI SUS NN