It's that time of the year again. The capital city of Tamil Nadu is gearing up to host the 9th Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF), which is to be held between December 14 and 22.

On Monday, South Indian Film Artistes Association president Sarath Kumar, Suhasini Maniratnam and Lissy Priyadarshan unveiled the trophy for Best Film to be given during the valedictory of the event.

Shekhar Kapur will take part in the inaugural. About 154 films from 44 countries, including 12 Tamil movies like Dhanush's Vetrimaran directed ‘Aadukalam’, and Vimal starrer 'Thoonganagaram', will be screened during the week-long event. Some of the globally acclaimed movies are also in store.

Organised by the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), there will be a special retrospective on films by Hou Hsao Hsien, Taiwanese award winning director and Finland’s Aki Kaurismaki. The festival will also screen movies presented at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals.

Click Here To See - Sarath, Suhasini Kick-Start CIFF Event Gallery