Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 7 (IANS): The 28th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), the prestigious showpiece event, will begin here, from Friday.

The week-long film festival, which will showcase 175 movies from 81 countries, will close on December 15.

Bollywood actor Nana Patekar will be the chief guest on Friday.

Over the years, this event has been rated as the best managed film festival in Asia.

As always, this edition will also see films from Asian, African, and Latin American countries and a selection of the best of world cinema competing for top honors.

Among the films that will be screened include Justin Triet's Anatomy of a Fall besides .

The list also includes 26 Oscar entries for Best Foreign Language Film, of which 17 films are directed by women directors.

The event will be conducted by the state-run Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.

Among the wide variety of films, 12 Malayalam films will also be screened.