A total of 175 films from 81 nations will feature in the 28th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala which gets underway here on Friday.

The eight-day-long festival, which is expected to woo over 12,000 delegates and hundreds of film personalities, will be opened with the premiere "Goodbye Julia", directed by Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani.

Eminent actor Nana Patekar would be the chief guest in the inaugural ceremony to be held at the Nishagandhi auditorium here in the evening, Kerala Chalachitra Academy, the organiser of the event, said here.

Movies from across the world will be screened in 15 theatres in the capital city under different categories, including the "international competition", "Indian Cinema Now', "Malayalam Cinema Today"and so on.

The gala would be concluded on December 15, the Academy said.