The event was organised by the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF) with support from the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) was instituted in the year 2003 by the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), a non-profit organisation.

[6] Presented by the national newspaper The Hindu and the Tamil satellite channel Pudhuyugam, the event saw the participation of 58 countries.

[4] Though the festival was supported by the state government, the funds were raised mainly through sponsorship and donations by celebrity volunteers.

[8] The event was set in motion at around 5:30 PM on 12 December 2013 at Sir Mutha Venkata Subba Rao Concert Hall.

[14] The fest was inaugurated by Tamil actor-director Kamal Haasan and Bollywood actor-director-TV anchor Aamir Khan in the presence of celebrities including Mohanlal.

Khan who resides at Mumbai attended the event in Chennai at his own expense following the example set by Amitabh Bachchan the previous year.

[15] A week prior to the inauguration, in a curtain-raiser interview to The Hindu, Khan emphasised the need for social commitment in films.

The event also included a special section showcasing six films from contemporary Turkey apart from a country focus on Taiwan and Iran.

The documentary was the a result of a research by Karan Bali of Upperstall.com, a film website that focuses on classic and independent Indian cinema and its luminaries.

[23] The fest got rolling with the screening of the Hirokazu Koreeda directed Like Father, Like Son, the English remake rights of which have been bought by Steven Spielberg.

[24] The red carpet screenings include The Hunt, Walesa: Man of Hope, The Past, Omar, The Great Beauty and Harmony Lessons.

[27] In another discussion on 'Women behind Cinema' moderated by Suhasini, the panel, including female producers and entrepreneurs Pushpa Kandasamy of Kavithalayaa Productions, Archana Kalpathi of AGS Cinemas, Sitara Suresh and Nivedha Priyadarshini[28] discussed the difficulties faced by women filmmakers and technicians.

The team behind Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom along with writer-filmmaker Amshan Kumar, Gautami and Sudhish Kamath took part[30] where the question of 'why do we make films?'

"[29] Excluding the aforementioned, 'Cinema of Cruelty', a discussion on Tamil cinema, pondered over the excessive violence found in Tamil films and its influences, citing that Paruthiveeran and Subramaniapuram started the trend inspiring even acclaimed filmmaker Anurag Kashyap to make a film like Gangs of Wasseypur.

[31] The Great Beauty[29][32] Parviz[29] Walesa: A Man of Hope[28] The Hunt[33] Blue Is The Warmest Colour[34] Omar[35] Midhunam[36][37][38] Like Father, Like Son[26] The jury members for the Tamil feature film competition was introduced by Rohini.

On 11 December 2013, a day before the event began, dancers from the professional dance group 'The S Community of Entertainment', created a flash mob at the atrium of Express Avenue.

[47] On the morning of 15 December, a set was erected at the Schmidt Memorial, Besant Nagar Beach and Zumba was performed by celebrities including Suhasini, Anita Ratnam, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, VJ Ramya Subramaniam, Ashok Kumar, Maanu and Abhirami.

[52] Other sponsors were Qube Cinema Network, Real Image Technologies (award sponsor), PVP Cinema, TVS, Madras Talkies, Indian Overseas Bank, The Savera, Gamesa, Hot Breads, Tripadam Logistics, Casino Theatre, Woodlands Multiplex, Inox, Abirami Mega Mall, Nithra, IndiaGlitz, Rani Seethai Hall, Fingrid, Deco aro, Ticket New, Reliance Entertainment, Institut Francais, Goethe Institut.