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Tag: IFFI

  • In a first, major OTT platforms to participate in IFFI

    In a first, major OTT platforms to participate in IFFI

    Mumbai: The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will see participation from major OTT platforms, for the first time in its history. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Zee5, SonyLIV, and Voot will participate at IFFI that is being held in Goa starting 20 November.

    The festival will offer exclusive masterclasses, content launches, previews, and much more. The 52nd edition of IFFI will be held in hybrid format considering the present Covid-19 situation.

    Netflix has organised a three-day virtual masterclass by the Paris-based renowned school of image and arts, Gobelins – School L’image. It facilitated the India premiere of the film “The Power Of The Dog” by Jane Campion, a special screening of the film “Dhamaka” including an introduction of the film by Karthik Aryan and a preview of the first episode of its upcoming crime thriller series “Aranyak” starring Raveena Tandon and Ashutosh Rana. SonyLIV is organising a masterclass by “Scam 1992” screenplay writers Sumit Purohit and Saurav Dey.

    The union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur announced that actor and member of parliament from Mathura Uttar Pradesh Hema Malini and lyricist and chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Prasoon Joshi will be conferred the Indian film personality of the year award 2021 at the festival.

    IFFI will feature 148 films from about 73 countries in the international section. The festival will have about 12 world premieres, about 7 international premieres, 26 Asia premieres, and about 64 India premieres. IFFI received 624 films from 95 countries this time, up from 69 countries in the previous edition.

    Global cinematic giants Martin Scorsese and Istevan Szabo are being honoured with the first Satyajit Ray lifetime achievement award. They will not be attending the festival physically but their video messages conveying acceptance of the award will be played.

    The opening feature film of Indian Panorama 2021 is the film “Semkhor,” directed by Aimee Baruah. This is the first-ever film made in Dimasa (dialect from Assam) to be featured at IFFI. “The Visionary” (English) directed by Shri Rajiv Parkash is the opening non-feature film in the Indian Panorama section. “The King of all the World” (El Rey de Todo El Mundo) directed by Carlos Saura will be the opening film and this will also be the film’s international premiere. IFFI 52 will come to a close with the screening of Asghar Farhadi’s “A Hero,” which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

    There will be about 18 specially curated films presented as part of the ongoing celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The festival director informed that the international jury chaired by the Iranian filmmaker Rakhshān Banietemad is coming to attend the festival. The BRICS Film Festival is being held on the sidelines of IFFI for the first time. There will be a special package presenting films from the five countries.

    The 52nd edition of IFFI is paying homage to the prominent Kannada film actor Puneet Rajkumar and iconic James Bond actor Sir Sean Connery.

    IFFI will open with a star-studded inaugural ceremony, featuring Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia Deshmukh, Shraddha Kapoor, amongst others. Karan Johar and Manish Paul will host the event.

  • Prime Video to premiere ‘Chhorii’ on 25 November at IFFI

    Prime Video to premiere ‘Chhorii’ on 25 November at IFFI

    Mumbai: Amazon Prime Video has unveiled its lineup for the 52nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held in Goa from 20 November. This includes the world premiere of Amazon original film “Chhorii” on 25 November and multiple masterclasses and interactive panels with the country’s creative stalwarts.

    For the first time in its history, IFFI is inviting video streaming platforms to the festival.

    On 21 November, a masterclass session on ‘Creating Cult Icons’ will be led by the cast and crew of Amazon original series “The Family Man” including Raj and DK, Amazon Prime Video’s head India originals Aparna Purohit, Samantha Ruth, and Manoj Bajpayee (virtually).

    On 23 November, a masterclass session on ‘Creating Cinematic Success and Storytelling of Sardar Udham’ will be led by Shoojit Sircar and Ronnie Lahiri.

    Prime Video will also showcase Satyajit Ray’s evergreen films on the homepage of their website between 20-28 November to commemorate the filmmaker’s birth centenary. This will include 11 of his iconic films – “Abhijan,” “Aparajito,” “Ashani Sanket,” “Chiriakhana,” “Hirak Rajar Deshe,” “Pather Panchali,” “Seemabaddha,” “Sonar Kella,” “Shatranj Ke Khilari,” “Charulata,” and “Jalsaghar.” The platform will also stream “Satyajit Ray Through His Films,” a documentary presented by Soumitra Chatterjee.

    “We are honoured to be a part of IFFI, an event that celebrates the diversity and rich cinematic heritage of India, and brings the entertainment community, content creators and talent together,” said Amazon Prime Video India country head Gaurav Gandhi. “We will continue to contribute actively to the entertainment ecosystem of India by promoting local narratives that are deeply rooted in Indian culture while delivering an immersive entertainment experience to viewers.”

  • IFFI announces international jury comprising eminent filmmakers

    IFFI announces international jury comprising eminent filmmakers

    NEW DELHI: The 51st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), to be held in Goa from 16-24 January, has announced its international jury. The panel comprises eminent filmmakers from across the world, like Pablo Cesar (Argentina) as chairman, Prasanna Vithanage (Sri Lanka), Abu Bakr Shawky (Austria), Priyadarshan (India), and Rubaiyat Hossain (Bangladesh).

    Pablo Cesar is an Argentine filmmaker. He has contributed to the African cinema by making the critically acclaimed films, Equinox, the Garden of the Roses, Los dioses de agua and Aphrodite, the Garden of the Perfumes.

    Prasanna Vithanage is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He is considered one of the pioneers of the third generation of Sri Lankan cinema. He has directed eight feature films including Death on a Full Moon Day (1997), August Sun (2003), Flowers of the Sky (2008) & With You, Without You (2012). His films have won many prestigious national and international awards and also enjoyed commercial success in his country. In Vithanage’s early theatre work, he translated and produced plays by international writers, adapted works of world literature to film. He has battled against censorship in Sri Lanka and worked as an educator of cinema who has conducted many master classes in the subcontinent for young filmmakers and enthusiasts.

    Abu Bakr Shawkyor ‘A.B.’ Shawky is an Egyptian-Austrian writer and director. His first feature film, Yomeddine, was selected to participate in the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened in the main competition section and competed for the Palme d'Or.

    Rubaiyat Hossain is a Bangladeshi film director, writer and producer. She is notable for the films Meherjaan, Under Construction and Made in Bangladesh.

    Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer. In a career spanning over three decades, he has directed more than 95 films in various Indian languages, predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi, while also having done six films in Tamil and two in Telugu.

    A total of 224 films will be screened under different sections at the 51st IFFI, which will be organised in a hybrid format in the wake of the pandemic. Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, starring actor Mads Mikkelsen, will be the opening film. Japanese historical drama Wife of a Spy, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, will also have its India premiere at the upcoming nine-day film gala.

  • IFFI Goa pushed forward to early 2021

    IFFI Goa pushed forward to early 2021

    MUMBAI: The fifty first edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which was to be held from 20-28 November in Goa was looking iffy thanks to the unabated spread the SARS COV2 virus in India. Today, any doubts about it were put to rest: the directorate of film festivals which comes under the ministry of information & broadcasting decided  that it was being rescheduled to 16-24 January 2021. The announcement was made by I&B minister Prakash Javadekar after consulting Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant.

    IFFI – when it will be held next year in Goa – will comply with all international film festivals guidelines and protocols. The ministry added that it would held in a phygital format – that is both physical and virtual. 

  • IFFI Preview Committee includes film certification panel members

    IFFI Preview Committee includes film certification panel members

    NEW DELHI: A 40-member preview committee with Vivek Agnihotri as the convenor has been set up to continue the process of shortlisting of films for the International Film Festival of India 2017 being held in November this year.

    Indiantelevision.com had reported yesterday that the preview committee for shortlisting films for IFFI which had already seen around 150 films had also been dissolved. These changes have coincided with Smriti Zubin Irani taking on additional charge of the information and broadcasting ministry after M Venkaiah Naidu resigned.

    The preview committee not merely shortlists films from all entries received, but recommends films for competition section which will then be seen by the International jury, and for the Country Focus section of the Festival.

    IFFI, which is considered as one of the top ten film festivals of the world will be held from 20 to 28 November at Panaji in Goa.

    The festival is organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in collaboration with the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) on behalf of the state government.

    A four-day Film Bazaar will also be organized from 20 November by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).

    Generally most members of the preview committee are from Delhi as the process of shortlisting takes more than a month and the preview is done at one of the auditoriums in the Sirifort complex in the capital.

    Furthermore, the names of members are not revealed to prevent any external influences.

    However a majority of the members this time are from different parts of the country and this will entail infrastructural arrangements including travel and stay of the members. Only a handful of members are from Delhi.

    The list reveals that the names have been shortlisted on the recommendations of the Central Board of Film Certification and regional certification panels and many are members of CBFC and regional panels. Furthermore, just a few members have exposure to international cinema.

    The Preview Committeee now comprises:

    1.

    Vivek Agnihotri

    2.

    Khalid Mohamed

    3.

    Aarti Bajaj

    4.

    Ramesh Patange

    5.

    Naresh Chander Lal

    6.

    Narendra Kohli

    7.

    Saibal Chatterjee

    8.

    Abhimanyu Singh

    9.

    Bhawana Somaaya

    10.

    Jeevitha Rajasekhar

    11.

    Gautami Tadimalla

    12.

    Nitesh Tiwari

    13.

    G.S. Bhaskar

    14.

    Pallavi Joshi

    15.

    Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury

    16.

    Raja Krishna Menon

    17.

    Siddharth Kak

    18.

    Bela Segal

    19.

    Tarun Katial

    20.

    Abhishek Basu

    21.

    Hrishitaa Bhatt

    22.

    Abhishek Jain

    23.

    Santwana Bordoloi

    24.

    Bhaskar Hazarika

    25.

    Pradip Kurbah

    26.

    Dominic Megam Sangma

    27.

    Maipaksana  Haorongbam

    28.

    Zuala Chhangte

    29.

    Dr. Sachidanand Joshi

    30.

    Dr. Bharat Gupt

    31.

    Nirmala Sharma

    32.

    Rathi Vinay Jha

    33.

    Parvathi Menon

    34.

    Rajesh Kumar Singh

    35.

    Anil Rastogi

    36.

    Punit Asthana

    37.

    Ajay Malkani

    38.

    Bhumenjoy Konsam

    39.

    Sangee Dorjee Thongdok

    40.

    Lavlin Thadani

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  • IFFI 2016: India, S. Korea keen on co-productions

    IFFI 2016: India, S. Korea keen on co-productions

    NEW DELHI: Minister for Information and Broadcasting (MIB) M Venkaiah Naidu has said the government is keen to work and cooperate with South Korea in the domain of film production in a way that could benefit both countries.

    Speaking at a meeting with the Korean delegation yesterday in Panaji, the Minister said the government gave great importance to the 2014 agreement between the two countries on co-production and exchange of ideas and expressed satisfaction at Korea being the main partner in the cultural sphere and the focus country at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

    MIB Secretary Ajay Mittal said the Film Facilitation Office was set up by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) to address issues on film production and facilitating mutual cooperation.

    Korean ambassador to India Cho Hyun shared his ideas and themes for future film making. The delegation also expressed its happiness of the remake of the South Korean movie `Montage’. Hyun also remembered the role India played on the peace keeping operations in the Korean War.

    A large Korean delegation is attending the IFFI this year and veteran Korean filmmaker Im Kwon Taek had been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the inauguration of the festival.

    A total number of 18 films are being screened from South Korea and the opening film was `Tunnel’ whose director Kim Seong-hun said later at a press meet that it was his first visit to India and he was thrilled to meet a new audience at this venue. The other directors and producers present at the event talked about their films’ genres and storylines.

    The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) representative, also present at the conference, talked about the screening of 18 films at the fest and further strengthening the foundation of Indo-Korean relationship through this step. He added that Korea produces three films per year under co-production and has a budget of $ 300,000.

    Director Lee Joon-ik of ‘Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet’ spoke about the removal of censorship in South Korea and its impact on the Korean film industry. He said that in the 70s, Hollywood had 80 per cent share in the Korean market. But with the complete removal of censorship, now the Korean cinema has gained 30 per cent of the market share, reducing Hollywood share by up to 50 per cent.

    Korean Film has come of age in terms of technology and production said Korean filmmakers. The directors believe that if the Indian audience enjoy Hollywood cinema, they will surely like Korean cinema as well, because just like Hollywood, Korean cinema is also technology-driven and, at times, is way ahead of Hollywood.

    The film ‘Tunnel’ tears down the conventional disaster movie genre. Through a disaster, which seems lifted from ordinary reality, the film reminds us all of the forgotten dignity of human life. The director shifts smoothly between emotional extremes to create a distinctive and realistic disaster movie that brings something new to the genre.

  • IFFI 2016: India, S. Korea keen on co-productions

    IFFI 2016: India, S. Korea keen on co-productions

    NEW DELHI: Minister for Information and Broadcasting (MIB) M Venkaiah Naidu has said the government is keen to work and cooperate with South Korea in the domain of film production in a way that could benefit both countries.

    Speaking at a meeting with the Korean delegation yesterday in Panaji, the Minister said the government gave great importance to the 2014 agreement between the two countries on co-production and exchange of ideas and expressed satisfaction at Korea being the main partner in the cultural sphere and the focus country at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

    MIB Secretary Ajay Mittal said the Film Facilitation Office was set up by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) to address issues on film production and facilitating mutual cooperation.

    Korean ambassador to India Cho Hyun shared his ideas and themes for future film making. The delegation also expressed its happiness of the remake of the South Korean movie `Montage’. Hyun also remembered the role India played on the peace keeping operations in the Korean War.

    A large Korean delegation is attending the IFFI this year and veteran Korean filmmaker Im Kwon Taek had been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the inauguration of the festival.

    A total number of 18 films are being screened from South Korea and the opening film was `Tunnel’ whose director Kim Seong-hun said later at a press meet that it was his first visit to India and he was thrilled to meet a new audience at this venue. The other directors and producers present at the event talked about their films’ genres and storylines.

    The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) representative, also present at the conference, talked about the screening of 18 films at the fest and further strengthening the foundation of Indo-Korean relationship through this step. He added that Korea produces three films per year under co-production and has a budget of $ 300,000.

    Director Lee Joon-ik of ‘Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet’ spoke about the removal of censorship in South Korea and its impact on the Korean film industry. He said that in the 70s, Hollywood had 80 per cent share in the Korean market. But with the complete removal of censorship, now the Korean cinema has gained 30 per cent of the market share, reducing Hollywood share by up to 50 per cent.

    Korean Film has come of age in terms of technology and production said Korean filmmakers. The directors believe that if the Indian audience enjoy Hollywood cinema, they will surely like Korean cinema as well, because just like Hollywood, Korean cinema is also technology-driven and, at times, is way ahead of Hollywood.

    The film ‘Tunnel’ tears down the conventional disaster movie genre. Through a disaster, which seems lifted from ordinary reality, the film reminds us all of the forgotten dignity of human life. The director shifts smoothly between emotional extremes to create a distinctive and realistic disaster movie that brings something new to the genre.

  • IFFI 2016: 32 films for pitching in Film Bazaar

    IFFI 2016: 32 films for pitching in Film Bazaar

    NEW DELHI: A total of 32 films are being screened in the Film Bazaar Recommends section of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Panaji, which are all aimed at pitching for distribution or selection for international film festivals.

    The films including five feature documentaries and 27 fiction features in 14 languages will pitch their trailers in the ‘Investor’s Pitch’ at 10th NFDC Film Bazaar 2016. Film Bazaar Recommends are feature length films recommended specially by the Film Bazaar team from among the film submissions to the Viewing Room.

    Other sections in the market include Open Pitch, which is in its second edition, and where filmmakers present their ideas and requirements to an audience of film industry members.

    Producer Miriam Joseph, OLFFI Managing Director Ilann Girard and Pallas Films producer Thanassis Karathanos discussed the importance and challenges of public funding and a clear emphasis emerged on developing the project thoroughly before looking for funding. “For independent films, it is always challenging to find funding,” Ilann Girard said, adding, “It is a multi-path relationship, and you have to look at the whole picture and understand the organic needs of your project, so there is a balance creatively and financially. It is very important to remain true to yourself.”

    The section on Film Festivals And Markets – Building Audiences And Business Opportunities was moderated by Deepti D’Cunha and the panelists at this session included Festival Programmers Paolo Bertolin and Uma D’Cunha, Sales Agent Chris Paton, and filmmakers Raam Reddy (Thithi) and Kanu Behl (Titli), whose debuts have received much critical acclaim. There was an engrossing and riveting conversation on the intricacies of the business side of the film industry. The importance of promoting films was emphasised.

    “It is difficult for independent films in India to get selected at a festival like Venice Film Festival, and whenever a filmmaker does get the rare opportunity to promote their film, they should grab it. After years, there were two Indian films, `Court’ and `Visaranai’, that were screened there,” Paolo Bertolinsaid. “Although this piece of advice is getting more and more controversial, you should get a sales agent, because they are the ones who know how to maximise your positioning within the festival and who already know how to work with and within the festival. You are faced with many challenges, and you don’t need to do this alone. If you don’t manage to get a sales agent, you should at least get a press agent, so that the film gets the widest exposure and reaches your target audience.”

    “NFDC Film Bazaar really changed my life, and it gave me a wealth of knowledge. I was completely clueless when I came here,” Raam Reddy said candidly, highlighting, “I owe my entire career to NFDC Film Bazaar because I received so much constructive criticism and feedback from the Work-In-Progress Lab. Dreams can be built here.”

    The Virtual Reality Lounge, powered by Samsung Gear VR Premiere and introduced for the first time, had A R Rahman’s ‘Live-In-VR Experience’ Vande Mataram as the premiere, which also allowed participants to curate their viewing experience uniquely with a range of Virtual Reality (VR) film experiences to choose from.

    The Industry Screenings segment opened with Suhas Bhosale’s ‘Koti’, an acclaimed Marathi film about a young transgender in a rural village and went on to screen titles like ‘Trap’ by B Madhusudhan Reddy and `Aloko Udapadi’ (Sinhala) by Chathra Weeraman amongst others.

    The Bazaar will conclude on 24 November 2016.

  • IFFI 2016: 32 films for pitching in Film Bazaar

    IFFI 2016: 32 films for pitching in Film Bazaar

    NEW DELHI: A total of 32 films are being screened in the Film Bazaar Recommends section of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Panaji, which are all aimed at pitching for distribution or selection for international film festivals.

    The films including five feature documentaries and 27 fiction features in 14 languages will pitch their trailers in the ‘Investor’s Pitch’ at 10th NFDC Film Bazaar 2016. Film Bazaar Recommends are feature length films recommended specially by the Film Bazaar team from among the film submissions to the Viewing Room.

    Other sections in the market include Open Pitch, which is in its second edition, and where filmmakers present their ideas and requirements to an audience of film industry members.

    Producer Miriam Joseph, OLFFI Managing Director Ilann Girard and Pallas Films producer Thanassis Karathanos discussed the importance and challenges of public funding and a clear emphasis emerged on developing the project thoroughly before looking for funding. “For independent films, it is always challenging to find funding,” Ilann Girard said, adding, “It is a multi-path relationship, and you have to look at the whole picture and understand the organic needs of your project, so there is a balance creatively and financially. It is very important to remain true to yourself.”

    The section on Film Festivals And Markets – Building Audiences And Business Opportunities was moderated by Deepti D’Cunha and the panelists at this session included Festival Programmers Paolo Bertolin and Uma D’Cunha, Sales Agent Chris Paton, and filmmakers Raam Reddy (Thithi) and Kanu Behl (Titli), whose debuts have received much critical acclaim. There was an engrossing and riveting conversation on the intricacies of the business side of the film industry. The importance of promoting films was emphasised.

    “It is difficult for independent films in India to get selected at a festival like Venice Film Festival, and whenever a filmmaker does get the rare opportunity to promote their film, they should grab it. After years, there were two Indian films, `Court’ and `Visaranai’, that were screened there,” Paolo Bertolinsaid. “Although this piece of advice is getting more and more controversial, you should get a sales agent, because they are the ones who know how to maximise your positioning within the festival and who already know how to work with and within the festival. You are faced with many challenges, and you don’t need to do this alone. If you don’t manage to get a sales agent, you should at least get a press agent, so that the film gets the widest exposure and reaches your target audience.”

    “NFDC Film Bazaar really changed my life, and it gave me a wealth of knowledge. I was completely clueless when I came here,” Raam Reddy said candidly, highlighting, “I owe my entire career to NFDC Film Bazaar because I received so much constructive criticism and feedback from the Work-In-Progress Lab. Dreams can be built here.”

    The Virtual Reality Lounge, powered by Samsung Gear VR Premiere and introduced for the first time, had A R Rahman’s ‘Live-In-VR Experience’ Vande Mataram as the premiere, which also allowed participants to curate their viewing experience uniquely with a range of Virtual Reality (VR) film experiences to choose from.

    The Industry Screenings segment opened with Suhas Bhosale’s ‘Koti’, an acclaimed Marathi film about a young transgender in a rural village and went on to screen titles like ‘Trap’ by B Madhusudhan Reddy and `Aloko Udapadi’ (Sinhala) by Chathra Weeraman amongst others.

    The Bazaar will conclude on 24 November 2016.

  • IFFI 2015 to feature 200 films from 89 countries; Anil Kapoor to inaugurate

    IFFI 2015 to feature 200 films from 89 countries; Anil Kapoor to inaugurate

    NEW DELHI: Around 32 years after he first featured in a lead role, veteran actor Anil Kapoor will inaugurate the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) this month in Goa, which will feature a total of 187 films from 89 countries in the international section.

     

    In addition, the Indian Panorama will have 26 feature and 21 non-features in the Festival, which will open at Panaji on 20 November with the film The Man who knew Infinity by Mathew Brown. The film is a true story about the friendship between Indian mathematician Ramanujan and Professor GH Hardy that forever changed the world of mathematics.

     

    The Festival organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in association with the Goa Government will conclude on 30 November. It will have special classes in filmmaking in collaboration with the American Academy, which awards the Oscars.

     

    Noting that IFFI had become a global brand in the world of cinema, I&B Minister Arun Jaitley said that Spain is the focus country this year and the special focus within the country was on cinema from the north eastern states.

     

    The competition section will have 15 films including two from India and will be judged by a jury headed by filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. The other members will include Michael Radford, Julia Jentsch, Suha Arraf and Jeon Kyu-Hwan.

     

    The Panorama films were selected by a 13-member Feature jury headed by filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma and a seven-member non-feature jury headed by Rajendra Janglay.

     

    Apart from Jaitley, those present at the press meet were Minister of State Rajyavardhan Rathore, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, I&B Secretary Sunil Arora, Festival Director Senthil Rajan, and Special Secretary J S Mathur. Jaitley also released the poster for the 46th Festival at the press conference.

     

    Jaitley agreed to consider a suggestion that the opening of IFFI should not clash with the International Children Film Festival of India in Hyderabad, which is held every second year. However, he said this could not be done this year.

     

    Jaitley said the Festival promoted excellence and provided an opportunity to showcase the best domestic and international talent.

     

    The Spanish package would have the films of master Spanish filmmakers Carlos Saura and Pedro Almadovar along with contemporary filmmakers like Alejandro Amenabar. The section would also feature Spanish actress Leticia Dolera’s directorial debut Requirements to Be a Normal Person.

     

    Jaitley said IFFI this year would feature a special section on ‘World Cinema Restored Classics’ to highlight the idea of film restoration. This would feature a package of classics to put spotlight on National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM). 

     

    The Minister added that the film festival will also introduce a new segment – First Cut – to recognise young talent in the field of cinema and would screen some of the outstanding directorial debuts of 2015. The section would feature emerging filmmakers including Brian Perkins (Golden Kingdom, USA) and Michael Klette (Solness, Germany) among others. The festival in association with the Oscar Academy will also promote skill development in filmmaking through master classes on varied topics like sound designing, film archive and film editing.

     

    Jaitley said IFFI would include a special award – ICFT- UNESCO Fellini Prize – in collaboration with the International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT), Paris and UNESCO. The award would be presented to a film, which reflects the ideals of peace, tolerance, non-violence and friendship promoted by UNESCO. 

     

    Answering questions, Jaitley said that film festivals all over the world were now linked to a city and therefore there was no plans to shift the festival out of Goa, which had hosted it since 2004.

     

    Arora added that IFFI was the biggest Film Festival in Asia and a leading platform for art and creativity. He said Goa had been the perfect venue for the past 11 years for the film festival.

     

    The focus on the north east at IFFI will include a Special Retrospective on Aribam Syam Sharma along with a unique segment featuring next generation filmmakers from the north east.

     

    Answering questions, Rajan said that there was a film from Pakistan apart from other SAARC countries as well. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Rajan said that while the Film Federation of India (FFI) and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) had decided to boycott the Festival, they had not barred individual filmmakers from taking part. Furthermore, steps were being taken to address their grievances.

     

    IFFI will also be organising a special seminar on Film and Cultural diversity. A special series titled ‘In Conversation’ with eminent Indian filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal and Vettrimaran will also be organised to discuss films and the art of filmmaking with the audience.