The 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has kicked off in Goa with its opening ceremony being attended by Bollywood stars Salman Khan, Hema Malini, among others. The opening ceremony was hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Maniesh Paul.
IFFI Goa this year will feature 148 films from about 73 countries in the International Section. The festival will have about 12 world premieres, about seven international premieres, 26 Asia premieres and about 64 India premieres. An array of world-renowned filmmakers, actors, technicians, critics, academicians and film enthusiasts will come together to celebrate cinema and the art of filmmaking through various film screenings, presentations, masterclasses, panel discussions and seminars.
Also Read: Hema Malini, Prasoon Joshi to Receive Honours at IFFI 2021; Salman, Ranveer to Attend Opening Ceremony
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Saturday said that the government will make consistent efforts to ensure the growth of the International Film Festival of India and make it a perfect destination for world cinema. Referring to various new initiatives being launched in the latest edition of the festival, Thakur said IFFI 2021 will have “many firsts”.
“It is a festival of many firsts and I’m confident that IFFI will become a much bigger platform in the future. We’ll make the effort that from our 75th year of Independence to the 100th year, IFFI will grow on to become a bigger platform for the film community and become an ideal destination for world cinema,” the union minister told reporters here.
For the year 2021, the festival organisers have announced a partnership with five OTT platforms — Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Zee5, Voot and SonyLiv. The festival will also launch the initiative 75 Creative Minds, under which, 75 young filmmakers, actors, singers, scriptwriters, and others will be given the opportunity to interact with renowned directors and artists from the world of cinema.
The festival will also confer the first-ever Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award to Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese and Hungarian filmmaker Istevan Szabo. Though the two directors are not attending the festival, their pre-recorded messages will be played at the opening ceremony.
“Both of them are big names in the international cinema. They have agreed to this award and it proves that IFFI as an attractive platform for not just Indians but also for people from all over the world. We will consistently make efforts to ensure that IFFI as a platform becomes even bigger,” Thakur said. Asked about regional movies leading the Indian Panorama section, Thakur asserted that India is a land of many cultures and every regional language has its own importance.
“Be it Tamil, Telugu or Bengali films, today regional cinema has a significant hold over the minds of the viewers. And not just nationally, regional films are being recognised all over the world. “So in Indian Panorama, whether in feature or non-feature, audiences will get to see something new and different,” the union minister added. Thakur also remembered the contribution of late union minister and four-time Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar in making the state the permanent venue for IFFI.
“It is the result of Parrikarji’s hard work and had he been here today, then he would have been very happy,” he added. The 52nd edition of International Film Festival of India is being organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in collaboration with the Goa government.
Meanwhile, veteran Bollywood actress Hema Malini and lyricist Prasoon Joshi will be honoured with the ‘Indian Personality of the Year’ award.
The nine-day film gala will take place in a hybrid format — virtual and physical — till November 28.
(With PTI inputs)
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