IFFI all set to roll
The 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), one of the biggest film and cultural extravaganza of the world is scheduled to begin in Goa from November 20 and showcase over 270 films over a period of 10 days.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur announced the schedule at a curtainraiser event on Monday in the national capital. “The movies made in India have covered every corner of the country and are now reaching the distant corners of the world,” he said noting that India’s media and entertainment industry is a force to be reckoned with ranking as the fifth largest market globally and growing every year with an average annual growth of 20 per cent in the last three years.
The opening film to be screened at the festival will be the UK thriller, Catching Dust, which and the event will end with the 2023 American biographical sports drama The Featherweight. Union Minister Thakur said, “Renowned Hollywood actor and producer and shining star of World Cinema Michael Douglas will be conferred with prestigious Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award.” Douglas will be present in person to accept the prestigious award, along with his wife and acclaimed actress, Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Thakur said that the International Section of IFFI has seen a three times spike in number of films received and this is a display of the fascination of international film industry for IFFI. Over 270 films will be showcased during the festival at four venues. In the International section will feature 198 films, 18 more than the 53rd edition of the festival. It will have 13 world premiers, 18 international premiers, 62 Asia premiers and 89 India premiers. This year IFFI received a record number of 2926 entries from 105 countries, which is three times more international submissions than last year.
Speaking about the newly introduced OTT awards, Union Minister Thakur said that since Covid 19 pandemic OTT industry has seen a boom in India and original content created in India is employing thousands of people. In response to the dynamic landscape of this sector, growth of which stands at 28 per cent annually, the Ministry has introduced this award celebrating the outstanding content creators on OTT platforms. He added that a total of 32 entries across 10 languages from 15 OTT platforms have been received and the winner will be awarded an amount of Rs 10 lakh.
