The 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held from November 20 to 28 in Goa
Our Bureau
Mumbai
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur has announced that film directors Istvan Szabo and Martin Scorsese will be conferred the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the 52nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.
For the first time ever, IFFI has invited major OTT players to participate in the festival. Istvan Szabo is one of the most critically acclaimed Hungarian film directors of the past few decades known for masterpieces like Mephisto (1981) Father (1966). Martin Scorsese is one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential directors in film history.
“India is a land of storytellers, our tales have captured the imagination of the world. India’s wide variety of stories rightly makes us the Content Subcontinent,” Thakur said. The union minister informed that for the first time ever, IFFI has invited major OTT players to participate at the festival.
In a first, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, Voot and Sony Liv will participate at the Film Festival through exclusive Masterclasses, content launches and previews, curated film package screenings, and various other on-ground and virtual events.
Thakur said that the trend of watching movies on OTT is on the rise and IFFI is embracing new technology and providing a platform for the industry artists to interact with OTT players.
The union minister has announced that for the first time ever, films from five BRICS nations, i.e., Brazil, Russia, South Africa, China and India will be showcased through the BRICS Film Festival alongside IFFI.
The 52nd IFFI will pay homage to actors Dilip Kumar, Sumitra Bhave, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Sanchari Vijay, Surekha Sikri, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bertrand Tavenier, Christopher Plummer and Jean-Claude Carriere.
Anurag Thakur further informed that IFFI will provide a platform for young budding talent from across India to connect with mainstream cinema filmmakers and the industry.
“75 creative minds (under 35 years) will be invited to interact with industry leaders and attend Masterclasses at the Festival. These youngsters will be selected through competition for young filmmakers from around the country. The Competition aims to provide a platform to 75 young filmmakers, actors, singers, scriptwriters, and others to showcase their talent at a globally recognized event,” he said.
According to the statement issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Retrospective section in the 52nd IFFI will feature renowned Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr.
His films have won accolades at Berlin, Cannes and Locarno Film Festival. He is an auteur filmmaker who has created his own visual style.
“Retrospective of Russian filmmaker and stage director Andrei Konchalovsky will also be shown. His films have won numerous accolades, including the Cannes Grand Prix Special du Jury, a FIPRESCI Award, two Silver Lions, three Golden Eagle Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award,” the statement said.
“Retrospective will also comprise of Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, Shri Rajinikanth. The festival will pay a Special Tribute to Sir Sean Connery, the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on the big screen,” it added.
Tamil film ‘Koozhangal’, which is India’s entry for the 2022 Academy Awards, will be screened in the Indian Panorama segment of the upcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Organized by the Directorate of Film Festivals of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India in collaboration with the State Government of Goa, the 52nd IFFI will be showcased to all the registered delegates and representatives from the selected films during the nine-day long film festival in Goa. Also, the film festival will be conducted in a hybrid format – virtual and physical – from November 20 to 28.
As per a statement, 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films have been picked up for screening under the Indian Panorama segment.
‘Semkhor’, the first-ever Dimasa language movie directed by Aimee Baruah is the jury’s choice for the opening feature film of Indian Panorama 2021.
Kannada feature films ‘Dollu’, ‘Talendanda’, and ‘Neeli Hakki’ will also be screened at IFFI.
Box
And the Golden Peacock goes to…
Some of the best films of the year which will compete for the Golden Peacock and other awards:
– Any Day Now | Director: Hamy Ramezan | Finland
– Godavari | Director: Nikhil Mahajan | Marathi, India
– Land of Dreams | Director: Shirin Neshat & Shoja Azari | New Mexico, USA
– Leader | Director: Katia Priwieziencew | Poland
– Moscow Does Not Happen | Director: Dmitry Fedorov | Russia
– Ring Wandering | Director: Masakazu Kaneko | Japan
– Semkhor | Director: Aimee Baruah | Dimasa, India
– The First Fallen | Director: Rodrigo de Oliveira | Brazil
