President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, John Bailey, has confirmed his participation for this year’s International Film Festival of India (IFFI) .
The festival will be held in Goa from November 20-28, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on Sunday.After the first steering commitee meeting for the festival in Panaji, Javedkar also said that Russia might be the focus country of this year.
“IFFI is India’s pride. This year’s IFFI is especially significant since it marks the golden jubilee edition,” he said.
A Ministry press statement stated that the meeting was held in regard to the necessary coordination between stakeholders involved in the process of organising the festival.
This year, students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata, will manage the festival.
The list of the films to be screened will release in September giving sufficient time to audiences to plan for the upcoming fest.
Apart from business exhibitions that will display relevant technologies for films, this year there will also be a special exhibition to mark 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi. The festival will also pay tribute to ex-Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar, who was instrumental in making Goa the permanent venue for IFFI.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that organising the 50th edition of IFFI was a proud moment for the state. Sawant and Javadekar also launched a golden jubilee poster to mark this year’s 50th IFFI celebration.
Producers and filmmakers like Karan Johar, Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Feroze Abbas Khan and Subhash Ghai are to be part of the IFFI steering committee.
The key sections at the IFFI include international competition, festival kaleidoscope, world panorama, Indian panorama, masterclasses, in-conversations, special retrospectives, homages, open-air screenings and film bazaar — organised by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).