The 55th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which was kick-started with a star-studded opening ceremony at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Panaji, Goa, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, has come to a close.
This year, the festival received 1,676 submissions from 101 countries. The nine-day festival presented over 180 international titles from 81 countries, which include 16 premieres in World, three in International, 43 in Asian, and 109 in Indian categories.
Notably, the organisers also included a segment this year to celebrate Goan films, under which 14 films were screened. This year, the festival chose Australia as the country of focus to foster its collaboration with India through a memorandum of understanding between Screen Australia and the NFDC.
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The jury for the International Competition consisted of Anthony Chen, Elizabeth Karlsen, Fran Borgia, Jill Bilcock and Jury Chairperson Ashutosh Gowariker.
Toxic clinched the Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film for “exploring adolescence and the harsh realities of growing up in an economically deprived society.” Toxic is debut feature of Saulė Bliuvaitė, a Lithuanian filmmaker and screenwriter.
The jury also presented the ICFT International Film Prize with UNESCO Gandhi Medal to director Levan Akin’s Crossing. Meanwhile, Vikrant Massey won the Indian Film Personality of the Year. The actor had starred in 12th Fail, the blockbuster Hindi film of 2023.
Bogdan Muresanu won the Best Director award for his Romanian tragic comedy The New Year That Never Came. Clement Faveau for Holy Cow was adjudged the winner in the Best Actor Male category and Vesta Matulyte and Leva Rupeikaite were declared joint winners in the Best Actor Female category.
Well-known Australian director Phillip Noyce received the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering cinematic legacy. “There is nothing like the Indian audience. I would love to make an Indian film and would love for Australia and India to be in a co-production agreement,” he said.
For his film Gharat Ganapati, Navjyot Bandiwadekar won the Best Debut Director for Indian Feature Film award. Marathi series Lampan, set against a rural backdrop and portraying a boy’s emotional and social changes, won the Best Web Series award.
Published – November 28, 2024 08:53 pm IST
World cinema
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Indian cinema
