Curtain goes up on 55th International Film Festival of India with a star-studded inaugural

The 55th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) kick-started with a star-studded opening ceremony at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Panaji, Goa, on Wednesday.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, and Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju inaugurated the nine-day festivities in the presence of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, festival director Shekhar Kapur, and others.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State L. Murugan sent video messages.
The festivities began with a dance that paid tribute to India’s pursuit of excellence in spirituality and for being the spiritual leader of the world.
Many prominent actors, producers, and filmmakers, including Nagarjuna Akkineni, Amala Akkineni, Jaideep Ahlawat, Boman Irani, Rajkummar Rao, R. Sarathkumar, Subash Ghai, Nithya Menen, Amar Kaushik, Jayam Ravi, Randeep Hooda, R.K. Selvamani, Chidananda S. Naik, Ishari K. Ganesh, and Pranita Subhash were felicitated.
Mr. Kapur spoke about the power of stories as a language of unity in a polarised world.
“Within nations and communities, we talk to each other through stories. Stories are how we communicate and understand each other,” he said.
The event also saw Mr. Irani take the stage to pay tributes to some of India’s greatest cinema legends — Mohammed Rafi, Tapan Sinha, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and Raj Kapoor.
Special commemorative stamps, introduced by the Government of India to celebrate these legends, were unveiled.
Dr. Sawant said, “Ever since former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar brought IFFI to Goa, both IFFI and Goa have been synonymous. I am grateful for all the developments that have taken place in Goa since.”
Through a video message, Mr. Vaishnaw said the IFFI had become an important milestone in the Indian film industry.
“We have a vibrant content economy, where people are coming up with some very innovative content showcasing the rich traditions, culture, heritage, language, literature and cuisines of India,“ he added.
Taking place across four venues, the 55th edition of the IFFI is set to continue till November 28.
This year, the festival has received 1,676 submissions from 101 countries. The nine-day festival will present over 180 international titles from 81 countries, which include 16 premieres in world, three in international, 43 in Asian, and 109 in Indian categories.
Also Read: Boman Irani’s directorial debut ‘The Mehta Boys’ to premiere at Chicago South Asian Film Festival
Notably, the organisers have included a segment this year to celebrate Goan films, under which 14 films will be screened.
The festival has chosen Australia as the country of focus this year to foster its collaboration with India through a memorandum of understanding between Screen Australia and the NFDC.
Also Read: Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur appointed IFFI festival director
Celebrated Australian director Philip Noyce, best known for making iconic films such as Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Salt, and The Bone Collector, is set to be presented with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award.
Published – November 21, 2024 01:03 am IST
Indian cinema