The 48th edition of International Film Festival of India will kick off in the State on November 20 at a star-studded ceremony with Bollywood Superstar Shahrukh Khan as the special guest.
PANAJI
The coveted Indian film personality of the year award will be bestowed on acclaimed actor Amitabh Bachcchan and Canadian director Atom Egoyan will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The opening ceremony, which will be held at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium, Bambolim, will also be attended by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Smriti Irani and Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, among others.
In all, 195 films from over 82 countries would be screened at the Festival; with 10 world premieres, 10 Asian and international premieres and over 64 Indian premieres as part of the Official programme.
The Festival will open with the much talked about new feature -- Beyond The Clouds -- from acclaimed filmmaker Majid Majidi and presented by Namah Pictures and Zee Studios. The Festival will conclude with the world premiere of the Indo Argentinian Co-production -- Thinking of Film -- directed by Pablo Cesar.
The movie screenings, which are set to begin on November 21, will also see the opening of the Indian Panaroma section which will be inaugurated by renowned actress Sridevi.
The same day will also see the IFFI 2017 Country Focus on Canada being celebrated with a grand red carpet opening and amidst the presence of noted Canadian actors and celebrities. The Country focus Canada has been organized in association with the Government of Canada in collaboration with Telefilm Canada, curated by the Toronto International Film Festival
The International Competition Section, which carries a cumulative cash prize of over Rs 1 Crore, will showcase 15 of the finest films of this year, competing for the Golden and Silver Peacock awards. The jury will be headed by filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who is joined by his fellow jury members Festival Director Maxine Williamson from Australia, Actor-Director Tzahi Grad from Isreal, Russian Cinematographer Vladislav Opelyants and Director and Production Designer Roger Christian from the United Kingdom.
This edition of the Festival will also present films from a record number of over 30 women filmmakers in addition to a carefully curated section of restored classics from across the globe, that include the recently completed restorations of Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Tarkovsky's Sacrifice.
Among many other firsts at the Festival, IFFI 2017 will have a specially curated section celebrating the most loved spy in films, James Bond. The section will showcase films featuring the various leading actors who have essayed the iconic character, through a package of nine films. Additionally the Festival will present four films from young filmmakers of the Biennale College as a first of its kind collaboration with the Venice International Film Festival.
This edition of the Festival will also host a Mixed Reality Sidebar featuring virtual reality and augmented reality activities in addition to a series of master classes and panel discussions featuring the who's who of the entertainment industry, including noted filmmakers Atom Egoyam, Shekhar Kapur, Nitesh Tiwari and Farah Khan, as well as Oscar winning sound designer Craig Mann.
