MUMBAI: Union Railway minister Mamta Banerjee inaugurated the 41st edition of IFFI-2010 at Goa. Speaking on the occasion, Banerjee said since its inception IFFI had provided a forum for converging cinema from all parts of the world on one platform.
“The IFFI platform showcased the new trends in world cinema while at the same time presented the master pieces of the Indian Panorama Section to the global audiences abroad. Films are an effective medium to depict reality through creative tools. As an event, the Festival provides an opportunity to the Indian film industry to compete with the best in the world. The 41st edition offers a treat to cine lovers in view of the excellent package of films being shown during the 10-day Festival,” she said.
Speaking earlier, minister of state for information & broadcasting C. M. Jatua said if the 41st edition of IFFI provided an opportunity for all forms of cinematic brilliance to be showcased together and provide wholesome entertainment to film buffs.
Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat, in his address outlined the initiatives taken by the State Government in facilitating the film industry within the state. Kamat stated that the overall objective was to re-position Goa as a film destination. He reiterated that all possible steps would be taken to promote the film industry and proposals in this context were being considered. Kamat also highlighted some of the key initiatives taken for the 41st edition of IFFI, namely, the initiation of the e-ticketing system.
Film director & producer Yash Chopra in his address spoke of the need to improve the infrastructure within the State of Goa in order to ensure international standards that were mandatory for hosting world-class film festivals.
During the inaugural function, several film personalities graced the occasion including Ajay Devgn who was the Guest of Honor. Actors Aftab Shivdasani and Gracy Singh compered the inaugural function proceedings.
During the Festival, 300 films will be featured from 61 countries. The Indian Section of the Festival will feature Centenaries of five unforgettable cinema talents – Ashok Kumar, B.R. Panthulu, Motilal, Nadia and Raja Paranjpe. They are being acknowledged by showing their films during the duration of the Festival. Apart from this, the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Odiya cinema will be observed. Masterstrokes will salute cinematographer V.K.Murthy and versatile producer D. Ramanaidu – the two recent recipients of Indian Cinema’s highest honors, Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Two films, each associated with them are lined up for screening. And in the Tributes, IFFI will pay tribute to those who lived a full cinema life by offering screenings in memory of those film personalities who are no more. This includes Bina Rai, Pamela Rooks, Sujit Kumar, Keshu Ramsay, Debu Deodhar, Pankaj Advani, Nirmal Pandey, Tahir Hussain, Vishnuvardhan and Ravi Baswani. Another key highlight of this year’s edition of IFFI will be the inclusion of three Indian films from Panorama to the International competition category.
The Indian panorama will feature 26 feature films, these include Achin Paakhi, Abohomaan, Maner Manush, Ami Aadu (Bengali), Three Idiots, Wake-up-Sid, Paa (Hindi), Kaal Chilambu (Malayalam), Ravanan (Tamil), Me Sindhuthai Sapkal (Marathi) which is the opening film of the Panorama, Shabari (Kannada), Swamyamsiddha (Odiya). There will be 21 Non-Feature Films showcased in the Indian Panorama. “Leaving Home” will be the opening film for the Non feature film category.
A key highlight of the festival pertains to the foreign section participation during the festival. There will be a Cannes Kaleidoscope 2010, a comprehensive package of films that made into Cannes this year. The films include ‘Film Socialism’ by Jean Lun Godard. There will also be a package of ten Iranian films and four Taiwanese films with high aesthetic content to be represented by respective film makers, cast and crew members. Amongst the retrospectives scheduled for prominent film makers, the list includes Jan Jakub Kolski Retrospective, Jim Jarmusch Restrospective, Michael Cacoyannis Retrospective and Mira Nair Retrospective. The International Jury to judge the Competition Section includes Jerzy Antczak, Writer, Director & Producer as its President and Mick Molloy, Olivier Père, Revathy and Sturla Gunnarsson as members of the Jury.
The country focus during the festival shall be Mexico, Georgia and Sri Lanka. There will be Sections on Taiwanese New Wave Cinema and Australian Indigenous Fiction Films. IFFI would also pay homage to the Iconic French film maker, Eric Rohmer, who passed away this year. Six of his films would be screened.
