THE DAZZLING START OF THE 53RD IFFI

Bringing together once again the world’s finest films and their stellar creators under one umbrella, the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India kicked off with a grand opening ceremony at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, in Panaji, Goa, on November 20, 2022. Conducted jointly by the National Film Development Corporation and Entertainment Society of Goa, this edition of the film fiesta is showcasing a collection of 280 films from seventy-nine countries. Twenty-five features and twenty non-feature films will be showcased in the Indian Panorama section from a broad spectrum of entries. It was attended by some of the biggest celebrities in Indian cinema with some thrilling performances by Varun Dhawan, Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan. Mrunal Thakur and Amruta Khanvilkar too entrapped the audience with their moves. While Aparshakti Khurrana played the perfect host, Ajay Devgn, Suniel Shetty, Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi, Shriya Saran, Prasoon Joshi and Paresh Rawal graced the event. Kindling the auspicious lamp for the nine-day-long avalanche of film excellence, Anurag Thakur (Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports) said that his vision is to make India the most soughtafter destination for film shoots and post-production backed by the talent of our people and innovation of our industry leaders. “My vision for IFFI is not limited to one event, but what IFFI should be when India celebrates its 100th year of Independence once we transition from Amrit Mahotsav to Amrit Kaal! We aim to make India a powerhouse of content creation, especially regional cinema by scaling up regional festivals,” he elaborated.

FI is all set to be a melting pot of myriad vibrant cultures and a spectacle of cinematic excellence. “IFFI presents unique opportunities and incredible possibilities for young and established filmmakers to network, pitch, collaborate and experience the best from the world of cinema. Cinema captures and chisels the conflux of a country's rich culture, legacy, heritage, hopes and dreams, aspirations, ambitions and most importantly the collective conscience of its people at any given time in history”, he added. Highlighting the Country of Focus session at IFFI, the Minister said this year marks 75 years of India - France relationship, marked by a meeting between the leaders of the two nations- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and President Emmanuel Macron, and India was the Country of Honour at Festival De Cannes this year. The Minister further congratulated celebrated Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura for winning the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award this year.

To make the festival more inclusive and accessible for everyone, special provisions have been made for Divyangjan Screenings (for the specially-abled), Thakur said. “Keeping in mind their accessibility needs, the films in this section will be audio-visual-equipped, with embedded audio descriptions and subtitles. The Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) will be taking two special courses for the specially-abled on ‘Smartphone Film Making’ curated for autistic individuals and a basic course in ‘Screen Acting’ curated for wheelchair users,” he informed.