As the curtains come down on the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) tomorrow (24th January), the Directorate of Film Festivals will be smiling from ear to ear for having conducted the fest so successfully despite COVID restrictions. It is the first time in the 51-year history of the IFFI that the festival was held as a hybrid affair — real plus virtual. It kickstarted in Goa on 16th with an enthralling cultural show at Panaji. The opening ceremony was hosted by Tisca Chopra and attended by filmmaker Priyadarshan Nair and actor Sudeep, among others. Many Bollywood stars congratulated IFFI on its 51st edition. Anil Kapoor, Mohanlal, Madhuri Dixit, Vidya Balan, Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Anupam Kher and Siddhant Chaturvedi complimented the Directorate and the state government of Goa for organising the festival in the trying pandemic times. IFFI is usually held in November every year. “The 51st edition was delayed by two months but its success could well teach other international film festivals a lesson or two,” said an ecstatic Chaitanya Prasad, additional director general, Directorate of Film Festivals.
A total of 46 international delegates were in Goa to attend the festival. The figure is impressive, considering the pandemic restrictions and fear. A total of 224 films are being screened in the festival. Entries were received for 600 films in all! This is the first time that IFFI is incorporating OTT content too.
The festival opened with Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round on January 16. It will close with the Indian premiere of Japanese film Wife Of A Spy tomorrow (January 24). A total of 160 films were premiered at the festival. Oscar-winning Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at IFFI 2021. Storaro has three Academy Awards for Best Cinematography for Apocalypse Now (1979), Reds (1981), and The Last Emperor (1987).
Tushar Hiranandani’s Saand Ki Aankh was the opening film in the Indian Panorama section. John Mathew Mathan is the chairman of the feature films jury of Indian Panorama while Haobam Paban Kumar is the chairman of the non-feature films jury. A total of 20 films were selected unanimously from out of 180 films in the feature films category. The feature films jury consists of 12 members — filmmaker and screenwriter Dominic Sangma, producer-director-screenwriter Jadumoni Dutta, choreographer Kala Master, filmmaker-writer Kumar Sohoni, actress and producer Rama Vij, filmmaker Ramamurthy B., filmmaker and journalist Sanghamitra Chaudhuri, filmmaker Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, film critic and journalist Satinder Mohan, producer-director Sudhakar Vasantha, producer T. Prasanna Kumar and ex-secretary of FFSI, U. Radhakrishnan.
A total of 50 films from across the world are being screened in the World Panorama section. These include eight from Germany and six from France. Movies from the USA, Italy, Greece and Netherlands are also being shown. Master classes and in-conversation sessions, besides the screening of retrospective films are being held online.
To commemorate Satyajit Ray’s centenary, a special retrospective of the legendary filmmaker was inaugurated by actor Dhritiman Chatterjee on 17th in Goa. Charulata, Ghare Baire, Pather Panchali, Shatranj Ke Khilari and Sonar Kella are being screened as part of the retrospective. Bangladesh has been the focus country in IFFI 2021. A special homage section was also held for the actors who departed in 2020. These include 19 film personalities from India like Rishi Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Nishikant Kamat and Basu Chatterjee, apart from nine from across the globe such as Chadwick Boseman and Kirk Douglas. It was while speaking as part of this homage section that Irrfan Khan’s widow, Sutapa Sikdar, and son, Babil Khan, got emotional.