54th International Film Festival Of India To Start With A Bang In Goa Today

Amid much fanfare, the 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will start on Monday, November 20. The annual international event will be organised at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Goa. As per the reports, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur will inaugurate the festival. The annual film fest will begin with the screening of the British film ‘Catching Dust’. At this year’s film fest, as many as 19 award-winning films from various international film festivals have been selected in the IFFI Kaleidoscope.

The international section will have 198 films and the festival will have 13 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres, 62 Asia premieres, and 89 India Premieres, Hindustan Times report suggests.

Indian Film Section:

The ‘Indian Panorama’ segment will showcase around 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films from India—with the opening films in the feature selection and the non-feature selection to be the Malayalam film ‘Aattam’ and the Manipuri language film ‘Andro Dreams’, respectively.

Jury Head/Panel Members at 54th IFFI:

Renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur will be the jury head for the 54th IFFI. The five-member jury panel is also appointed. It consists of Spanish cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine and producers Jerome Paillard, Catherine Dussart, and Helen Leake. Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani will serve as the head of the five-member jury for the best web series (OTT), a new category in the awards ceremony at IFFI.

Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award:

At 54th IFFI, Hollywood Actor and Producer, Michael Douglas will be conferred with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award. He has won 2 Oscars, 5 Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and other honors.

54th IFFI Opening Ceremony:

A star-studded opening ceremony will witness high-octane performances by Bollywood stars. Shahid Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Nushratt Bharucha, and many other celebrities will perform during the opening ceremony. Hollywood actor Catherine Zeta Jones, along with AR Rahman, Vidya Balan, Karan Johar, and Sara Ali Khan will also be present in the nine-day cinematic event.

54th IFFI Closing Event:

The closing ceremony will feature performances by Ayushmann Khurrana and music composer Amit Trivedi. The event will conclude on November 28.