GOA, 20th NOVEMBER 2018: Ending the long wait, the opening ceremony of one of the most prestigious film festivals across the world – the 49th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) opened amidst the presence of film stars, filmmakers and cine-lovers from across the world amid pomp and gaiety in Panjim, Goa.
The 49th IFFI will showcase the best of recent International cinema, along with special sections such as Retrospectives, Masterclasses, In-Conversation sessions, Homages, Indian Panorama, International Competition, featuring the best of world cinema produced in the past year, with the aim of providing a platform for young creative minds to interact, view and learn.
The festival opened with the World Premiere of The Aspern Papers, amid the presence of the cast and crew of the film. IFFI 208 will close in similar fashion – with the World Premiere of German film, Sealed Lips.
This edition of the festival will showcase films which reflect diversity of taste. IFFI 2018 will showcase 212 films from over 68 countries which consist of 2 World Premieres, 16 Academy Award nominated films and 6 Indian rare language films. The International Competition section of IFFI 2018 will have 15 films, out of which 3 are Indian films competing for the Golden and Silver Peacock awards. The Competition section itself represents films produced and co-produced by 22 countries. The International Competition jury is headed by renowned by renowned Polish Director Robert Glinski and includes jury members such as Adrian Sitaru, Anna Ferraioli Ravel, Tom Fitzpatrick and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.
Akin to every year, IFFI will be featuring a Country of Focus that brings out the cinematic excellence and contributions of that particular Country. In its 49th edition of IFFI, the Country of Focus will be Israel. Ten films in collaboration with the Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai, have been selected for the country focus package.
IFFI 2018, for the first time ever, will feature a State Focus section that will focus on the films of one of the Indian States, thus shedding light on the art and culture of that particular state. Jharkhand has been selected as the State of Focus for 49th IFFI 2018 and Jharkhand Day will be celebrated on 24th November 2018 as part of the festival. Movies in the Jharkhand Package include MS Dhoni The Untold Story, Death in the Gunj, Ranchi Diary, Begum Jaan with others.
This year, IFFI has also collaborated with the International Council for Film, Audiovisual Communication (ICFT) Paris, to present a special ICFT prize consisting of the UNESCO Gandhi Medal to a film, which reflects the ideals promoted by UNESCO. This year 10 films will be showcased for selection of a film to be presented with this coveted award, out of which 2 are Indian films.
The Homage presentations at the 49th IFFI will include tributes to the late actors Sridevi, Vinod Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, M Karunanidhi and filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi.
Indian Panorama 2018 will screen both Feature & Non-Feature films in Goa at the 49th International Film Festival of India. The feature film jury selected the film OLU directed by acclaimed filmmaker Shaji N Karun as the opening feature film of Indian Panorama 2018. In the Non-Feature film category, Goa’s very own director Aditya Suhas Jambhale will present his film, Kharvas as the Opening film of Indian Panorama 2018.
The ceremony was held at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Goa, and was aired live on DD National along with live streaming on the YouTube channel of PIB youtube.com/pibindia.
The opening ceremony was followed by the screening of the Opening film of IFFI 2018 – the World Premiere of The Aspern Papers, at Kala Academy.
The 49th International Film Festival of India began today, on 20 November 2018 and ends on Wednesday, 28 November, 2018, in Panaji, Goa.
The Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Amit Khare is also seen.
