Goa, November 18, 2021

With only two days to go for the opening of the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India, Union I&B Minister has announced that Ms. Hema Malini, Actor, Member of Parliament from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh and Mr. Prasoon Joshi, Lyricist and Chairperson, CBFC will be conferred the Indian Film Personality of the Year Award for 2021 at the festival. Announcing this, the Festival Director, Shri Chaitanya Prasad gave an overview of the rich flavour and varied splendour of IFFI and what cine lovers can expect from this edition of the festival.

The 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India, IFFI is being held in Goa from November 20 – 28, 2021. Considering the present COVID-19 situation, the 52nd IFFI will be held in hybrid format.

IFFI showcases a collage of the best of contemporary and classic films from around the globe. An array of world-renowned filmmakers, actors, technicians, critics, academicians and film enthusiasts will come together to celebrate Cinema and the Art of Filmmaking through various film Screenings, Presentations, Master Classes, Panel Discussions, Co-production, Seminars and more.

Addressing the press conference, the Director informed that for the first time in the history of IFFI, we have major OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Zee 5 and Viacom participating in the festival, with releases, masterclasses and more.

IFFI will feature 148 films from about 73 countries in the International Section. The festival will have about 12 world premieres, about 7 international premieres, 26 Asia premieres and about 64 India premieres. IFFI received 624 films from 95 countries this time, up from 69 countries in the previous edition.

The two major global cinematic giants Martin Scorsese and Istevan Szabo are being honoured with the first Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award, informed the Festival Director. “Unfortunately, they will not be attending the festival physically but their video messages conveying acceptance of the award will be played".

The opening feature film of Indian Panorama 2021 is the film Semkhor (Dimasa) directed by Ms. Aimee Baruah. This is the first ever film made in Dimasa (dialect from Assam) to be featured at IFFI, informed Shri Prasad. Ved…The Visionary (English) directed by Shri Rajiv Parkash is the opening non-feature film in the Indian Panorama section.

‘The King of all the World’ (El Rey de Todo El Mundo) directed by Carlos Saura will be the Opening Film and this will also be the film’s international premier. The Power of the Dog directed by Jane Campion, Winner of Best Director at Venice Film Festival will be the Mid Fest Film. The Director informed that this film came to us through Netflix, they facilitated the India premiere of the film, he added.

IFFI 52 will come to a close with the screening of Asghar Farhadi’s A Hero, which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

There will be about 18 specially curated films presented as part of the ongoing celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

The Festival Director informed that the International Jury chaired by the Iranian filmmaker Ms. Rakhshān Banietemad is coming to attend the festival.

In a first, IFFI 52 delegates will get to attend a 3-day Virtual Masterclass by the renowned Paris-based school of image and arts, GOBELINS, l'école de l'image. Organized by Netflix, the treat is thanks to IFFI’s first-ever collaboration with OTT platforms. Students will get to attend the masterclass for free, informs the Director.

The BRICS Film Festival is being held on the sidelines of IFFI for the first time. There will be a special package presenting films from the five countries.

Speaking about the “75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow” who will get to attend IFFI, the Director informed that it was Union I&B Minister Shri Anurag Thakur’s idea to connect generations of film buffs by inviting the talented cinematic personalities of tomorrow to be a part of IFFI.  “We have been overwhelmed with the 400 plus applications from across the country.  The 75 applicants will be coming over to IFFI as our guests, they will get to meet everyone here. It will give them an opportunity to interact with filmmakers from across diverse segments of the industry.”

Shri Prasad informed that the 52^nd edition of IFFI is paying homage to the prominent Kannada film actor Puneet Rajkumar.

This IFFI will pay a Special Tribute to the first and iconic 'James Bond' actor Sir Sean Connery.

The Director informed that IFFI will open with a star-studded inaugural ceremony, comprising Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia Deshmukh, Shraddha Kapoor, amongst others. Karan Johar and Manish Paul will host the event.

Vice Chairman, Entertainment Society of Goa, Shri Subhash Phal Dessai and CEO, ESG, Shri Tariq Thomas were also present at the media interaction.

The media interaction can be watched here.

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PIB IFFI | DL/SSP/DJM/PM/IFFI-18

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