Nine-day International Film Festival of India starts in Goa today, 270 films to be screened

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 19

The 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is all set to start in Goa on November 20. More than 270 films will be screened at four venues over nine days. Thirteen world, 18 international, 62 Asia and 89 India premieres will be screened during the festival.

A total of 2,926 entries from 105 countries were received, which is three times the international submissions last year. Talking of international presence this year, Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, known for movies like The Sentinel, The American President and Disclosure, will be honoured with the prestigious Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award. Spanish filmmaker-writer Carlos Saura was feted with the Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award during the 53rd edition of IFFI.

A total of 32 entries have been received in 10 languages from 15 OTT platforms for Best Web Series (OTT) Award. Fifteen feature films (12 international and 3 Indian) will compete for the coveted Golden Peacock Award. A docu-montage section has also been introduced this year. It has been introduced to highlight the importance of documentary film-making. Besides, seven international films and three Indian films that reflect the ideals of UNESCO will be featured in the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal Award session during the festival.

Actors Madhuri Dixit, Shahid Kapoor, Shriya Saran, Nushrat Bharucha, Pankaj Tripathi and composer-musician Shantanu Moitra; and singers Shreya Ghoshal and Sukhwinder Singh will perform at the opening ceremony. From Hollywood star Catherine Zeta Jones to Bollywood heartthrobs Salman Khan, Vidya Balan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Vicky Kaushal, Siddharth Malhotra, Aditi Rao Hydari and music directors AR Rahman and Amit Trivedi will attend the event. The festival will open with an international screening of film “Catching Dust”, by award-winning British filmmaker Stuart Gatt.

Honour for hollywood actor

Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, known for movies like The Sentinel, The American President and Disclosure, will be honoured with the prestigious Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award.