New Delhi : In the IFFI is Best Web Series (OTT) Award has been introduced this year. Aimed at acknowledging, encouraging and honouring, the flourishing content and its creators of OTT platforms. 32 entries have received in 10 languages from 15 OTT platforms. Certificates and a cash prize of 10 Lakhs will be given as prize money to the winning series, which will be announced in the closing ceremony. Massive response to International Section, 600 Entries for “Creative Minds of Tomorrow”, which is Hon’ble I & B Minister’s brain-child for youth.
75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow (CMOT): A brainchild of Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon’ble Minister of Information and Broadcasting, the initiative aims to identify, encourage and nurture young creative talents from various trades of filmmaking. Shorts TV is the conceptual Programming Partner, which is the world’s largest catalogue of high-quality short movies and series available on TV, on mobile, online, and in theaters. These selected ‘creative minds’ are divided into 5 teams for the ‘Film Challenge’, to make a short film each, all in 48 hours. This year the candidates will also have professional classes especially curated by the masters of cinema and a “Talent Camp” for recruitment will be organised with more than 20 leading companies.
Mr Michael Douglas to receive Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th International Film Festival at Goa. 54th International Film Festival of India to be held from 20th to 28th November in its permanent destination Goa.
Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister for Information and Broadcasting shared the details, 198 films to be shown in International Section including 13 world premiers. ‘Catching Dust’ to be the opening film; ‘About Dry Grasses’ to be the Mid-fest Film and ‘The Featherweight’ to be the Closing Film to be shown. 19 award-winning films from various prestigious international film festivals this year, have been assorted in the IFFI Kaleidoscope. He mentioned 300 international film projects curated and showcased this year in the 17th edition of the ‘Film Bazaar’ for production, distribution or sales
over 20 ‘Masterclasses’ and ‘In Conversation’ sessions with eminent filmmakers, cinematographers, and actors to be held.
Union Minister, Anurag Thakur announced that 54th International Film Festival will be held from 20th to 28th November, 2023, in Goa. Speaking on the occasion, Thakur said that ranked 5th largest market globally, India’s media and entertainment industry is a force to reckon with. He added that this market is growing every year with an average annual growth of 20% in the last three years. The movies made in India have covered every corner of the country and are now reaching the distant corners of the world.
The Minister of State Dr L Murugan in his brief statement said that IFFI is one of the biggest film and cultural extravaganza of the world. He informed the audience that International Jury is being headed by acclaimed filmmaker Mr. Shekhar Kapur.
Minister Thakur spoke about the booming startup ecosystem in the country and Governments focus on creating a support system to nurture such entities. He added that to bolster the startup ecosystem in film sector, and to recognise talent from the remotest corners of the country, we had started the “Creative Minds of Tomorrow” initiative. He said, “there are over 600 entries in this section for this year. This year’s selection of 75 winners will take the total of such winners to 225 in 3 years”.
In his statement, the Minister stated that this year Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred on Mr Michael Douglas, a shining star of world cinema and who is known for his immense contribution in the cinematic universe. Anurag Thakur informed that the International Section of IFFI has seen a three times spike in number of films received and this is a display of the fascination of international film industry for IFFI.
Speaking about the newly introduced OTT awards, he said that since COVID19 pandemic OTT industry has seen a boom in India and original content created in India is employing thousands of people. In response to the dynamic landscape of this sector, growth of which stands at 28% annually, the Ministry has introduced this award celebrating the outstanding content creators on OTT platforms. He added that a total of 32 entries across 10 languages from 15 OTT platforms have been received and the winner will be awarded an amount of 10 lakh rupees.
The Minster made a special mention that all the venues for this year’s IFFI will be inclusive with all facilities and access for specially-abled. Audio description for visually impaired, sign language for hearing impaired, dubbing of content in multiple languages will be symbolic of the mantra of ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’.
BEST FEATURE FILM DEBUT DIRECTOR – 5 International + 2 Indian Films will compete in this section for the coveted Silver Peacock, 10 lakh INR as cash prize and a certificate.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION SECTION –15 feature films (12 International + 3 Indian) have been shortlisted to compete for the coveted Best Film Award, a Golden Peacock & INR 40 lakhs. Apart from the Best Film the jury will also determine winners in the best director, best actor (male), best actor (female), special jury prize category.
OPENING FILM: Catching Dust; Dir: Stuart Gatt, United Kingdom,(International Premiere) – It’s a Drama/ Thriller, with cast including eminent international actors, Erin Moriarty, Jai Courtney, Dina Shihabi, Ryan Corr, José Altit, Gary Fannin & Olwen Fouéré. Stuart Gatt is an award-winning British filmmaker of mixed Asian heritage whose stories are often influenced by topical social themes.
CLOSING FILM: The Featherweight; Dir: Robert Kolodny, United States (Asia Premiere) – It is a 2023 American biographical sports drama film that unravels the mythmaking and the fiction of modern stardom through the biopic of a star athlete, meticulously conceived in the classic “Cinéma verité” (truthful cinema) style. Robert Kolodny is a versatile American Director, Writer and Cinematographer. The film premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in Sep, 2023. Robert served as Director of Photography for many films and has also directed various award-winning films and documentaries.
Introduced RESTORED CLASSICS SECTION: featuring 7 world premieres of the world class restorations done by NFDC-NFAI under the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) from the damaged celluloid reels of the Indian Classics-
Vidyapati (1937) Bengali Director: Debaki Bose. Shyamchi Aai (1953), Marathi, Director: P.K. Atre.
Patala Bhairavi (1951), Telugu, Director: K.V. Reddy.
Guide (1965), Hindi, Director: Vijay Anand. Haqeeqat (1964), Hindi, Director: Chetan Anand. Chorus (1974) Bengali, Director: Mrinal Sen.
Bees Saal Baad (1962), Hindi, Director: Biren Nag.
Further, there will be 3 international restored films also showcased in this section including The Exorcist Extended Director’s cut from Venice and Sergei Parajanov’s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.
ACCESSIBLE FILMS – In the 54th IFFI there will be facilities to ensure that specially-abled festival delegates can access all the screening and other venues. Making festival an inclusive and accessible avenue for everyone is a step taken towards inclusivity.
Master classes and In-conversation Sessions – With over 20 ‘Masterclasses’ and ‘In Conversation’ sessions with eminent filmmakers, cinematographers, and actors, it promises to be an exciting week. Will be at renovated & refurbished Kala Academy at Festival Mile, Panjim, Goa. Michael Douglas, Brendan Galvin, Brillante Mendoza, Sunny Deol, Rani Mukerjee, Vidya Balan, John Goldwater, Vijay Sethupathi, Sara Ali Khan, Pankaj Tripathi, Nawazuddin Siddhiqui, Kaykay Menon, Karan Johar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Manoj Bajpayee, Kartiki Gonsalves, Boney Kapoor, Allu Aravind, Theodore Gluck, Gulshan Grover and the list goes on to include several national & international stars.
Gala Premiers – Started last year, the Gala Premiers is being expanded. These film premiers at IFFI would have their actors and talent walk the red carpet of IFFI to promote their films.
Masterclasses, In Conversation sessions, panel discussions and the opening /closing ceremony of the 54th edition of IFFI will be accessible Online through Book My Show App. Registration will be kept nominal.
IFFI is one of the World’s 14 biggest and most prestigious ‘International Competition Feature Film Festivals’ that is accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers’ Association (FIAPF), the international body governing film festivals globally. International Film Festivals such as Cannes, Berlin & Venice are such other reputed festivals, accredited by FIAPF under this category.
The annual cinematic extravaganza has been home to the best of World and Indian Cinema for years with stalwarts from the film industry of India as well as from those around the globe gracing it as delegates, guests and speakers.
