Panaji, Nov 19 : The 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will get off to a colorful start in this coastal state Today, it was announced Today.

The opening ceremony will be attended by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Dr L Murugan and host of film personalities.

Founded in 1952, the film festival is held annually, currently in Goa, to celebrate the excellence of world cinema.

IFFI being held from November 20 to 28, 2021, is set to provide the perfect platform for understanding and appreciating the film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, IFFI this year is hybrid.

The nine day festival will feature 148 films from about 73 countries in the International Section with about 12 world premieres, about 7 international premieres, 26 Asia premieres and about 64 India premieres.
‘The King of all the World’ (El Rey de Todo El Mundo) directed by Carlos Saura will be the Opening Film of the festival. It will be also the film’s International Premiere. The Power of the Dog directed by Jane Campion, Winner of Best Director at Venice Film Festival is chosen as the Mid Fest Film. Grand Prix Award winning movie of Director Asghar Farhadi, A Hero will be the closing film at the Festival.

The World Panorama Section of IFFI will showcase 55 cinematic gems across the world. Eleven flms are selected for the Festival Kaleidoscope including movies such as Titane (French) and Souad (Arabic).

Retrospective section in the 52nd IFFI will feature renowned Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr and Russian filmmaker and stage director Andrei Konchalovsky.

The Homage section of 52nd IFFI will showcase the films of Bertrand Tavernier, Christopher Plummer, Jean-Claude Carriere and Jean-Paul Belmondo as a homage to the veterans.

IFFI will also pay Homage to Indian film stalwarts Buddhadeb Das Gupta (Director), Dilip Kumar (Actor), Nedumudi Venu (Actor), Puneeth Rajkumar (Actor), Sanchari Vijay (Actor), Sumitra Bhave (Director), Surekha Sikri (Actress) and Waman Bhonsle (Film Editor).
The festival will pay a Special Tribute to Sir Sean Connery, the first James Bond on the big screen.

In one of the firsts, IFFI will provide a platform to 75 young filmmakers, actors, singers, scriptwriters, and others to showcase their talent at the globally recognized festival. The 75 creative minds from across India have been invited to IFFI to connect with celebrated filmmakers and industry experts and attend Master classes at the Festival.

For the first time ever, films from five BRICS nations will be showcased through the BRICS Film Festival alongside IFFI. This is the Sixth Edition of BRICS Film Festival. The five countries viz. Brazil, Russia, South Africa, China and India are also the Focus Countries of the 52nd IFFI and total eight films will be screened under this section. The Country of Focus is a special segment that recognizes the cinematic excellence and contributions of the country.(UNI)