ALMA & OSKAR : This year’s opening film is about a tender Austrian love story, the film is directed by Dieter Berner
By Gautam
The National Film Development Corporation, which has historically only been involved in more than marketing films, is this year for the first time promoting the 53rd International Film Festival in Goa. The Directorate of Film Festival seems to be winding up for private players to takeover. This may be a good development as this will help filmmakers who are looking desperately for financial help
The 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India, IFFI, will be hosted in Goa from November 20 to 28, 2022. The annual film festival brings biggest stalwarts under one roof cumulating the cohesive energy and spirit of art, films and culture. 280 films from 79 countries will be screened this year. 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films from India will be showcased in the ‘Indian Panorama’ while 183 films will be a part of international programming.
The Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Dr. L. Murugan addressing a Curtain Raiser Press Conference at the National media Centre in New Delhi announced that Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura will be honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award and an eight-film retrospective at IFFI. Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura received the Golden Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival for Deprisa Deprisa, along with two Silver Bears for La caza and Peppermint Frappe, a BAFTA for Carmen and three awards at Cannes, among several others. Three films of this year’s Dadasaheb Phalke awardee –Teesri Manzil, Do Badan and Kati Patang will be screened as part of the Asha Parekh retrospective. As an initiative to promote films from North-East India, 5 feature and 5 non-feature films, will mark golden jubilee of Manipuri cinema.
The Austrian film Alma and Oskar, directed by Dieter Berner, will open the annual festival while Krzysztof Zanussi’s Perfect Number is the closing film. France is the ‘Spotlight’ country and 8 films will be screened under Country Focus package. The ‘Homage’ section will include fifteen Indian and five international films. Tributes will be paid to Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, singer-composer Bappi Lahiri, Kathak maestro Pt. Birju Maharaj, actors Ramesh Deo and Maheshwari Amma, singer KK, director Tarun , Mr Nipon Das Assamese actor and theater artist, Majumder and singer Bhupinder Singh. Whereas in International section, Festival will pay homage to the genius of Bob Rafelson, Ivan Reitman, Peter Bogdanovich, Douglas Trumbell and Monica Vitti.
The second edition of ‘75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow’, an initiative by the Ministry of Broadcasting and Information is another attraction. The number of filmmakers being recognized is symbolic of 75 years of Indian Independence. It is envisioned that in the coming years, the number of young participants will increase by one with this in mind.
‘Film Bazaar’ will screen some of the finest films and filmmakers in various sections. For the first time, Pavilions will make an appearance at IFFI in line with major international markets like the Marche du Cannes. This year, there will be a total of 42 Pavilions. They will house the film offices of the various state governments, the participating countries, industry players and media units from the ministry. This will also be the first time when many restored classics will be available at ‘The Viewing Room’ where one would be able to buy the rights of these films and use them at film festivals across the globe.
Films, like Richard Attenborough’s Oscar winning Gandhi, screened in the ‘Divyangjan’ section will be audio-visually equipped with embedded audio descriptions and subtitles. This will make them accessible to even differently-abled film aficionados and promote the spirit of inclusivity.
The new Book Adaptation Program Books to box office has been introduced as an initiative to bridge the gap between good stories printed in books and good films that can be made by adapting books. Some of the best publishers are also expected to be present to sell the rights of the books that can be turned into on screen content.
The ‘Indian Panorama’ will open with Prithvi Konanur’s Kannada film Hadinelentu while The Show Must Go On by Divya Cowasji will flag off the non-feature film section. There will be special screenings of Pan Nalin’s Chello Show—The Last Film Show, India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category, and Madhur Bhandarkar’s India Lockdown.
Films from National Film Archives of India will be showcased by the NFDC in the ‘Indian Restored Classics’ section. These include Sohrab Modi’s 1957 costume drama Nausherwan-E-Adil, Ramesh Maheshwary’s 1969 National Award-winning Punjabi film Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai, K Vishwanath’s 1980 Telugu musical drama Sankarabharnam and two Satyajit Ray classics, the 1977 period drama Shatranj Ke Khiladi and the 1989 social, Ganashatru.
There will be several Gala Premiers of Hindi films with their actors present to support and promote cinema. These include Paresh Rawal’s The Storyteller, Ajay Devgn and Tabu’s Drishyam 2, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon’s Bhediya and Yami Gautam’s Lost. The upcoming Telugu film, Raymo, Deepti Naval and Kalki Koechlin’s Goldfish and Randeep Hooda and Ileana D’Cruz’s Tera Kya Hoga Lovely will also be premiered at IFFI, along with an episode of OTT shows like Vadhandhi, Khakee and Fauda Season 4.
The big draws will be films which have won multiple awards at prestigious film festivals around the world, like Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Venice. Some are directed by or feature Oscar winners. These films include Decision to Leave by Park-Chan Wook and Ruben Ostlund’s Triangle of Sadness, The Whale by Darren Oronofsky and Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, Both Sides of the Blade by Claire Denis and Guy Davidi’s Innocence, Saint Omer by Alice Diop and The Blue Caftan by Maryam Touzani.
With 23 ‘Masterclasses’ and ‘In Conversation’ sessions with eminent filmmakers and actors, it promises to be an exciting week. There will be a master class in screenwriting by V. Vijayendra Prasad, on editing by A. Sreekar Prasad and Anupam Kher will take a class in acting. A masterclass on ACES will have Oscar Academy experts, while the ones on animation will have Mark Osborne and Christian Jezdic. The ‘In-conversation’ sessions will be helmed by Asha Parekh, Prasoon Joshi, Aanand L Rai, R Balki and Nawazuddin Siddiqui among others.
The 53rd edition of IFFI will be virtually accessible. Registered users will get a chance to be a part of these Masterclasses, In Conversations, panel discussions and the opening and closing ceremony even when not in Goa. One can visit the official website for a schedule of these live sessions.
Technology Exhibition of Media & Entertainment curated by FTII at IFFI Goa, 2022 more than15 companies like- CINEOM, Canon, ZEISS, Pulz, Prasad Corporation, Sony, Technicolour Creative Solutions, Amazon, Hansa Cine Equipment, SRSG will exhibit their equipment and services. Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav –CBC will organise exhibition on the theme of AKAM activities in a space in the Technical Exhibition Zone of media & Entertainment. There are several attractions at IFFI53 that include Shigmotsav (Spring Festival) On 26th Nov 2022 and Goa Carnival on the 27th Nov 2022
Ministry of Ayush-Will take a section as the official wellness partners for delegates and General public to enjoy Yoga and holistic check-ups during the festival period. They plan to promote 4 departments of Ayush including Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Ayurveda and yoga during the festival time.
Opening and closing ceremony will see as many as 14 cultural performances featuring top film celebrities from across India and will also include music and dance groups representing France, Spain and Goa as well. Theme of the Opening Ceremony will be Evolution of Indian Cinema in the last 100 years under the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations.
Addressing the media, the Minister of State said “In the International film section, 180 films are shortlisted to be screened at IFFI. Films of five personalities are going to be screened in the homage section and Two eminent filmmakers’ films will be screened in the tribute section of the IFFI”
The Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Shri Apurva Chandra addressing the media said “The film Bazar of IFFI would be substantially changed as for the first time pavilion from several countries, states, and film organizations would be set up on a very beautiful promenade along the sea in Panjim, Goa. Entry to the Film Bazar and to these pavilions would be open at any time for IFFI delegates and it would be open for the public from 3 pm to 6 pm on business days”
Courtesy: PIB