Waves of cinematic celebration are splashing across the shores of the beach state of Goa. Yes, it is time to swim, to immerse ourselves in the eternal celebration of films, of art, of life. The 53rd Edition of IFFI, the International Film Festival of India, is all set to open soon promising practising and aspiring film lovers nine days of artistic inspiration and celebration. This edition of the festival presents to film delegates a potpourri of 280 films, inviting them to immerse themselves in the lives, aspirations and struggles of peoples from a total of 79 countries. The 53rd edition of one of Asia’s oldest film festivals is set to open with Austrian Director Dieter Berner’s Alma and Oskar. The passionate and tumultuous relationship between the Viennese society Grand Dame Alma Mahler (1879-1964) and Austrain artist Oskar Kokoschka ((1886-1980) is the subject of this biopic. As is customary, the opening ceremony of the festival is being held at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Panaji, Goa. Film personalities Mrunal Takhur, Varun Dhawan, Catherine Teresa, Sara Ali Khan, Karthik Aryan and Amritha Khanvilkar will grace the opening ceremony. Governor of Goa P.S Sreedharan; Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant; Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur; and Minister of State for I&B Dr L Murugan will also be present at the opening. The opening ceremony will see many cultural performances featuring top film celebrities from across India and will also include music and dance groups all across the globe. Among them was a stellar flamenco performance by artists from Spain. The theme of the Opening Ceremony is ‘Evolution of Indian Cinema in last 100 years,’ keeping with the spirit of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
The Austrian film, Alma and Oskar, directed by Dieter Berner, will open the festival. Red Carpet for opening film will commence at 2.00 PM at INOX-I, Panjim, followed by the screening of the film. Polish film Krzysztof Zanussi’s Perfect Number is the closing film. Red Carpet for closing film will commence at INOX-I, Panjim at 2.00 PM on 28th November, followed by the screening of the film. Fixation, a 2022 film set in Germany, Canada and the USA, by Mercedes Bryce Morgan is the mid-fest film. 25 feature films and 19 non-feature films from India will be showcased in the ‘Indian Panorama’ while 183 films will be a part of international programming. The festival presents a special section for Asha Parekh, the 52nd Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, with the screening of three films, namely, Teesri Manzil, Do Badan and Kati Patang.
On the occasion of completion of 50 years of Manipuri Cinema, a specially curated package of five Feature and five Non-Feature films, curated by Manipur State Films Film Development Society, is being screened under Indian Panorama. As an initiative to promote films from North-East India, 5 feature and 5 non-feature films, will mark golden jubilee of Manipuri cinema.
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. Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement award is being conferred on Spanish film director Carlos Saura. His daughter Anna Saura will accept the Award on behalf of the eminent filmmaker, at the opening ceremony. A retrospective of his oeuvre is being showcased at the festival.