New Delhi, Dec 14 (UNI) Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar on Monday said the 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held in Goa, would be organised in a 'hybrid manner' and people would be able to see the event online while the opening and closing ceremonies could be witnessed at the location with a smaller audience.

This edition of the IFFI will have participation by 21 non-feature films, he said.

The Minister who was speaking at the International Coronavirus Short Film Festival here, also said the idea of organizing a film festival to celebrate short films on the pandemic was wonderful.

He said the festival witnessing participation of 2,800 films from 108 countries on a single topic, is an example of peoples' immense talent.

Mr Javadekar said the pandemic has caused major upsets in countries across the globe. However, India has been able to handle the crisis well under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who recognized the crisis early in 2020 and has since been working relentlessly against the threat.

The Minister also said that the coronavirus crisis is now on its way out and that soon vaccines would be available in India too.

He took the opportunity to caution people against letting the guard down before anti bodies are created and second dose of the vaccine administered.

Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, speaking on the occasion, congratulated Mr Javadekar and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for successfully creating mass awareness about coronavirus in a country as vast as India.

He also congratulated the jury and the organizers of the festival for bringing such a 'vast array of short films to a single place'.

UNI NY RB