51st IFFI to be held from January 16 to 24 in Goa

NEW DELHI:  The 51st International Film Festival of India will open on January 16 with the Indian premiere of the movie Another Round by Thomas Vinterberg. A total of 224 220 films from across the globe will be screened during the festival, being held in Goa. The movie, starring Cannes Best Actor Award winner Mads Mikkelsen, is among a star-studded line up of movies being showcased at IFFI.

The movie, which was also Denmark’s official entry to the Oscars for 2020 revolves around four weary high school teachers experimenting with the liberating effects of alcohol. The festival will close on January 24 with the India premiere of the historical drama Wife of a Spy by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

The Japanese film bagged Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice International Film Festival. For the first time, the 2021 edition of the IFFI will be held in a hybrid mode, with both virtual and physical experience, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The line-up of movies to be screened includes 21 non-feature films and 26 feature films under the Indian Panorama films section.

The festival will also witness the world premiere of Mehrunisa, a film by Sandeep Kumar starring actor Farrukh Jaffar. The movie narrates the story of a woman’s lifelong dream Earlier, the festival was supposed to be held between November 20 and November 28, but was postponed due to the pandemic.