52nd IFFI to be held from Nov 20

Panaji: Even though the spectre of the third wave of corona pandemic looms large over the state, the Centre on Monday announced the organisation of the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

IFFI 2021 will be organised from November 20 to November 28, later this year, in Panaji. The year 2021 is a unique year having the distinction of holding two film festivals, one in January, while the other one scheduled in November.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar on Monday released a poster for the 52nd International Film Festival of India, in Delhi, along with a booklet on IFFI’s regulations. The poster carries a picture of a peacock, which is the mascot of the film festival. Later in a tweet, Javadekar informed about the release of the poster and booklet. The government has also instituted the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema, an award to be presented annually, at the time of this film festival.

Vice chairman of the Entertainment Society of Goa Subhash Phaldesai told ‘The Navhind Times’ that the preliminary preparations for IFFI 2021 have already started.

“The ESG, which is the partner of the film festival, necessarily needs to start these preparations, as they cannot be taken up overnight with just few days remaining for the event,” he added, pointing out, “However, whether the festival is to be held in November or not would depend on the prevailing pandemic situation at that time.”

The ESG vice chairman also said that Kala Academy, which is one of the venues for the film festival, is undergoing repairs and if this repair work extends beyond the film festival time, then an alternative venue would be made available. He also said that a soon-to-be-held meeting of the ESG would take a review of all such things. 

The 51st IFFI was held in a hybrid mode – in online as well as offline mode – earlier this year.

Meanwhile, a press release from the Press Information Bureau stated that the call for entries for participation in the competitive section of the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India will remain open till August 31, 2021.

“On the occasion of the birth centenary of the maestro of Indian cinema, Satyajit Ray, this time the directorate of film festivals will pay a tribute to him through a Special Retrospective at the IFFI 2021,” it added, further informing, “Also, in recognition of the auteur’s legacy, the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema has been instituted from this year to be given at the IFFI every year starting from this year.”