One of Goa’s most anticipated festivals that has evolved into a major forum for cinema across the world – The International Film Festival of India – will open curtains on its 46th edition in the coming month. As arrangements for the festival pick up at a feverish pace, the Director of Tourism, Ameya Abhyankar, who recently took charge of the ESG as the CEO, is hoping that the festival will be a driver for tourism in the state. “There is a lot of inherent synergy between IFFI and ESG so both fit the role of proving a base for film-driven tourism. In many countries like Cannes and Switzerland, film-driven tourism is one of the major attractions. We have had a lot of movies, both from Bollywood like ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ (which inspired an entire generation of youth) as well as those from Hollywood, which have been shot in Goa, but we have not capitalised on that enough. The film festival can be a strong driver for tourism in the state,” he reiterates.
The fact that the film festival attracts a large number of delegates from all over, doubles the touristic value of the state. “In addition to a large number of delegates from Goa, we have a sizeable number of film lovers from all over visiting Goa and this adds richness to the attraction. When people visit Goa for the festival, they would like to have a wholesome destination experience as well. There is a lot of potential to develop special hotel packages for these visitors,” avers Abhyankar.
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Keen to take the festival to the international platform that it truly deserves, especially since last year’s announcement that Goa is now indeed the permanent venue for IFFI, ESG has charted out a series of fringe activities. “This year, we not only plan to make IFFI interesting for all age groups, but for non-delegates as well. Plans are to have a Festival Mile and Food Village at all the IFFI venues including a Kids Pavilion for children’s films. We also hope to conduct appreciation workshops in arts and books, revolving around these movies for children, but are looking for sponsors to partner with us. Similarly, we are in talks with retail shopping houses to create a shopping itinerary, so that the economy of Panjim benefits from the influx of these visitors,” he elaborates while pointing out that one of the major focuses of IFFI this year is to take the message of the film festival to the various talukas through mobile units.
Being elected as a permanent venue, albeit only last year, the process is now under way to develop a state-of-the-art IFFI venue. “We are still in the process of choosing a venue in Goa, but on the anvil are an entertainment village, indoor arena and an entire eco-system of entertainment verticals. We are keen on bringing the festival to the level that it is truly deserving of,” he envisages of the plans which will take around two to three years to materialise.
Till then, the magic of The International Film Festival of India, from November 20 to 30 this year, will continue to enchant all that come within its folds.
BOX:
Fringe Activities
1. Festival Miles
2. Food Villages at all IFFI venues
3. Kids Pavilion for children’s movies
4. Appreciation workshops in arts and books revolving around these movies for children
5. Mobile unit to take the message of IFFI to the talukas
