Ravindra Bhavan to be upgraded
PANJIM, FEB 15
The inaugural scene of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) would be shifted from Panjim to Margao this year, officials stated.
Sources from the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) stated the Ravindra Bhavan at Margao would be upgraded to meet the standards required to host the inaugural ceremony of IFFI 2011.
Since 2004, when the festival shifted to Goa, the inaugural is being held at Kala Academy, except on one occasion when it was held at the Inox courtyard.
Sources stated the decision to shift the inauguration to South Goa was reiterated by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Tuesday during his meeting with Union Information and Broadcasting Secretary Raghu Menon.
Menon discussed extensively on plans for upgrading Ravindra Bhavan for holding the inaugural of the film fest. He also expressed happiness over the proposed Festival Auditorium and Media Centre at Inox for the festival.
Earlier, Secretary and Commissioner, Information and Publicity, Narendra Kumar, made a presentation on the proposed project in the presence of Chief Secretary, Sanjay Srivastava, at Marquiniz palace. D P Reddy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, was also present.
“The Festival Auditorium and Media Centre to be set up will be unique and the same has to be ready by September 2012 at any cost”, Menon mentioned.
He felt that the State needs to exploit its natural beauty and utilise it fully so that IFFI improves in a big way.
He said India has a huge film industry and it is the biggest producer of films. “Keeping this in mind, we must make efforts to make IFFI the topmost film festival in the world. We need to take huge strides”, he added.
He spelt out priorities for the new project and felt that it should not remain a mere auditorium but should have other facilities and amenities required for organizing a successful film festival.
Menon said the festival office would be permanently set up in Goa and a Festival Director, exclusively for IFFI, would be appointed. He requested the Goa Government to provide an office space for the same.
He emphasised the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) was burdened with many other functions and therefore there was a need for an independent director to look after IFFI.
