Team Herald
NEW DELHI: The Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred on Spanish film Director Carlos Saura at the 53rd edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI), announced Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan, at New Delhi, on Monday.
The 53rdIFFI, the annual film festival which brings biggest stalwarts under one roof, cumulating the cohesive energy and spirit of art, films and culture, will be hosted in the State from November 20 to 28. In course of a curtain raiser press conference, Festival Director and Managing Director of National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) Ravinder Bhakar stated that 280 films from 79 countries will be screened in course of the festival this year.
He further stated that 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films from India will be showcased in the ‘Indian Panorama’, while 183 films will be a part of the international programming. Union Secretary (Information and Broadcasting) Apurva Chandra was also present.
Satyajit Ray Lifetime
Achievement Award
Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura, who received the Golden Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival for DeprisaDeprisa, along with two Silver Bears for La Cazaand Peppermint Frappe, a BAFTA for Carmen and three awards at Cannes, among several others, will be honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award and an eight-film retrospective at IFFI.
Opening Film and Closing Film
The Austrian film ‘Alma and Oskar’, directed by Dieter Berner, will open the annual festival while Krzysztof Zanussi’s ‘Perfect Number’ is the closing film.
Country Focus
France is the ‘Spotlight’ country and eight films will be screened under ‘Country Focus’ package.
Indian Panorama
The ‘Indian Panorama’ will open with Prithvi Konanur’s Kannada film ‘Hadinelentu’, while ‘The Show Must Go On’ by DivyaCowasji will flag off the non-feature film section. There will be special screenings of Pan Nalin’s Chello Show-- The Last Film Show, India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category and Madhur Bhandarkar’s India Lockdown.
Indian Restored Classics
A few films from the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) will also be showcased by the NFDC in the ‘Indian Restored Classics’ section. These include Sohrab Modi’s 1957 costumedrama Nausherwan-E-Adil, Ramesh Maheshwary’s 1969 National Award-winning Punjabi film Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai, K Vishwanath’s 1980 Telugu musical drama Sankarabharnam and two Satyajit Ray classics, the 1977 period-drama ShatranjKeKhiladi and the 1989 social-drama Ganashatru.
Dadasaheb Phalke winner
retrospective
Three films of 52nd Dadasaheb Phalke Awardee (declared in the 68th National Film Awards) Asha Parekh –Teesri Manzil, Do Badan and Kati Patang will be screened as part of the Asha Parekh retrospective.