PANJIM: Against the backdrop of protests over the environment approval to Karnataka’s Kalsa-Bhandura project, the golden jubilee edition of the International Film Festival of India opened in Panjim on Wednesday.
Protests inside and outside the venue cast a shadow on the golden jubilee edition of the festival, which were offset by the presence of superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth, as the State unveiled plans to promote Goa as an important destination for film shooting. The Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, on the other hand, announced it would launch a single-window platform to help the film industry to get requisite permissions for shooting, at one stop.
Addressing the inaugural event, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said the government is looking at providing a “complete experience” of film making in Goa. “Goa is a popular destination for film shooting. Many Indian and foreign films shot in India have become hits, contributing to the economy of India as well as in providing jobs to many,” Sawant said.
“Our plan is to make Goa an important destination for film shooting for which we are focusing on film tourism. Skill enhancement and shooting technology and countering piracy are the other important factors,” the Chief Minister said.
He added that the government is looking at upgrading the required infrastructure in order to provide a complete experience of film making.
Sawant said that IFFI plays an important role to bridge the gap between the Indian and international film industry and provides the opportunity to explore cinema, not only screening of films across the world, but exploring the possibility of shooting international films in India and vice versa.
Union I&B Minister Prakash Javdekar said that the government has worked out a single-window platform to provide the required permissions for film shooting in India. “India has many film shooting spots and for shooting there, you required lot of permissions. To simplify the same, we have worked out a single-window facility,” he said.
Remembering former Chief Minister, late Manohar Parrikar, Javdekar said that 50th edition of IFFI is also a tribute to the leader.
The 50th edition honoured Amitabh Bachchan, the Chief Guest for his contribution to the film industry, while south Megastar Rajinikanth was awarded with Icon of Golden Jubilee Award.
While Bachchan thanked his fans for their immense love and support, Rajinikanth dedicated the award to all the producers, directors and technicians with whom he has worked. He also dedicated the award to his fans.
The IFFI Lifetime Achievement Award, the festival’s highest honour, was presented to Isabelle Huppert of France.
The festival will have more than 200 films from 76 countries, with Russia as the country of focus. It includes 26 feature films and 15 non feature films in Indian panorama section. More than 10,000 people and film lovers are expected to participate in the golden jubilee edition. Around 7000 delegates are participating in the nine-day event.
Union Minister for State for Defence Shripad Naik, Union Minister for State for
Environment Babul Supriyo, officials of Directorate of Film Festival, Entertainment Society of Goa, were amongst those present.
