PANJIM: Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan reviewed preparations for the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held at Panjim from November 20 to 28 on Monday.
The minister visited venues for various events and urged that they be made functional as early as possible.
Murugan took a tour of the venues being prepared for various events happening at IFFI such as Film Bazaar and the State Pavilions. As the venues are still in various stages of preparation, the minister urged that work be completed as soon as possible. Following the visit to the venues, the minister chaired a meeting with various organisations involved in the organising and management of 53rd IFFI.
Speaking at the meeting, Murugan urged all stakeholders to put their best efforts and work together so that the festival is conducted in the best manner possible. He urged to leverage Goa’s innate spirit of joy and celebration to propel IFFI to a new level.
Meanwhile as many as 15 films will compete for the coveted Golden Peacock at the IFFI. The mouth-watering line-up comprises 12 International and three Indian films that represent the emerging trends in the aesthetics and politics of the art.
From the very first Golden Peacock awarded in the 3rd edition of IFFI, the prize has been amongst the most sought-after film awards in Asia. The jury tasked with the impossible job of picking a winner this year comprises of Israeli writer and film director Nadav Lapid, American producer Jinko Gotoh, French film editor Pascale Chavance, French documentary film maker, film critic and journalist Javier Angulo Barturen and India’s very own film director Sudipto Sen.
In the thick of the competition this year are as follows: Perfect Number (2022); Red Shoes (2022); A Minor (2022); No End (2021); Mediterranean Fever (2022); When The Waves Are Gone (2022); I Have Electric Dreams (2022); Cold As Marble (2022); The Line (2022), Seven Dogs (2021), Maariya: The Ocean Angel (2022); The Kashmir Files (2022); Nezouh (2022); The Storyteller (2022) and Kurangu Pedal (2022).
The Kashmir Files directed by Vivek Agnihotri, The Storyteller directed by Anant Mahadevan, both Hindi films and Kurangu Pedal, a Tamil film directed by Kamalakannan are the three Indian films that will compete in the International competition section at IFFI.
