PANJIM: As the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will complete half a century of editions next year, the Goa government has assured to elevate Goa – the permanent venue for hosting the extravaganza – as Asia’s Cannes.
Addressing a huge gathering on the concluding day of the 49th edition of IFFI at Taleigao, Town & Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai said the government will make every effort to further raise the standard of the event.
“On behalf of the Government of Goa, I would like your pardon for any inconvenience that you may have faced, especially on account of the arrangements and infrastructure. We promise to improve both. I am aware that many delegates compare Cannes with Goa and are not very generous whilst describing too much of red tape that is seen here as compared to Cannes. We promise to make amends and move forward to make Goa Asia’s Cannes,” he said in the presence of Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, Union Tourism Minister K J Alfons, Goa Speaker Pramod Sawant, State Tourism Minister Manohar Azgaonkar and a host of actors and filmmakers.
The minister claimed that Goa, which has been successfully hosting the festival since 2004, has always been on every Indian filmmaker’s mind. “Celebrate life, music, art, culture, food… call it the romance of life. This is what draws over a million people to our sunny State. Starting with its 35th edition in 2004, Goa became a permanent home of IFFI. The choice was not hard to fathom. Panjim, nestled on the banks of the Mandovi, in a town where the vestiges of its architectural and quaint past merge with the infrastructural modernity of the present, IFFI could not have found a better place to drop anchor,” Sardesai stated.
The minister hailed Chief Minister Manhar Parrikar’s efforts to ensure IFFI 2004 became a pride of the nation and make Goa a permanent venue. “We will take forward what Parrikar started,” he said.
Speaking about the 9-day festival, the minister expressed great happiness that a Goan short film Settee by Goan filmmaker Gopinath Chandelkar was screened.
He took the opportunity to encourage regional cinema to find a place at the national level. “Regional cinema, in many ways is national cinema, because it brings the nuances of culture and art, which are both local and resound nationally. This year, ‘Dupari’ and ‘Happy Birthday’ both in Marathi, ‘Ee.Ma.Yau’ in Malyalam, Peranbu in Tamil were part of the festival,” he said adding that Goan filmmakers should come forward and make films in the spirit of Goenkarponn so that it is universally known and recognised. “It is natural that if the world comes to Goa, it must understand Goenkarponn, our culture, our spirit, our way of life,” he said. The I&B Secretary said that preparations for the golden jubilee edition have begun and the 50th edition would trace the history of IFFI over the years.
