IFFI-2012: Showcasing the Best of Indian and World Cinema

FEATURE

IFFI

Pic courtesy : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

IFFI-2012 is an ideal opportunity for filmmakers and film lovers to watch, appreciate and learn the art of film making in sylvan surroundings and a relaxed creative environment of Panaji, Goa. The Festival also provides a platform for networking with some of the best film industry professionals from India and abroad.

This year IFFI-2012 will be inaugurated by Cinestar, Shri Akshay Kumar in the presence of Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Shri Manish Tewari, the Minister of Culture for Republic of Poland and Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Manohar Parrikar.

Started in 1952, the International Film Festival of India has evolved into a major forum for Cinema from across the world. From Satyajit Ray to Akira Kurosawa, from Marcello Mastrioni to Roman Polanski and Gurinder Chadha to Mira Nair, the International Film Festival of India has become a landmark destination for established and young filmmakers and directors from every continent.

In a first of its kind event, the International Film Festival will open with the world premiere of Academy Award Winning Director Ang Lee’s much awaited film ‘Life of Pi’ which is based on an adapted screenplay of a novel by the same name by Yann Martel,  a 3D adventure film telling the story of a 16 year old Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) of Pondicherry (Puducheri), who survives a shipwreck along with animals like an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena and a Royal Bengal Tiger. The film explores the issues of spirituality, religion and life as a whole.

Director Ang Lee is the man behind some of the most prestigious and acclaimed films such as Sense and Sensibility (1995),  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Hulk (2003) and Brokeback Mountain (2005). His latest film, Life of Pi, besides providing a global platform for Indian artistes, also explores some of the scenic spots in India, including the countryside of Munnar and the French elegance of Pondicherry.  During his interaction with the  media,  Ang Lee admitted that experiments like his, are helping change the stereotype perceptions about Indians and the Asians in mainstream Hollywood.

Celebrating the hundred years of Indian cinema, the 43rd International Film Festival of India will showcase a special section – ‘Centenary Celebrations’, which will screen a selection of the best movies from Indian Cinema’s glorious hundred year history. The centenary year of Indian Cinema will also be celebrated by bestowing the ‘Centenary Film Award’ to a competition film selected by a special jury panel which deftly showcases the glory of cinema as a medium.

Providing an opportunity to cine lovers to experience the best of Indian and world cinema, the marquee event of the Indian cinema industry will pay a special tribute to the completion of a hundred years of Indian cinema, where a jury choice of cinema will be cited with a special ‘Centenary Award’ comprising a Silver Peacock, Certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 10,00,000/-, which is to be given to a feature film that reflects a new paradigm in motion pictures in terms of aesthetics, technique or technological innovation.

            One of the key highlights of this year’s IFFI will be honouring of the eminent Polish film Director, Mr. Krzystof Zanussi who will be conferred with the Life Time Achievement Award.

The 43rd International Film Festival of India will also give away popular jury awards which recognize the best of cinematic creativity on display at the festival. The awards will be given in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Male), Best Actor(Female), Special Jury Award etc,.

Bringing to the cinema lovers a selection of hand-picked movies, the ten day festival will have sections such as Indian Panorama which includes Feature and Non-Feature cinema selections, Indian Retrospectives, Homage, Their Firsts, Masterclasses, Student Films and more. There will also be special segments such as Festival Kaleidoscope, Cinema of the World, Foreign Retrospectives, Homage, Country Focus, Sketches on Screen (Animation & 3D cinema), Masterstrokes, Documentaries which form a part of International Screening section.

 The Festival will in total screen more than two hundred movies. Closing with the screening of Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’.

Thus IFFI has truly become the harbinger of creating a film culture among the people of the country and an agent of the growing acceptance of Indian Cinema the world over.

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• Topic of Discussion: Interview : Uday Kumar Verma (Sectary Ministry of Information Broadcasting on International Film Festival of India - 2012)
• Interviewer: Santosh Mehta (Film Journalist)

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