The 54th International Film Festival of India begins November 21 at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, in Panaji, Goa with a gala opening ceremony.
The nine-day festival, showcasing an eclectic array of world cinema to audiences worldwide, will start with the international premiere of Catching Dust, the thriller by award-winning British filmmaker Stuart Gatt. About Dry Grasses directed by French Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan will be the mid fest film and The Featherweight directed by Robert Kolodny is the closing film for IFFI 54.
Hollywood actor-producer Michael Douglas will receive the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award. With more than 50 years in the film and television industry, Douglas has received two Oscars, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and countless other honors.
The opening ceremony will showcase performances by superstars Madhuri Dixit and Shahid Kapoor along with Shriya Saran, Nushratt Bharucha, Pankaj Tripathi, Shantanu Moitra, Shreya Ghoshal and Sukhwinder Singh. The festival will also be graced by Catherine Zeta Jones, Salman Khan, Vidya Balan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Anupam Kher, Vicky Kaushal, Siddharth Malhotra, Aditi Rao Hydari, AR Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal, Shantanu Moitra, Sukhwinder Singh, Amit Trivedi, among celebrated filmmakers.
Conveying his wishes to the film festival, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur, in a message said that in an age where technology continues to reshape the way we consume content, film festivals remain a testament to the enduring appeal of cinematic experience.
‘’IFFI has become a perfect platform for establishing collaborations, joint productions and cutting – edge technology,” he said, “and IFFI has been growing every year due to the passion of our film makers and collaborations with directors and film makers.’’
This year, more than 270 films will be showcased at four venues of the festival. IFFI has received an overwhelming response this year with 2926 entries from 105 countries, three times more international submissions than last year. This year, the festival will have 13 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres, 62 Asia and 89 India Premieres. Thirty-two entries have been received in 10 languages from 15 streaming platforms for the Best Web Series Award.
Fifteen feature films (12 International films and three Indian films) will compete for the coveted Golden Peacock award.
A montage of compelling documentaries from around the world has also been included this year to mark India’s Oscar entry in the field and also to highlight the growing importance of documentaries in film making today. Seven International films and three Indian films that reflect the ideals of UNESCO will be featured in ICFT UNESCO Gandhi medal award session.