Curtains down on IFFI 2019; Babul Supriyo and other celebrities grace the Closing Ceremony
Goa: The valedictory ceremony for the golden jubilee edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa got off to a dazzling start at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, in Talegaon, Goa today November 28, 2019. Goa Governor Shri Satya Pal Malik, Chief Minister of Goa Dr. Pramod Sawant, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Shri Babul Supriyo graced the closing ceremony, along with a host of dignitaries from the political and cinematic landscape.
Music legend Shri Ilaiyaraja, veteran actor Shri Prem Chopra and celebrities from India and abroad including Takashi Miike, Shri Vijay Deverakonda, Shri Aanand L Rai walked the red carpet, adding to the colour and glamour of the star-studded evening. Deputy Chief Ministers of Goa Shri Manohar Ajgaonkar, Shri Chandrakanth Kavlekar, Members of Parliament Smt. Roopa Ganguly and Shri Ravi Kishan, Chief Secretary of Goa Shri Parimal Rai, Vice Chairman of Entertainment Society of Goa Shri Subhash Phal Desai, CEO of Entertainment Society of Goa Shri Amit Satija, IFFI Steering Committee members Shri Shaji N. Karun, Shri Rahul Rawail, and International Jury members John Bailey, Robin Campillo, Shri Ramesh Sippy were also present.
Opening the grandeur ceremony, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Shri Amit Khare said that IFFI 2020 and 2021 will be a tribute to legendary filmmaker of India Satyajit Ray whose centenary celebrations will be observed from next year. “ The event has been quite successful in bringing together film enthusiasts all over the world along with the well known filmmakers, artists and film critics. It will be our endeavour to have the 51st IFFI at an even larger scale. The 50th edition of IFFI had more than 190 films screened from 76 different countries which included 90 Indian premier, six world premier and 11 Asian premier. It is a matter of pride that this year we screened 24 Oscar submissions at IFFI. More than 12000 delegates participated which is also a record number.”, he said. Legends of Indian cinema Shri Ilaiyaraja, Shri Prem Chopra, Smt Manju Borah, Shri Aravind Swamy and Shri Haubam Paban Kumar were felicitated on the occassion.
Cine actors Sonali Kulkarni and Kunal Kapoor hosted the closing ceremony. The 50th International Film Festival of India 2019 witnessed more than 200 acclaimed films from 76 countries, with Russia as the country of focus. It also included 26 feature films and 15 non feature films in Indian panorama section.
The golden jubilee edition brought to the shores of Goa the best of recent International cinema, along with special sections such as Golden Peacock Retrospective, Debut Film Competition, Soul of Asia retrospective, Master Film makers collection, Festival Kaleidoscope section, Accessible Films for Differently Abled, World Panorama 2019, Filmmaker in Focus, Restored Indian Classics, ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal competition, Retrospective of Indian New Wave Cinema , Konkani Film Package and Dadasaheb Phalke Award. The 50th edition of IFFI also showcased fifty films of fifty women directors which reflect the contribution of women in cinema.
In order to celebrate the spirit of 50 Golden Years of International Film Festival of India, the Films Division has curated a package of 17 MIFF award-winning films made in the last 10 years. Movies that gained recognition internationally at various other film festivals like Cannes film festival, Venice film festival, Berlin international film festival, Mumbai international film festival, Sundance film festival, Busan international film festival are featured as part of IFFI this year. The specially curated “Homage Section” paid tribute to 13 eminent individuals who have contributed to Indian cinema during their lifetime. Two time Palme d’Or winner Ken Loach had a Retrospective Section at the festival.