The 54th edition of International Film Festival of India begins in Goa

The 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is about to commence with an annual cinematic extravaganza. The curtains will rise at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Taleigao-Goa. Several eminent personalities including Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, and Minister for State of Information and Broadcasting Dr. L Murugan, will be present at the event.

As per Prithul Kumar, the Joint Secretary of Films at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Michael Douglas, a renowned Hollywood actor and producer, has agreed to accept the prestigious Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award. The upcoming 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will showcase more than 270 films across four venues, including INOX Panjim, Maquinez Palace, INOX Porvorim, and Z Square Samrat Ashok. This year, the 'International Section' of the festival will feature 198 films, which is 18 more than the previous edition. It will have 13 world premieres, 18 international premieres, 62 Asia premieres, and 89 India premieres.

"This year IFFI received a record number of 2,926 entries from 105 countries, which is three times more than the international submissions than last year. ‘Indian Panorama’ section will showcase 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films from India. The Opening Film in the feature section is a Malayalam film ‘Aattam’, and in the non-feature section is ‘Andro Dreams’ from Manipur", Prithul Kumar said.

He said that the Best Web Series (OTT) Award has been introduced this year aiming at acknowledging, encouraging and honouring the flourishing content and its creators of OTT platforms. "32 entries have been received in 10 languages from 15 OTT platforms. Certificates and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh will be given as prize money to the winning series, which will be announced in the closing ceremony", he said.