The upcoming 44th International Film Festival of India will feature the best of world cinema touching on the emerging nuances and trends on the globe. Deebashree Mohanty reports
Susan Sarandon, Manoj Kumar, Rekha, Asha Bhonsle and many more are going to grace the film festival in Goa this year but the organisers are most excited about the new themes that they have curated for this year. Sample this: The International competition features a total prize money of Rs 13.2 crore. Fifteen films from around the world will vie for the coveted Peacock Awards at the 44th IFFI beginning November 20, 2013.
“We are expecting an immense rise in footfall this year. Apart from Japanese films and documentaries, we have a lot of Hindi masala magic woven into this year’s festival. last year, we were celebrating 100 glorious years of cinema. This year, we have taken it forward. We will be celebrating music in cinema,” Shankar Mohan, director IFFI Secretariat, says.
He adds that another high point will be the lifetime achievement award to be bestowed on renowned Czech filmmaker, theatre director, actor and scenarist Jiri Menzel and his latest film The Don Juans. “We introduced this Award in 2011 and the response has been terrific. It will be an honour to host such a great filmmaker,” Mohan says, adding that apart from the world-wide theme, guests will get to sample food from every corner of the globe”.
Talking about the Indian panorama that comprises 26 feature films and 16 non-feature films from contemporary Indian cinema, including two National Award entries, Mohan says this year was the toughest for the jury to decide which film to choose over others.