PANAJI
The Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting is expecting around 25,000 delegates for the upcoming 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) scheduled from November 20-28 in Goa.
Union Minister for State L Murugan on Thursday met the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to review the preparations for the IFFI. He expressed satisfaction with the preparations that are currently underway.
Speaking to media persons post meeting, Murugan said that as on date 4,000 delegates from India and abroad have registered for the nine-day long event. The registration process for IFFI commenced last month.
“We are expecting around 25,000 delegates all together,” he said. The Minister said that Film Industry is taking the ownership of the festival and participating in the event wholeheartedly, thus helping make the festival better with every passing year.
He confirmed the presence of Oscar Award winning American actor and filmmaker Michael Douglass for the festival. Douglas has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award and will be present at the festival to receive the honour.
As announced earlier, ‘Catching Dust’ will be the opening film; ‘About Dry Grasses’ will be the Mid-fest Film and the festival will close with ‘The Featherweight’ film.
In all, 198 films will be shown in the International Section including 13 world premier and there will be 25 films in the Indian Panorama section.
According to the Ministry, more than 270 films will be showcased during the festival across four venues – INOX Panjim (4), Maquinez Palace(1), INOX Porvorim (4), Z Square Samrat Ashok (2).
