This year too, IFFI is showcasing three films from the ‘Land of Rising Sun’, which are making their Indian Premiere in this festival itself.

A Far Shore (Tooi Tokoro), directed by Masaaki Kudo will make its India Premiere in IFFI-53.  The 2022 produced film narrates the story of Aoi, who has dropped out from high school,gives birth to a baby son with Masaya  in Okinawa, a Southern island of Japan. To make ends meet, she starts working as a night-club hostess as Masaya loses his job and cannot deal with the family’s responsibilities. Their immaturity and dependence aggravate the relationship with continuous fights leading to a social downfall. Watch the film to know what Aoi does, out of love for her son, to find solutions.

About the Director: The film’s director Kudo’s debut film ‘I’m Crazy’ received the NETPAC Award at Bucheon, in 2018. His next ‘Unprecedented’ premiered at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in 2021 and ‘A Far Shore’ is his third feature.

‘Yamabuki’ directed by Yamasaki Juichiro is another Japanese film which is set to have its India premiere in IFFI this year. This 2022 film narrates the story of Yamabuki, a teenage girl, begins to stage silent protests that blossom into community action, much to the dismay of her policeman father. The quiet surface of this rural town is gradually peeled off to reveal frustration and loneliness that, once given a voice, begin to connect people. It is a story of finding a place to root yourself when life’s obstacles have dispirited you.

About the Director: Film Director Yamasaki Juichiro had organised a student film festival while still in university. He made a couple of short films and worked as an assistant director, before moving to a small mountain village in Okayama. ‘The
Sound of Light’ (2011) was his debut feature film.

This apart, much to the delight of animation lover, Japanese anime Dozens of North (Ikuta no Kita), a debut feature-length film by Koji Yamamura will also be showcased in the festival for the first time in India. The basis of the film is a series of illustrations and texts that Yamamura had created in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The film elevates modern-day suffering caused by real-life events into a mythical and universal dimension and the absurdities and tragedies of human existence are told with injections of hope. His bleak, yet darkly humorous worldview is presented in its uncompromised glory through his signature hand-drawn animations.

Yamamura’s animation concentrates on traditional animation. Two of his most famous and acclaimed films are Oscar nominated ‘Mount Head’ and ‘A Country Doctor’.

On 20^th November Minister Thakur will attend Red Carpet of the Opening Film of the 53rd edition of IFFI Alma and Oskar, by Austrian Director Dieter Berner. Later that evening he proceeds to Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor stadium to attend the opening ceremony of IFFI 53. Minister will be announcing the winner of the Indian Film Personality of the Year 2022 and will also confer Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement on Spanish film Director Carlos Saura at the IFFI 53 inaugural.

On the second day of his visit, the Minister will participate in the opening Ceremony of 2nd Edition of 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow Section of IFFI 53 where he will be interacting with 75 young promising cinematic talents from across India. Shri Thakur will later attend the inaugural Ceremony of Film Bazaar pavilion of IFFI 53. Following this, he will attend the Indian Panorama Section and opening Ceremony of Country Focus (France) section of the film festival.

Minister Anurag Singh will wrap his two day visit to Goa with the inauguration of Film Technology Exhibition by FTII at Football Ground, DB Road, Panjim. This exhibition showcases the technology and various elements pertaining to film art/cinema and aesthetics.

The 53rd edition of one of Asia’s oldest film festivals is set to open with Austrian Director Dieter Berner’s Alma and Oskar. The passionate and tumultuous relationship between the Viennese society Grand Dame Alma Mahler (1879-1964) and Austrain artist Oskar Kokoschka ((1886-1980) is the subject of this biopic.

As is customary, the opening ceremony of the festival is being held at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Panaji, Goa. Film personalities Mrunal Takhur, Varun Dhawan, Catherine Teresa, Sara Ali Khan, Karthik Aryan and Amritha Khanvilkar will grace the opening ceremony. Governor of Goa P.S Sreedharan; Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant; Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur; and Minister of State for I&B Dr. L. Murugan will also be present at the opening.

Opening ceremony will see many cultural performances featuring top film celebrities from across India and will also include music and dance groups all across the globe. Among them – a stellar flamenco performance by artists from Spain.

The theme of the Opening Ceremony is “Evolution of Indian Cinema in the last 100 years”, keeping with the spirit of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations.

The Austrian film, Alma and Oskar, directed by Dieter Berner, will open the festival. Red Carpet for opening film will commence at 2.00 PM at INOX-I, Panjim, followed by the screening of the film.

Polish film Krzysztof Zanussi’s Perfect Number is the closing film. Red Carpet for closing film will commence at INOX-I, Panjim at 2.00 PM on 28^th November, followed by the screening of the film.

Fixation, a 2022 film set in Germany, Canada and the USA, by Mercedes Bryce Morgan is the mid-fest film.

25 feature films and 19 non-feature films from India will be showcased in the ‘Indian Panorama’ while 183 films will be a part of international programming.

The festival presents a special section for Asha Parekh, the 52^nd Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, with the screening of three films, namely, Teesri Manzil, Do Badan and Kati Patang.

On the occasion of completion of 50 years of Manipuri Cinema, a specially curated package of five Feature and five Non-Feature films, curated by Manipur State Films Film Development Society, is being screened under Indian Panorama.

As an initiative to promote films from North-East India, 5 feature and 5 non-feature films, will mark golden jubilee of Manipuri cinema.

There will be special screenings of Pan Nalin’s Chello Show—The Last Film Show, India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category, and Madhur Bhandarkar’s India Lockdown.

Films from National Film Archives of India will be showcased by the NFDC in the ‘Indian Restored Classics’ section. These include Sohrab Modi’s 1957 costume drama Nausherwan-E-Adil, Ramesh Maheshwary’s 1969 National Award-winning Punjabi film Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai, K Vishwanath’s 1980 Telugu musical drama Sankarabharnam and two Satyajit Ray classics, the 1977 period drama Shatranj Ke Khiladi and the 1989 social, Ganashatru.

Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement award is being conferred on Spanish film director Carlos Saura. His daughter Anna Saura will accept the Award on behalf of the eminent filmmaker, at the opening ceremony. A retrospective of his oeuvre is being showcased at the festival.

France is the ‘Spotlight’ country and 8 films will be screened under Country Focus package.

‘Film Bazaar’ will screen some of the finest films and filmmakers in various sections. For the first time, Pavilions will make an appearance at IFFI in line with major international markets like the Marche du Cannes. This year, there will be a total of 42 Pavilions. They will house the film offices of the various state governments, the participating countries, industry players and media units from the ministry. This will also be the first time when many restored classics will be available at ‘The Viewing Room’ where one would be able to buy the rights of these films and use them at film festivals across the globe.

The ‘Homage’ section will include fifteen Indian and five international films. Tributes will be paid to Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, singer-composer Bappi Lahiri, Kathak maestro Pt. Birju Maharaj, actors Ramesh Deo and Maheshwari Amma, singer KK, director Tarun, Mr Nipon Das Assamese actor and theater artist, Majumder and singer Bhupinder Singh. Whereas in International section, Festival will pay homage to the genius of Bob Rafelson, Ivan Reitman, Peter Bogdanovich, Douglas Trumbell and Monica Vitti.

The second edition of ‘75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow’, an initiative by the Ministry of Broadcasting and Information is another attraction. The number of filmmakers being recognized is symbolic of 75 years of Indian Independence. It is envisioned that in the coming years, the number of young participants will increase by one with this in mind.

Films, like Richard Attenborough’s Oscar winning Gandhi, screened in the ‘Divyangjan’ section will be audio-visually equipped with embedded audio descriptions and subtitles. This will make them accessible to even differently-abled film aficionados and promote the spirit of inclusivity.

The new Book Adaptation Program, Books to box office has been introduced as an initiative to bridge the gap between good stories printed in books and good films that can be made by adapting books. Some of the best publishers are also expected to be present to sell the rights of the books that can be turned into on screen content.

The ‘Indian Panorama’ will open with Prithvi Konanur’s Kannada film Hadinelentu while The Show Must Go On by Divya Cowasji will flag off the non-feature film section. There will be special screenings of Pan Nalin’s Chello Show—The Last Film Show, India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category, and Madhur Bhandarkar’s India Lockdown.

There will be several Gala Premieres of Hindi films with their actors present to support and promote cinema. These include Paresh Rawal’s The Storyteller, Ajay Devgn and Tabu’s Drishyam 2, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon’s Bhediya and Yami Gautam’s Lost. The upcoming Telugu film, Raymo, Deepti Naval and Kalki Koechlin’s Goldfish and Randeep Hooda and Ileana D’Cruz’s Tera Kya Hoga Lovely will also be premiered at IFFI, along with an episode of OTT shows like Vadhandhi, Khakee and Fauda Season 4.

The big draws will be films which have won multiple awards at prestigious film festivals around the world, like Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Venice. Some are directed by or feature Oscar winners. These films include Decision to Leave by Park-Chan Wook and Ruben Ostlund’s Triangle of Sadness, The Whale by Darren Oronofsky and Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, Both Sides of the Blade by Claire Denis and Guy Davidi’s Innocence, Saint Omer by Alice Diop and The Blue Caftan by Maryam Touzani.

With 23 ‘Masterclasses’ and ‘In Conversation’ sessions with eminent filmmakers and actors, it promises to be an exciting week. There will be a master class in screenwriting by V. Vijayendra Prasad, on editing by A. Sreekar Prasad and Anupam Kher will take a class in acting. A masterclass on ACES will have Oscar Academy experts, while the ones on animation will have Mark Osborne and Christian Jezdic. The ‘In-conversation’ sessions will be helmed by Asha Parekh, Prasoon Joshi, Aanand L Rai, R Balki and Nawazuddin Siddiqui among others.

The 53rd edition of IFFI will be virtually accessible. Registered users will get a chance to be a part of these Masterclasses, In Conversations, panel discussions and the opening and closing ceremony even when not in Goa. One can visit the official website for a schedule of these live sessions.

Technology Exhibition of Media & Entertainment curated by FTII, exhibition on Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav by CBC, Shigmotsav (Spring Festival) On 26th Nov 2022 and Goa Carnival on the 27th Nov 2022 are other attractions at IFFI 53.

Founded in 1952, the film festival is held annually, currently in the state of Goa, to celebrate the excellence of world cinema.

IFFI being held from 20th to 28th November, 2021 provides the perfect platform for understanding and appreciating the film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos. The festival is conducted jointly by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) and the Entertainment Society of Goa, Government of Goa.

This is about the master Italian film-maker Pier Paolo Pasolini. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is paying tribute to this legend this year.

Pasolini’s film career reflected a distinctly personal and often scandalously erotic adaptations of classic literary texts: ‘Oedipus Rex’ (1967); ‘The Decameron’ (1971); ‘The Canterbury Tales’ (1972) and ‘Arabian Nights’ (1974) with his own more personal projects, expressing his controversial views on Marxism, atheism, fascism and homosexuality, notably, ‘Pigsty’ and ‘120 Days of Sodom’ (1975), a relentlessly grim fusion of Mussolini’s Fascist Italy with the ‘Marquis de Sade’ which was banned in Italy and other countries.

A few of Pasolini’s masterpieces being showcased in IFFI-53 are as follows.

Accattone This 1961 Italian drama film written and directed by Pasolini, narrates the story of Vittorio ‘Accattone’ Cataldi. He supports himself as a pimp for his longtime girlfriend, Maddalena. When his meal ticket goes to jail after being assaulted by a pack of thugs, Accattone scrambles to survive, reduced to begging for food from his ex-wife, Ascenza. When he meets the virginal Stella, he sees a way back into his former profession.

Oedipus Rex /Edipo re  Another Italian film of the master which has been honoured at various reputed film festivals around the world. The story shows a father, motivated by jealousy, thinks that his new-born child will take away the love of his wife. He takes away the baby to abandon him, at which point the film’s setting changes to ancient Greece. The child is rescued and taken to the King of Corinth Polybus and Queen Merope and raised as their own son. The child is given the name Oedipus.

Pigsty /Porcile Made in 1969, this film narrates two dramatic stories. In an undetermined past, a young cannibal (who killed his own father) is condemned to be torn to pieces by some wild beasts. In the second story, Julian, the young son of a post-war German industrialist, is on the way to lie down with his farm’s pigs, because he doesn’t like human relationships.

The Hawks and the Sparrows /Uccellacci e uccellini This 1966 film is much acclaimed by critics. The film shows Totò and his son Ninetto roam the neighbourhood and the countryside of Rome. During the walk they observe a body being removed from a house following a murder. They next encounter a talking crow, who is described in the inter-titles thus: ‘For the benefit of those who were not paying attention or are in doubt, we remind you that the Crow is – as you say – a left-wing intellectual of the kind found living before Palmiro Togliatti’s death’.

The Gospel According to St. Matthew /Il vangelo secondo Matteo A noted masterpiece of international cinema made in 1964. The film depicts Jesus Christ. During the times of the Roman Empire, Jesus travels around the country with his disciples, healing the blind, raising the dead and proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of God. He claims to be the Son of God which brings him into direct confrontation with the Jewish leaders. He is arrested, handed over to the Romans and charged with sedition, of which he is declared innocent by the Roman governor of Judea, but is, nevertheless, crucified at the behest of the Temple leaders.

IFFI comes up with facilities to the differently abled cine-enthusiasts like screening audio description enabled, sub-titled movies , conducting technical workshops in movie making and acting, in the infrastructure front  creating accessible ramps, tactile walkways, braille signboards etc.

Featuring a Divyangjan Special section this year an initiative by the MIB and IFFI is a step towards making cinema an inclusive and accessible avenue for everyone. In this section, dedicated screenings for specially-abled audience will be organized keeping in mind their accessibility needs in terms of formats of film screening and venue infrastructure, and management.

The films in this section will have embedded subtitles, as well as audio descriptions. The audio descriptions are specially created audio tracks that narrates the visual information in a film. The audience can listen to the same, and the content of the film is conveyed to the audience which is otherwise not accessible.

Further, films, like Richard Attenborough’s Oscar winning Gandhi and The Storyteller directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, which will be premiered at IFFI in the ‘Divyangjan’ section will be audio-visually equipped with embedded audio descriptions and subtitles. This will make them accessible to even differently-abled film aficionados and promote the spirit of inclusivity.

Richard Attenborough’s Oscar winning Gandhi

The Storyteller directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan

With an objective to ensure that the process of creating art becomes accessible to all, Film and Television Institute of India will be conducting two free courses for persons with disabilities – a basic course in smartphone film making for people with Autism and a basic course in screen acting for people in wheelchairs – as part of IFFI 53 from 21 – 28 November 2022.

Apart for the above mentioned the infrastructure of the venue also revamped for the special needs of the Divyangjan. The premises of ESG and other venues where the films are being screened  have been made barrier-free with provisions of ramps, handrails, divyangjan- friendly walkways, parking spaces, retrofitted toilets, signboards in Braille  etc.

A highlight of Asia’s oldest film festival this year is also the celebration of French cinema, with France been made the Focus Country. And undoubtedly, Godard is a defining personality of French Cinema! Godard rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Éric Rohmer, and Jacques Demy.

He was arguably the most influential French filmmaker of the post-war era. In his early days as a film critic for the influential magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, Godard criticised mainstream French cinema’s ‘Tradition of Quality’, which de-emphasised innovation and experimentation. In response, he and like-minded critics began to make their own films, challenging the conventions of traditional Hollywood in addition to French cinema. His work makes use of frequent homages and references to film history, and often expresses his political views. The world lost this genius on 13^th September this year.

A few of Godard-directed masterpieces being showcased in IFFI 2022 are

A Woman is a Woman /Une femme est une femme – This 1961 classic revolves centres on the relationship of exotic dancer Angéla and her lover Émile. Angéla wants to have a child, but Émile is not ready. Émile’s best friend Alfred also says he loves Angéla, and keeps up a gentle pursuit. Since Émile stubbornly refuses her request for a child, Angéla finally decides to accept Alfred’s plea and sleeps with him.

Alphaville /une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution  Released in 1965, this films shows a U.S. secret agent sent to the distant space city of Alphaville where he must find a missing person and free the city from its tyrannical ruler.

Breathless /À bout de souffle This one won Godard the Best Director Award at Berlinale in 1960. In this classic, follow the adventures of a small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman.

Contempt /Le Mépris In this 1963 film, find out what happens in the life of a young French playwright Paul Javal and his wife Camille, when Paul accepts an offer from vulgar American producer Jeremy Prokosch to rework a script.

Goodbye to Language /Adieu au Langage The master made this 3D experimental narrative essay film in 2014. It is Godard’s 42nd feature and 121st film or video project.

Interestingly, Godard’s own dog Roxy Miéville has a prominent role in the film!

Pierrot the Fool /Pierrot Le Fou Another classic made in 1965. The film centres round Ferdinand Griffon who is unhappily married and has been recently fired. After attending a mindless party, he feels a need to escape and decides to run away with his ex, Marianne Renoir, leaving his wife, children and bourgeois lifestyle! Find out what happens next.

See You Friday, Robinson /À vendredi, Robinson In this 2022 made French-Swiss documentary directed by Mitra Farahani, Jean-Luc Goddard stages himself in his daily thoughts, and sends images and words from Switzerland.

Panjim : 19 November 2022 ::: The Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L. Murugan has extended a warm welcome to the guests and delegates of the 53rd edition of IFFI, the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which is set to open in Goa tomorrow, November 20, 2022.

The Minister says he is delighted to note that IFFI continues to flourish in quality and quantity of content received every year. “This year, we witnessed a record number of entries in Indian and International sections, exemplifying the growing global popularity of the festival.”

The Minister informs current and aspiring film lovers that IFFI has curated a compelling package of films across genres, themes, and social commentaries. “The Festival will also present an educational package of masterclasses and workshops”.

He has expressed confidence that IFFI-53 will become a memorable experience for all its attendees.