With many firsts to its credit, the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India has gotten off with a grand opening ceremony at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, in Panaji, Goa today, November 20, 2021.
Welcoming film lovers to Goa which he recalled is celebrating its 60th year of independence, while the nation celebrates the 75th year of independence, the Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur said that Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an opportunity for us to take a collective resolve to take the nation to new heights when we celebrate 100 years of our freedom. “This presents a unique opportunity for Indian cinema and incredible possibilities in content creation and dissemination at all levels on all platforms, in all regional languages, domestically as well as globally.”
The Secretary explained that the festival has become bigger, despite the COVID-19 challenge. “Even though we are celebrating in hybrid mode, the film festival has become larger than any. We received 624 entries from 96 countries despite COVID-19, in comparison to 69 countries last year. 44 films from 18 different languages of India are being showcased at the Indian Panorama section, including a film in Dimasa language, which is not even in the 8th Schedule of the constitution. There are 12 world premieres, 7 international premieres and 64 national premieres, which shows that the love for IFFI is growing year on year. It shows that we have stood up to the challenge during these COVID times.“
Speaking about the many firsts of IFFI 52, the Secretary informed that for the first time ever, films from five BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and of course India will be showcased through the BRICS Film Festival alongside IFFI. Further, as opposed to the precedent of a Country in Focus, the five BRICS countries are all focus countries at IFFI 52, allowing film lovers to be inspired by the cinematic excellence and contributions of all five countries.
The Secretary informed that for the first time in the history of IFFI, all major OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Sony and others, are participating in the film festival through exclusive Masterclasses, content launches and previews, curated film package screenings, and various other on-ground and virtual events. “The participation of OTT platforms will become a regular feature in future.”
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