IFFI 53, 2022, 01: FTII, NFDC and ESG to offer free courses to persons with disabilities Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, under its Centre for Open Learning (CFOL) initiative, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) have announced two free courses for persons with disabilities as part of the 53rd edition of International Film Festival of India, scheduled to be held from November 20 to 28, in Panaji, Goa. A basic course in smartph...

IFFI 52, 052: Veterans not allowed to contribute Among International Film Festival of India (IFFI)’s regular attendees, one man claims that he attended the first ever IFFI, held in 1952, as a 16 year-old. I am not aware whether there was any age restriction back in 1952, but for several decades since then, you cannot attend an IFFI unless you are 18 years old. He was there at IFFI 52, 2021, too. That would make him 85 years old. He confesses he missed out on two IFFIs, but has attended ...

IFFI 52, 051: Towards better IFFIs What makes a good international film festival? Some criteria. Good international films Good Indian films Good scheduling Good international participation Good fringe events Good ‘festival’/festivities Good venues, with good projection Good budget Good (long-term) independent directors and heads of departments Good and early planning Quality of films selected is a reflection of the ...

IFFI 52, 046: The urge to merge – DFF, two other units, to become part of NFDC Students of Business Administration, Management and Public Relations are taught about the reasons, modalities and possible consequences of mergers and acquisitions of companies. Terms like Holding Company, Group and Subsidiary Company come up and are defined. In the corporate sector, major companies undertake a massive PR exercise, leading up to the merger/acquisition and for some time afterwards, are underta...

IFFI 51, 51: My ‘golden peacock’ moment and the denial of recognition to IFFI Veterans It’s not the real thing, only a memento. Nevertheless it is not the lesser for me, in terms of value. How did I come about getting a replica of the much coveted Golden Peacock, which is the main prize at the International Film Festival of India? I was not part of any film shown at IFFI, nor had I contributed in any way, other than writing 51 articles on IFFI 51, attending some 30 film sho...

IFFI 50: BBC’s unique feat BBC here does not refer to the British Broadcasting Corporation. It is the acronym of perhaps India’s biggest film festival buff, BrijBhushan Chaturvedi, a film journalist and a true veteran. IFFI 2019 marked the 50th edition of the International Film Festival of India, the first IFFI being held in 1952. One man was witness to that event, and also had the honour to attend IFFI 2019. This man was given the name ‘BBC’ by writer-producer-directo...

IFFI 50: The three encounters of Rashid Irani Ex restaurateur turned full-time film-buff and much revered/feared critic, Rashid Irani’s IFFI 2019 was an event that he would like to forget for reasons other than the quality of films he saw at the festival. So keen was he to see the Oscar package that he went all the way to INOX Porvorim to catch these Academy Award-winning movies. Some of them were scheduled at 9 pm and were four hours long, which meant that he would reach his hotel in P...

IFFI 50: Complexities of the complex As a film festival that wants to vie with the best in the world, the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) needs a regular festival complex. It does not have one. IFFI moved to Panaji, Goa, in 2004, a good 15 years ago. To facilitate this move from Delhi to Goa, the then Chief Minister, late Manohar Parrikar, leased out land to the INOX group of multiplexes, and a four screen cinema hall was built in a record 100 days. The Goa government also acquire...

IFFI 50: Ceremonial closing As the sun set over the river Mandovi in Goa, on the 28th of November, 2019, the 50th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) rolled out the red carpet for the closing ceremony. The spectacular, star studded closing ceremony brought the nine day festivities of 200 odd screenings, master classes, in-conversation sessions, and more, to a fitting climax. Gracing the valedictory ceremony, Babul Supriyo, Union Minister of State for Environment, Fores...

IFFI Goa 2015, Festival Diary, IX: Advance to the rear ...