IFFI Goa 53, 2022, 2: Austrian film Alma and Oskar to open fest Austrian film Alma and Oskar will be the Opening film at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), to be held in Panaji, Goa, from November 20 to November 28. The passionate and tumultuous relationship between the Viennese society Grand Dame Alma Mahler (1879-1964) and Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) is the subject of this biopic. Directed by Dieter Berner, the film has a runtime of 110 minutes. Oskar Kok...

        IFFI 52, 034: Some competition films not competitive, below par When you have already attended 44 IFFIs, you pretty much know what to expect. Or do you? Arriving from Mumbai by train on the 20th morning, the day of the inauguration, I found my usual hotel in an unkempt state. The owner, who had a flat there till some years ago, has let it sink into squalor, but critics like me, who fund all own expenses at IFFI, cannot really complain. A couple of hours later, after...

IFFI 51, 16-24 January 2021, 15: Terms and conditions applied Media accreditation came on the 29th of December, a mere 18 days before the festival. Those who had not booked travel tickets and not made hotel reservations must have been severely inconvenienced. Luckily, I had made my bookings in anticipation, and that was a bonus. This is the email we received on the 16th of January, the day the festival was inaugurated: “Welcome to the 51st International Film Festival of India, Goa. W...

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: Awry scheduling When you are holding a competitive festival, the films in the Competition Section are the most important items in your showcase. Fill-buffs wait with bated breath to see who wins the awards at the closing function, which is scheduled at IFFI a full eight days after the inauguration. So, the suspense lasts eight days. In those eight days, if your interest is in the best of contemporary cinema, you make your own guesses, and compare your bests with the Jury’s ver...

IFFI 50: Media matters In an event like the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the media matters. The event is organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Central Government of India, in partnership with the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), a Goa Government initiative, with the Chief Minister of Goa being the Chairman of the body. Together, they spent over Rs. 40 crore (400 million) on IFFI 50, Panaji, Goa, November 20-28, 2019. This ...

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: A.K. Bir, chairing IFFI’s Technical Committee for over 12 years To enjoy a film in the way the maker meant it to be enjoyed is a blessing. We, who are attending the 50th International Film Festival of India, Panaji, Goa, know how important it is to enjoy a film in the right ambience. A small error, and the joy could be ruined. To make sure no such thing happens, IFFI has a Technical Committee in place, headed by A.K. Bir, himself a renowned cinematographer, screen-writer and fi...

RIFF films, seen and unseen Arriving at Jaipur on the 20th afternoon, I plunged into the 5th Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF) fare at the INOX multiplex, Crystal Palm, minutes after checking in at my hotel. Unfortunately, I had missed a whole day and a half, since the festival began on the 19th and screenings commenced in the morning itself, after the inauguration ceremony. These were the films shown on the first day, and some of them bagged awards too, as you must have read in m...

       IFFI Goa 2014, Festival Diary, Part III A bit of luck meant that I got a room at Hotel Neptune Deluxe at an affordable rate. My room was on the fourth floor, and, for an inexplicable reason, the lift only serviced floors 2 to 4, in the five storey building, where only floors 3 and 4 were occupied by the hotel. A staff-boy helped me carry my luggage till the second floor, and I settled in Room 116. The number has significance for film-buffs, for Secret Agent 116 featu...