Over 270 movies will be showcased and renowned Hollywood actor Michael Douglas will receive the lifetime achievement award at the 54th International Film Festival slated to be held from November 20-28 in Goa, a minister announced.
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said of the 270 films, 198 films will be shown in International Section including 13 world premiers.
The opening film will be Catching Dust, directed by Stuart Gatt and the closing film will be Featherweight, directed by Robert Kolodny. Indian Panorama section will showcase 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films from India.
The opening Film in the feature section is a Malayalam offering, Aattam, and in the non-feature section is Andro Dreams from Manipur.Thakur said this year Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred on Douglas, a shining star of world cinema known for his immense contribution in the cinematic universe.
With over 50 years in the film and television industry, Douglas has received two Oscars, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and countless other honors. In 2023, he received the Palme d’Or for lifetime achievement at the 76th Festival de Cannes.
Thakur said the International Section of IFFI has seen a three times spike in number of films received and this is a display of the fascination of international film industry for IFFI.
Speaking about the newly introduced OTT awards, he said that since the COVID19 pandemic, the OTT industry has seen a boom in India and original content created in India is employing thousands of people.
In response to the dynamic landscape of this sector, growth of which stands at 28 pc annually, the Ministry has introduced this award celebrating the outstanding content creators on OTT platforms.
He said that a total of 32 entries across 10 languages from 15 OTT platforms have been received and the winner will be awarded an amount of ten lakh rupees.The Minister informed that there are over 600 entries in the Creative Minds of Tomorrow section for this year.
The Minster made a special mention that all the venues for this year’s IFFI will be inclusive with all facilities and access for specially-abled. Audio description for visually impaired, sign language for hearing impaired, dubbing of content in multiple languages will be symbolic of the mantra of Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas.
India’s media and entertainment industry is ranked as the fifth largest market globally, and continues to grow every year with an average annual growth of 20 pc in the last three years, he said.Minister of State Dr L Murugan said the International Jury is being headed by acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. (UNI)