IFFI 2019: Things To Know About The 50th International Film Festival of India in Goa

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The latest edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Panjim, Goa from November 20-28, 2019. The prestigious film festival is organised by the Government of India every year, an initiative of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and managed by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) and the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG).

IFFI is all about movies, with world premieres, film screenings, masterclasses, celebrity visits and conversations for fans, and fun activities related to films as part of the event. In 2019, IFFI celebrates its 50th year and the event promises to be a great ride for film enthusiasts. Head to Goa for nine days for IFFI 2019 and have the experience you will cherish. Take a look at our IFFI 2019 festival guide.

Here are some things you need to know about the 50th International Film Festival of India:

- IFFI 2019 will be held from November 20-28, 2019, in Panjim, Goa. One has to register as a delegate for a small fee on the IFFI 2019 website and collect the pass and festival schedule from the venue. Students of Film Studies and Mass Communication will have free access at IFFI 2019, but you do have to register.-

- The IFFI 2019 opening ceremony will be held on November 20, hosted by Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar. Indian cinema superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth will be honoured at IFFI 2019. The actors will grace the IFFI opening ceremony on November 20.

- The IFFI 2019 opening film is director Goran Paskaljevic's 'Despite the Fog', an Italian drama, and it will be screened on November 20 at 7 pm.

- The IFFI 2019 screenings will be held at Kala Academy in Panjim, INOX Panjim and also INOX Porvorim. There will also be some open-air screenings next to Kala Academy. The masterclasses will be held at Maquinez Palace in Panjim at the ESG Goa premises.

- IFFI 2019 will showcase over 200 films from 76 countries, which includes 26 feature films and 15 non-feature films in the Indian panorama section.

- The IFFI 2019 closing film will be Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf's 'Marghe and Her Mother'. The screening will be held after the closing ceremony on November 28.

- Every year, a country in focus is selected to celebrate World Cinema. At IFFI 2019, Russia is the country in focus.

- At the Golden Jubilee of IFFI 2019, a lot of interesting masterclasses and talks will be held, including ones by film celebrities Anil Kapoor, Anees Bazmee, Taapsee Pannu, Rohit Shetty, Tamannaah Bhatia, Kajal Agarwal, and Madhur Bhandarkar, among others.

- There is also a special talk on nuances of filmmaking with Meghana Gulzar and one on casting in films with the best casting directors from Bollywood.

- Popular south Indian actors like Vijay Devarakonda, Rakul Preet Singh, Rashmika Mandana and Nithya Menen will make an appearance at IFFI 2019.

- French actress Isabelle Huppert will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at IFFI 2019. She will also take a Masterclass under Actors Connect, which is a must-attend for film buffs and aspiring actors.

- IFFI 2019 will also showcase the best films from the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), a Films Division event held every two years. The team at IFFI has selected 17 award-winning films from MIFF in the last 10 years for screening in Goa this year..

- IFFI 2019 will also have a Retrospective of Indian New Wave Cinema and also showcase Restored Indian Classics by celebrated filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak and renowned filmmaker-choreographer Uday Shankar.

- IFFI 2019 will pay tribute to the film artistes who passed away between November 2018 to November 2019.

- Since the past few years, local Konkani films are being showcased at IFFI and the initiative will continue at IFFI 2019.

- IFFI 2019 will pay homage to French filmmaker Agnès Varda and Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci.

- The 150 Years of Mahatma celebration of the Government of India had a special initiative with film screenings, quizzes and displays at IFFI 2018 by the National Film Archive of India. The initiative is set to continue at IFFI 2019 and will be your chance to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

- The IFFI 2019 Master Frames will have films by master filmmakers Pedro Almodovar and Hirokazu Kore-eda, among others.

- The IFFI 2019 Oscar Retrospective will screen Hollywood classics 'Casablanca', 'Ben Hur', 'Gone with the Wind' and 'The Sound of Music', among other films.

- The IFFI 2019 World Panorama films include 'Bombay Rose', 'Les Misérables', 'Entwined' and 'Traum Fabrik'. Check the full list here.

- This year, IFFI has a special section called Festival Kaleidoscope where it will premiere the Cannes 2019 Winner 'Parasite' and showcase many other fine festival films.

- IFFI 2019 will have a special focus on new Asian films in the section 'Soul of Asia'.

- John Bailey, cinematographer and former President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will head the International Jury of the 50th International Film Festival of India. Part of the Jury at IFFI 2019 are French filmmaker Robin Campillo, also on the Cannes 2019 International Jury; Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yang, Scottish filmmaker- writer and cinematographer Lynne Ramsay, and eminent Bollywood filmmaker Ramesh Sippy.

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