53rd edition of IFFI all set to begin in Goa from November 20
280 movies from 79 countries to be screened during 9-day IFFI
The 53rd edition of IFFI, the International Film Festival of India is all set to open to a colourful opening ceremony on November 20, Sunday at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigão, Goa.
"This edition of the festival presents to film delegates a potpourri of 280 films, inviting them to immerse themselves in the lives, aspirations and struggles of peoples from a total of 79 countries," a press statement from the organising committee states.
With the festival preparations being in full swing, Festival Director and Managing Director, NFDC Ravinder Bhakar; CEO, ESG Swetika Sachan; Director General, PIB, Monideep Mukerjee; and Additional Director General, PIB, Pragya Paliwal Gaur addressed a curtain-raiser press conference in Old GMC Building, Panaji on Friday.
Highlights from the press conference:
The Austrian film, Alma and Oskar, directed by Dieter Berner, will open the festival. Red Carpet for opening film will commence at 2.00 PM at INOX-I, Panjim, followed by the screening of the film.
Polish film Krzysztof Zanussi’s Perfect Number is the closing film. Red Carpet for closing film will commence at INOX-I, Panjim at 2.00 PM on 28th November, followed by the screening of the film.
Fixation, a 2022 film set in Germany, Canada and the USA, by Mercedes Bryce Morgan is the mid-fest film.
25 feature films and 19 non-feature films from India will be showcased in the ‘Indian Panorama’ while 183 films will be a part of international programming.
The festival presents a special section for Asha Parekh, the 52nd Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, with the screening of three films, namely, Teesri Manzil, Do Badan and Kati Patang.
On the occasion of completion of 50 years of Manipuri Cinema, a specially curated package of five Feature and five Non-Feature films, curated by Manipur State Films Film Development Society, is being screened under Indian Panorama.
As an initiative to promote films from North-East India, 5 feature and 5 non-feature films, will mark golden jubilee of Manipuri cinema.
There will be special screenings of Pan Nalin’s Chello Show—The Last Film Show, India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category, and Madhur Bhandarkar’s India Lockdown.
Films from National Film Archives of India will be showcased by the NFDC in the ‘Indian Restored Classics’ section. These include Sohrab Modi’s 1957 costume drama Nausherwan-E-Adil, Ramesh Maheshwary’s 1969 National Award-winning Punjabi film Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai, K Vishwanath’s 1980 Telugu musical drama Sankarabharnam and two Satyajit Ray classics, the 1977 period drama Shatranj Ke Khiladi and the 1989 social, Ganashatru.
Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement award is being conferred on Spanish film director Carlos Saura. His daughter Anna Saura will accept the Award on behalf of the eminent filmmaker, at the opening ceremony. A retrospective of his oeuvre is being showcased at the festival.
France is the ‘Spotlight’ country and 8 films will be screened under Country Focus package.
‘Film Bazaar’ will screen some of the finest films and filmmakers in various sections. For the first time, Pavilions will make an appearance at IFFI in line with major international markets like the Marche du Cannes. This year, there will be a total of 42 Pavilions. They will house the film offices of the various state governments, the participating countries, industry players and media units from the ministry. This will also be the first time when many restored classics will be available at ‘The Viewing Room’ where one would be able to buy the rights of these films and use them at film festivals across the globe.
The festival director informed that a new Book Adaptation Program titled Books to Box Office has been introduced as an initiative to bridge the gap between good stories printed in books and good films that can be made by adapting books. Some of the best publishers are expected to be present to sell the rights of the books that can be turned into on-screen content.
Caravans will be deployed throughout Goa and movies will be screened, as an initiative to reach out to people in the villages as well.
Open air beach screening to also be carried out.
The ‘Homage’ section will include fifteen Indian and five international films.
Special attractions include Shigmotsav (Spring Festival) on 26th November and Goa Carnival on 27th November, 2022.
CBC will organise exhibition on the theme of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
FTII to conduct Smart Phone FilmMaking for individuals with Autism and Acting course for individuals using Wheel Chair.
There will be several Gala Premieres of Hindi films with their actors present to support and promote cinema. These include Paresh Rawal’s The Storyteller, Ajay Devgn and Tabu’s Drishyam 2, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon’s Bhediya and Yami Gautam’s Lost. The upcoming Telugu film, Raymo, Deepti Naval and Kalki Koechlin’s Goldfish and Randeep Hooda and Ileana D’Cruz’s Tera Kya Hoga Lovely will also be premiered at IFFI, along with an episode of OTT shows like Vadhandhi, Khakee and Fauda Season 4.
The festival director informed that the second edition of ‘75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow’, an initiative by the Ministry of Broadcasting and Information is another attraction. The number of filmmakers being recognized is symbolic of 75 years of Indian Independence.
The Festival Director told the media that 118 International film celebrities including Krzysztof Zanussi, Lav Diaz, Nadav Lapid , Jinko Gotoh , Maddie Hasson, John Lloyd Cruz, Genesis Rodriguez, Mark Osborne, Jeon Kyu hwan , Daniel Goldhaber and Natalia López Gallardo have confirmed their attendance at the festival. He informed that 221 Indian film celebrities have confirmed. They include Ajay Devgn Suniel Shetty, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon Prabhudeva Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddique, Shekhar Kapoor, Rana Daggubatti Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman, Pankaj Tripathi, Paresh Rawal Akshaye Khanna, Kalki Koechlin, Yami Goutam, Dinesh Vijan Illeana D’cruz R Balki Anupam Kher and Bhushan Kumar.
The opening ceremony will be held at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigão, Goa on November 20, 2022. The Gala Red Carpet Opening Ceremony will begin at 4.00 PM, followed by the opening ceremony which will be from 5.00 PM to 9.00 PM. The Festival Director informed that the broadcast rights for the opening ceremony have been given to a media partner, and that videographic coverage of the opening ceremony, except for the entertainment segment comprising cultural performances, will be only by the public broadcaster Doordarshan. The videographic coverage of the entertainment segment is reserved for the media partner alone; however, select video footages of the ceremony including that of the entertainment segment will be made available to the media on the same day. Still photography is permitted for the whole event. Besides, media can cover the proceedings on the Red Carpet as well.
The closing ceremony will similarly be held at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigão, Goa on November 28, 2022. The Gala Red Carpet will begin at 4.00 PM, followed by closing ceremony from 4.45 PM to 7.00 PM.
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4% quota for Muslim contractors: BJP to challenge K'taka's 'unconstitutional move' in court
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Mar 17 (PTI): The BJP on Monday termed the Karnataka government’s proposal to provide four per cent reservation to Muslims in government contracts an "unconstitutional misadventure" and said it will oppose the move at all levels, including challenging it in court, until it is rolled back.
The ruling Congress in Karnataka and the BJP hit out at each other over the issue in the Assembly.
Earlier on Friday, the Cabinet approved an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, reserving four per cent of contracts for Muslims in civil works valued up to Rs two crore and goods/services contracts up to Rs one crore.
"The BJP firmly opposes the proposed unconstitutional move and demands that the Siddaramaiah government immediately roll it back," BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who represents the Bangalore South Lok Sabha seat, told a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
He alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led government’s decision was a "calculated move" to appease Muslims, "at the direction and patronage of the Congress top leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi."
"This patently unconstitutional and prima facie illegal act will be challenged in court. The BJP will fight against the move both inside the Assembly and on the streets. We will also raise the issue in Parliament and protest outside it," Surya said.
The BJP MP said that the Karnataka government’s move is a threat to national integrity, unity, and sovereignty.
"We will fight and oppose this in the courtroom. We will take the fight to the people of Karnataka. Until this unconstitutional move is rolled back, the BJP’s fight will continue," he added.
Meanwhile, in the Karnataka Assembly, the ruling Congress and the BJP once again sparred on Monday over the budgetary provision of four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts.
The Congress rejected the BJP’s allegation that religion-based reservation is "against constitutional provisions."
Defending the reservation, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Buddhists are citizens of this country.
"We have concerns for minorities and backward communities. When the BJP says it wants to take everyone along, let it appoint Christian and Muslim ministers. Only then does BJP state president B Y Vijayendra have the right to speak about equality. Let him read the state anthem written by Kuvempu—then he will understand what makes Karnataka a peaceful garden," Shivakumar told reporters.
Hitting back at Shivakumar, Vijayendra said that it was the BJP government, not the Congress, that had appointed Dr A P J Abdul Kalam as the President of India.
"We appointed Najma Heptulla, Justice Abdul Nazeer, and Arif Mohammed Khan as governors. Musician Ustad Bismillah Khan was bestowed with the Bharat Ratna by the BJP government," Vijayendra told reporters.
According to him, Congress's appeasement politics is not new.
He questioned the Congress party’s concern for Dalits, asking where it was when its MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy’s house was "torched by Muslim hooligans".
The Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, claimed that several Supreme Court judgments have stated that there is no provision in the Constitution for religion-based reservations.
"Yet, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wore a ‘topi’ (skull cap), organised Tipu Jayanti, and introduced Shaadi Bhagya (launched in 2013, it provides financial assistance to economically backward minority women). He gave grants to Muslims beyond what they had asked for. Now, by offering four per cent reservation in contracts to Muslims, the Congress government has made an assault on Hindus," he alleged.
Ashoka argued that there had never been a religion-based contract system in Karnataka, but the government had introduced one, which could lead to conflicts between communities.
In the Karnataka Legislative Council, Leader of the Opposition, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy raised the issue.
He said that religion-based reservation is "not allowed under the Constitution."
"You have granted four per cent reservation to Muslims in contracts. We oppose religion-based reservations. I urge the government through you not to implement it," he stated.
Countering him, Congress MLA B K Hariprasad asserted that the reservation aligns with constitutional provisions.
