Amaran

Source: Raajkamal Films International

‘Amaran’

The long-running International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will operate this year with a renewed commitment to inclusivity and diversity, Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of information and broadcasting, said on Friday (Nov 7).

Underlining that point, the festival named Brazilian sci-fi drama The Blue Trail, which picked up the Silver Bear award earlier this year in Berlin, as its opening title. Festival organisers described Gabriel Mascaro’s film as “a quiet manifesto on freedom, dignity, and the right to dream”.

IFFI will be held at multiple venues across Goa from November 20-28. The renamed Waves Film Bazaar industry event is held adjacently between November 20-24.

In total, the sprawling festival will play 240 films – of which 160 are international titles – arranged as 15 competitive and curated segments. These include an international competition, Indian Panorama, Cinema of the World, and special segments Macabre Dreams, Docu-Montage, Experimental Films, Unicef and restored classics.

Indian Panorama, the showcase section for local works, is headed by Amaran, a Tamil-language biographical action film about an army major who was killed in a counter-terrorism operation in 2014. The section comprises 25 feature films and 20 non-feature works.

With Japan set as the country of focus, IFFI has selected six Japanese feature titles. These include Kokuho, Japan’s candidate in the Oscars’ best international feature category, and Two Seasons, Two Strangers, a determinedly minimalist art film by Miyake Sho that won the Golden Leopard in Locarno in August.

Oscar contenders

IFFI selectors said they had chosen 21 films that are in Oscar contention and played up its role as a festival of festivals. Among the international titles set to play in Goa are: Jafar Panahi’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner It Was Just An Accident; Jim Jarmusch’s Venice Golden Lion winner Father Mother Sister Brother; Berlin Golden Bear winner Dreams (Sex Love); and Busan festival winner Gloaming In Luomu.

Other prize-winning titles selected include Oliver Laxe’s Sirât, Ivan Fund’s The Message, Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice and Igor Bezinovic’s Fiume o Morte!.

Evidence of the festival’s commitment to diversity and newness, organisers said, comes from the selection of more than 50 films made by women directors and a similar number from first-time directors.

The film that is named as best debut from India will receive a cash prize of $64,000, payable to the director. Five web series will also be in the mix, with the best receiving a cash prize of $128,000, to be shared among creators and producers.

While the accent is on newness, India’s film heritage will not be ignored. Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, P. Bhanumathi, Bhupen Hazarika and Salil Chowdhury will all be celebrated with performances of their career highlights.

Living icons including superstar actor and producer Aamir Khan, cinematographer Ravi Varman, actor Bobby Deol and film editor Sreekar Prasad will participate in the festival’s series of masterclasses.

South Indian legend Rajinikanth will also be feted for his 50 years in cinema at the festival’s closing ceremony.

Topics