46th edition of IFFI opens in Goa

An unseasonal shower failed to dampen the inauguration of the 46th edition of the worldwide Film Festival of India, which opened in Goa Friday, even as a couple of FTII students staged a minor protest during the ceremony, before being escorted out of the venue.

“Film festivals of Berlin or Cannes are geographically identified and therefore it has become customary to make them as centres where creativity assembles”, said Jaitley, adding, “Similarly, there cannot be a better synergy than good cinema and Goa; the place combines entertainment, quality and recreation, and this year’s version of IFFI adds something to it”.

Students also claimed none of the students who were at the forefront of the strike were permitted to attend the event by the institute.

The opening ceremony witnessed a slight hiccup when two protesters, believed to be FTII students, raised anti-festival slogans demanding the removal of Gajendra Chauhan, from the stands. The protesters were removed from the venue by security guards and are known to have been taken to police station.

Witnesses said that the students were beaten up by the police when they were detained in the presence of the Union Ministers.

When asked, IFFI 2015 director C. Senthil Rajan expressed his ignorance on the matter. An acrobatic performance choreographed by Terence Lewis had the responsive crowd break into a thunderous applause in appreciation, setting the right mood for the ten-day film festival hosted by Goa starting November 20, 2015. He said that there could not be a better opportunity than a Film Festival to celebrate the excellence of cinema. The National Award winning actor, who has completed four decades in film career, quoted master filmmakers Jean-Luc Godard, Martin Scorsese and Satyajit Ray to illustrate diverse definitions of the art of cinema, before he chose to shake a leg on stage acknowledging the crowd’s calling. He danced to the 1989 song “My Name is Lakhan” and “Welcome”.

But the most special part of IFFI 2015 was Music composer Ilayaraja receiving Centenary Award from actor Anil Kapoor. He was honoured by the entire audience by a standing ovation.

He also introduced the team of worldwide juries, who would select the winners of Golden and Silver Peacocks of IFFI after watching all the global entries. Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT), Paris and Unesco, the festival will present the ICFT-Unesco Fellini Prize to a film that reflects the ideals of peace, tolerance, nonviolence and friendship.