42nd edition of IFFI kicks off tomorrow in Goa

The curtains on the 42nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will go up tomorrow after actor Shah Rukh Khan flags off the film extravaganza.

Contrary to the conventional venue, the inauguration ceremony of the ten-day festival will be held at 1000-seat Ravindra Bhavan complex in Margaon, 40 km from here.

Portuguese film The Consul of Bordeaux will be showcased as the opening movie of the event.

IFFI Director Shankar Mohan said the festival would showcase the best of Indian culture and cinema of the world bringing in the global sensibilities to the Indian shores.

For a first, the festival will have a special section devoted to 3D films and animations.

Among many programmes to be unveiled during the jamboree are premiers of the world films, homage to stalwarts, special orientation lectures by the professionals from the world of marquee among others, Mohan said.

The Entertainment Society of Goa's (ESG) Chief Executive Officer Manoj Srivastava said that apart from the movies, the festival will also host a section on documentaries which will bring in the makers of short films face-to-face with film students and enthusiasts.

The Indian panorama section will kick off with screening of the Malayalam film Urumi and has in store eclectic multi-lingual movies.

The retrospective section will showcase works of the acclaimed film personalties like French film director Luc Besson and his Australian counterpart Phil Noyce.

Besson would be coming to India especially to attend the closing ceremony and interact with the Indian audience, the organisers said.

Mohan said special spotlight will be on the films from the US like Corman's World and Chevolution, Polish films, Made in Poland and My Name is Ki, Russian classics, Uncle Vanya and The Mirror and European movies like She Monkeys and A Quiet Life.

Goa became the permanent IFFI venue since 2004 after the event was shifted to the coastal state from Delhi.