IFFI begins with Chinese period drama 'Wheat'

Wheat the story of two warring Chinese dynasties set in 260 BC, opened the 40th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) with veteran actress Waheeda Rehman being the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony here today.

Directed by filmmaker He Ping, the film explores the period when China was mired in a long and bloody war between the Qin and the Zhao kingdoms.

The inaugural ceremony was held at Kala Academy in the presence of  information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni, chief minister Digambar Kamat and Bollywood actress Asin, who assisted the dignitaries in lighting the ceremonial lamp.

Over 6000 delegates from around the world are expected to attend the festival with Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley  scheduled to arrive for the second half of IIFI.

The top award of the festival,the 'Golden Peacock' for the Best Film in the 'Competition section', carries a cash prize of Rs 40 lakh, while the Silver Peacock for best director has a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh. The special jury award is worth Rs15 lakh.

Popular sections in the film programming include competitions for feature films from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Cinema of the World, Tributes, Homages, Retrospectives, Country Focus films, Indian Panorama and specially curated sections.

The 'Cinema of the World' section this year will showcase more than 55 films from around 47 countries.  Atanu Ghosh's Bengali film Angshumaner Chhobi and Satish Manwar's Marathi film Gabricha Paus are competing for the top prize along with films from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Iran, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Argentina.

The competition jury is headed by noted director from Brazil Joao Batista de Andrade. Other members include Vic Sarin (Canada), Kenichi Okubu (Tokyo), Sarika (India) and Jean-Michel Frodon (France).

Films from Croatia, Estonia, Italy, and Poland will be screened under the 'Country Focus' section. Films of Gurinder Chadha, Nonzee Nimibutr, Roland Reber and Manoel de Oliveira will be screened under 'Foreign Retrospectives'. A special section will showcase renowned French films.

The Indian Section at IFFI-2009 would be under nine different segments with screening of 77 films. The Indian Panorama at IFFI 2009 would present a bouquet of 44 films, 26 feature films and 18 non-feature films.

The Indian screenings would also feature golden jubilee retros of Asha Parekh - Dile De Ke Dekho & Kati Patang (Hindi), Sharmila Tagore - Apur Sansar (Bengali) & Viruddh (Hindi) and Saumitra Chatterjee - Apur Sansar, Angshumaner Chhobi (Bengali), for completing 50 years in cinema.

The Tribute Section would offer homage to 13 film personalities who passed away after IFFI 2008 namely - Nabendu Chatterjee, Prakash Mehra, Gulshan Bawra, Leela Naidu, Shakti Samanta, Feroz Khan, Murali, AK Lohitadas, Rajan P Dev, Nilu Phule, Bhaskar Chandavarkar, R Lakshman and Nagesh.  Seventy five years of Assamese Cinema will also be celebrated by a special section featuring five films.

A new venture this year, a separate section "Goa as Celluloid Destination" has been added.  For the first time, 'Spoof Cinema' gets an international platform with the screening of two films - Yeh Hai Malegaon Ka Superman and Gabbarbhai MBBS.

The Indian Premier Section will showcase a selection of eight films including And Once Again by Amol Palekar, Red Alert: The War Within by Ananth Mahadevan, God Lives in the Himalayas by Sanjay Srinivas, Shahrukh Bola Khoobsoorat Hai by Makrand Deshpande and Zagor by Sangramsinh Gaikwad.

National Film Development Corporation will organise a Film Bazaar on the sidelines of IFFI from November 24-26. Similarly, the Confederation of Indian Industry will organise a day-long seminar on strengthening domestic film business and intellectual property rights tomorrow.

The coastal state of Goa is hosting the festival for the sixth year after being declared as the permanent venue for IFFI in 2004.

The state wears a festive look with IFFI flags decorating the roads and food-stalls being housed along the promenade opposite the venue. The local artists are planning to showcase glimpses into the life and culture of Goa through the festival.