Suriya taking part in the closing ceremony IFFI

Looks like the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa is roping in celebrities from different industries to make their 42nd year of celebrations an extravagant one. While Shah Rukh Khan will flag off the 10-day ceremony (November 23 to December 3), Tamil actor Suriya will be taking part in the closing ceremony.

“We needed celebrities who have a wide presence across the county. While Shah Rukh will formally announce the festival, Suriya will take part in the closing ceremony. IFFI is going to be completely different this year and is sure to excite the audiences,” says Shankar Mohan, IFFI director.

Organised by the Government of India, in association with the state government of Goa, the IIFI is an endeavour to understand the various social and cultural ethos through the eyes of cinema. With an inherent theme of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (The whole world is one family), the festival harps on its innovative techniques, a dedicated team of experts and a line-up of the best creative minds from across the world to be a part of this.

Speaking about the distinctive features, he says, “We are moving into a more eco-friendly festival, keeping in mind the green revolution. It will be more of a people-friendly festival and we are going to have public screening for the first time. We will be screening movies based on soccer, as that is the passion for Goa, in an auditorium which has a capacity of about 2,000 people.” They have also roped in art director and production designer Thota Tharani in the panel, as well as inviting him to do the creatives this time. “The organisers are adding cutting-edge technologies and we are slowly shifting to 3D. There will be a summit of 2D and 3D films, where the viewing experience will be a different one. We have a separate section for animation, and for films for young India,” explains Shankar.

Around 65 countries will be participating in this festival along with a retrospective of ace-filmmaker K Balachandar and a Rabindranath Tagore tribute informs Shankar. “We have also revived our Lifetime Achievement Award, and will be giving it to a noted French film-maker this year. In the Indian film segment, a lot of south Indian films, as well asfilms in other languages like Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, will be screened,” he says. All in all, the festival is truly going to be an extravagant one, we agree!