Stage all set for Iffi 2009

PANAJI: Come Monday and the curtains will rise on the 40th edition of the International Film Festival of India (Iffi), the longest-running film extravaganza of the country. Graded in the `A' category by the Paris-based Federation International de Producers de Films, the 11-day-long festival promises to enthral filmmakers and enthusiasts alike, said director of film festivals S M Khan at a press conference at Panaji on Saturday.

While listing the events scheduled for Iffi '09, chief minister Digambar Kamat said that the inaugural ceremony has been scheduled for Monday evening at the Kala Academy, Panaji, and will be graced by veteran film actor Waheeda Rahman as chief guest and popular South Indian actress Asin Thottumkal as a special guest. Union minister for information and broadcasting Ambika Soni will also be present. `Wheat', a Chinese film depicting the long and bloody war between the ancient Chinese states Qin and Zhao, has been chosen as the opening film of the festival. The festival will be inaugurated at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, on Tuesday.

In a joint initiative by the ESG and the Directorate of Film Festivals, a separate section called `Goa as a celluloid destination' will be included. This segment will screen eight films of various languages which have been shot in Goa in the past, in a bid to promote the shooting of films in the state.

More than 55 films from around 47 countries will be screened in the Cinema of the World section. A specialized competition for feature films from Asia, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa will also be organized. Two Indian entries, Atanu Ghosh's Bengali film `Angshumaner Chobbi' and Satish Manwar's Marathi film `Gabricha Paus' have been selected in the competition segment among 13 other films from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Iran, Mexico, Peru, the Phillippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Argentina. Movies by UK-based director Gurinder Chadha will be screened in the Foreign Retrospectives section.

There will be nine different segments devoted to Indian cinema. In all, 77 films will be screened. `Paltadcho Monis', a Konkani film by award-winning Goan director Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, will open the Indian Panorama segment wherein 26 feature films and 18 non-feature films will be screened. The Indian Premier section will showcase eight films including `God lives in the Himalayas' by Sanjay Srinivas, and `Red Alert: The War Within' by Ananth Mahadevan. There will also be special sections devoted to golden jubilee retrospectives and tributes to film personalities who have passed away.

The film festival will conclude on December 3 with the award of the golden and silver peacocks for the best film and best director respectively, and the special jury awards. The Vasudha award and the golden and silver lamp tree awards will be given to movies selected in the short film segment. Malayalam movie star Mammootty will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony, while the Spanish movie `Broken Promises' will be the closing film.