During the 9-day film festival, 280 films from 79 countries were screened. 25 feature and 20 non feature films from India were showcased in the India Panorama. 183 films were part of the international programming. This year we also celebrated 50 years of Manipur in cinema with the screening of 5 Manipuri films including ‘The Chosen One.’

The 53rd International Film Festival concluded in Goa on November 28, 2022 with a colorful closing ceremony at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium. The ceremony was attended by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Bollywood celebrities such asAjay Devgn, Ayushman Khurana, Esha Gupta, Anand L. Rai, Manushi Chhillar, Rana Duggubati, and the Dadasaheb Phalke winner Asha Parekh, were among those who attended the closing ceremony. The creators of the popular Israeli show Fauda, Lior Raz and Avi, were also present on the occasion.Ayushmann Khurrana performed on songs from his upcoming movie ‘An Action Hero.’ Telugu Star Chiranjeevi was awarded the Indian film personality of the year on the occasion. The closing film of this festival was the Polish film ‘Perfect Number’, directed by Krzysztof Zanussi.

On the final day of the festival a huge controversy broke out when the Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, the jury chairman of the International Competition section of IFFI, called Indian filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files ‘propaganda’ and ‘vulgar.’ In response, the Israel ambassador to India Naor Gilon launched a scathing attack on Lapid for his incendiary remarks. Responding to Lapid’s remarks, his fellow jury member and filmmaker Sudipto Sen explained, “As members of the jury it is our job to judge the technical, aesthetic quality, and socio-cultural relevance of a film. We are not supposed to indulge in making any kind of political comments on any film. But, if something like that happens that then doesn’t reflect the opinion of the jury. The comment has to be taken completely in a personal capacity, for it doesn’t have anything to do with the esteemed Jury Board.”

During the 9-day film festival, 280 films from 79 countries were screened. 25 feature and 20 non feature films from India were showcased in the India Panorama. 183 films were part of the international programming. This year we also celebrated 50 years of Manipur in cinema with the screening of 5 Manipuri films including ‘The Chosen One.’ A highly interactive Film Technology Exhibition was also hosted as part of the 53^rd IFFI. Various cameras, lights and various other equipment used in the filmmaking were exhibited during the festival. One of the major attractions of IFFI this year were the pavilions of more than 13 Indian states on the lines of Cannes Marché du Film, including those of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, and participating countries such as Russia and France. New York-based Emmy-nominated filmmaker Tirlok Malik was amongst the leading international filmmakers to visit the various state and country pavilions stationed at the NFDC Film Bazaar held at the Marriott Goa. “I keep visiting India as regardless of wherever I live in the whole world my roots arehere. Coming to IFFI is always very special as one gets to meet fellow filmmakers and so it’s always very stimulating for the mind,” rejoiced Malik who was particularly impressed with the pavilions from the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjabas well as the pavilions from Russia and France. “I had very good conversations about film development and production with the respective representatives at the pavilion such asMr. Saurabh Vijay, Secretary, Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Maharashtra, Dr. Avinash Dhakne, Managing Director, MFSCDC Ltd,Shri Dinesh Kumar Sahgal Deputy Director, Film Bandhu, Uttar Pradesh Govt.,Mr.Sarfaraz Alam Safu, Indian Representative, Roskino, Russian Federation,and Mr. Henri Prévost-Allard from Saint-Tropez, France, among others,” added Malik.

“Over the years, I have had the pleasure of visiting the biggest film festivals in the US, Europe, Asia and elsewhere. And I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I tell you that visiting IFFI this year has been one of my best festival experiences ever. Kudos to the Honorable Minister Shri Anurag Thakur, NFDC MD Sh. Ravinder Bhakar and the entire team at NFDC for the various newinitiatives, such as the inclusion of the regional and international pavilions on the lines of the Cannes Film Market.I strongly feel that this will go a long way in making IFFI one of the biggest and most important festivalsin the world,”opined Malik. Noted Indian critic and author who also visited the state and country pavilions at the IFFI 2022 alongside Malik touched upon the great association that India and Russia have shared over the many decades. “Russia has a rich legacy of cinema and the relationship between India and Russian on the cinematic front dates back to the times of Raj Kapoor. His popularity in Russia even surpassed the presidents. And an entire generation of Russians has grown up dancing to the tunes of Mithun Chakraborty’s famous dance number ‘I am a Disco Dancer.’ So, I feel that Russia Pavilion is a good initiative. Russia was also the guest country at IFFI a few years ago,” explained Rai who has been running a festival of Indian films in Russia called the Indian Film Festival Moscow since 2012. Emphasizing upon Indo-Russia co-productions, Roskino’s Indian representative is Sarfaraz Alam Safu added, “The India-Russia coproduction treaty dates back to 1993. Presently, many Russian companies want to come to India for shooting as well as to explore various possibilities for collaborations.”

Award-winning Indian filmmaker Suraj Kumar whose film about Tagore’s time in Argentina ‘Thinking of Him,’ was the closing film at the 2017 IFFI feels that initiatives such as the Russia Pavilion open up possibilities for film collaborations. “This has been my first experience of the Russia Pavilion at IFFI Goa. However, I have been regularly visiting the Russia Pavilion at the CannesFilm Festival. But the kind of content that they have brought to India as part of the pavilion is really amazing. I feel that it can be showcased on Indian television, OTT platforms, etc. after being dubbed into the various Indian languages. It’s really a beautiful pavilion that they have come up with,” opined Kumar whose short film about the spiritual awakening of Shri Aurobindo was screened in over 150 countries by the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India earlier in the year.

Film Bandhu is committed to make Uttar Pradesh a major film hub in the world.“As per the instructions of the Honorable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh we have devised a film policy for the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The idea is to offer various benefits to filmmakers who want to come to UP to shoot their films whether from different parts of India or abroad. In order to facilitate this, we have created a single window system wherein you can take the shooting permission online as well as apply for subsidy online. You are not even required to physically come to the Film Bandhu Office. Also, we are developing a Film City in Noida which will have world-class infrastructure. It will be spread across an area of 1000 acres. And next to the Film City an airport is also being constructed and it will have connectivity to the whole world. So, the filmmakers need not go to Delhi first. They can directly come to Noida and start shooting and once finished can go back directly with the finished product in their hard disk,” explained Dinesh Kumar Sahgal, Deputy Director, Film Bandhu, UP Govt.

Amit Sharma, Senior Producer at Doordarshan, shared his excitement to be back in Goa for IFFI 2022. “There is always a scope for improvement and with each passing year we have seen IFFI go from a position of strength to strength. Take, for example, the case of the ’75 Creative Minds,’ which is now in its second year, I think that it’s a wonderful initiative just like a lot of other new initiatives,” averred Sharma. National Award-winning critic and senior journalist Giridhar Jha who was attending the 53^rd IFFI was happy to be back on ground after the hiatus imposed by the pandemic. “A big booster dose to cinema though India’s eyes that it desperately needed after  a two-year disrupter called COVID-19, with a fest of movies from all across the globe on the platter for the film buffs of all kinds, and, of course, everything else on IFFI’s electrifying sidelines. I&B Ministry and, above all, NFDC deserve kudos for pulling it off,” signed off Jha.

(Murtaza Ali Khan is an Indian Film & TV Critic / Journalist who has been covering the world of entertainment for over 10 years. He tweets at @MurtazaCritic and can be mailed at: murtaza.jmi@gmail.com).