52nd IFFI to give a platform to 75 creative minds
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur has announced that Istevan Szabo and Martin Scorsese will be conferred the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at 52nd International Film Festival of India in Goa. Istvan Szabo is one of the most critically acclaimed Hungarian film directors of the past few decades known for masterpieces like Mephisto (1981) Father (1966). Martin Scorsese is one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential directors in film history.
Speaking during the announcements Anurag Thakur remarked, "India is a land of story tellers; our tales have captured the imagination of the world. India's wide variety of stories rightly makes us the 'Content Subcontinent'."
The 52nd edition of India's most prestigious film festival will be held from November 20-28, 2021 in the beach state.
The Minister informed that for the first time ever, IFFI has invited major OTT players to participate at the Festival. In a first, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, Voot and Sony Liv will participate at the Film Festival through exclusive Masterclasses, content launches and previews, curated film package screenings, and various other on-ground and virtual events. Thakur said that the trend of watching movies on OTT is on the rise and IFFI is embracing new technology and providing a platform for the industry artists to interact with OTT players.
In a major announcement, Anurag Thakur said that IFFI will provide a platform to young budding talent from across India to connect with mainstream cinema filmmakers and the industry. 75 creative minds (under 35 years) will be invited to interact with industry leaders and attend Masterclasses at the festival. These youngsters will be selected through competition for young filmmakers from around the country. The competition aims to provide a platform to 75 young filmmakers, actors, singers, scriptwriters, and others to showcase their talent at a globally recognized event.
The last date to submit applications online is October 30, 2021. Detailed guidelines to be followed while submitting films for the '75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow', along with the application form is available on www.dff.gov.in and www.iffi.org.
Thakur also announced that for the first time ever, films from five BRICS nations will be showcased through the BRICS Film Festival alongside IFFI. The five countries viz.e. Brazil, Russia, South Africa, China and India are also the Focus Countries of the 52nd IFFI.
The 52nd IFFI will pay homage to Dilip Kumar, Sumitra Bhave, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Sanchari Vijay, Surekha Sikri, Jean-
Paul Belmondo, Bertrand Tavenier, Christopher Plummer.
