52nd Intl Film Festival of India begins in Goa

52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is all set to kick off today with a glittering opening ceremony. The opening ceremony will be hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Manish Paul. The opening ceremony will witness Salman Khan and Ranveer Singh, along with actors Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia Deshmukh, and Shraddha Kapoor. This year, the brightest, young cinematic personalities from across India will be participating in the ’75 creative minds of tomorrow’ competition.

Martin Scorsese and Istevan Szabo will be honoured with Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award. The two towering figures of international cinema will make their presence virtually at the inaugural ceremony. ‘The King of all the World’ directed by Carlos Saura will be the Opening Film and this will also be the film’s international premiere. As many as 55 films across the world will be showcased under the World Panorama Section. The International Film Competition will be adjudged by an international jury with Chairperson Iranian filmmaker Rakhshān Banietemad.

The festival comes in the wake of a somber year marred by the COVID pandemic. The organizing team has announced that homage would be paid to the lives lost from the world of cinema. Actor Puneeth Rajkumar, who recently lost his life would be honoured along with legendary actors like Dilip Kumar and filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta among others. The nine-day film festival, being organized in both hybrid and virtual formats, is being held in Goa between the 20th to 28th of November.