Whether it is the selection of films, stars who flew down to Goa or the masterclass celebrities conducted for the delegates, the 45th edition of International Film Festival of India turned out to be a perfect event for those who wanted to understand both Indian and international cinema. Read on to know the best and worst moments of IFFI 2014:
Best Moments:
Stalwarts Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth shared the dais at the opening ceremony of IFFI 2014.
Since megastar Rajinikanth was felicitated at the annual International Film Festival of India on November 20, cut outs were installed to give the viewers an insight into the event.
Superstar Rajinikanth was visibly overwhelmed when he was presented the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year at the inaugural ceremony of the 45th edition of IFFI. "I came here to receive the award, not make a speech. After Amitji's excellent speech I have no words to speak. In the past, I got the opportunity to come to Goa for at least 5/6 times but I couldn't make it. But this time, I'm so fortunate to be here. I'm honoured to receive the prestigious award from the government of India. I'm grateful to them, and dedicate the award to all my film producers, directors, technicians and fans," he said.
Indo-China Audio-Visual Co-production Agreement was signed on 18th September in presence of Indian Prime Minister and Chinese President, but its impact could only be felt at IFFI this year. Whether it was by way of Chinese films that are being screened at the ongoing festival, presence of Chinese actors and officials at the ongoing festival, or just their interest in the collaboration with India, IFFI has left no stone unturned to give adequate attention to the country in focus - China.
Gulzar's much talked-about film 'Libaas' was screened at IFFI 2014 for the first time.
Director Paresh Mokashi's 'Elizabeth Ekadashi' stirred up controversy a few days back when a right wing organisation found its title objectionable and alleged that it was sending out a wrong message to the masses. But the screening of the film at IFFI 2014 was appreciated by all movie buffs.
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur shared interesting anecdotes and experiences while holding his masterclass on 'What is creativity? How do you describe the act of creation?' at IFFI 2014
Co-ordinators at IFFI 2014, mostly students of different colleges in Goa, who had been working extra hard to clarify visitors' doubts, helped visitors go to different venues of IFFI and explained them the procedure to book movie tickets.
Filmmaker Megan Mylan conducted a masterclass at the 45th International Film Festival of India-14 on 'Making Films-Making Change'.
The festival paid tribute to British filmmaker Richard Attenborough, the maker of the popular film 'Gandhi', who passed away in August this year.
A retrospective on Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski (with eight films) was planned at IFFI.
The festival featured workshops by Swiss documentary maker Lutz Konermann, directors Jahnu Barua and Buddhadeb Dasgupta and actor Satish Kaushik.
Actress Waheeda Rehman and Malayalam and Tamil movie star Jayaram Subramaniam were the guests at the closing ceremony of the 45th International Film Festival of India.
Worst moments:
The inaugural ceremony of the 45th International Film Festival of India could have been handled and oragnised well. As reports had suggested, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth were mobbed by fans and it was difficult for foreign delegates to find their seats. The event was held at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium.
IFFI director Shankar Mohan was not invited on the stage to light the lamp at the opening ceremony. It saw the presence of lyricist Gulzar, Bachchan, Rajinikanth and Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.
Former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar who has now been appointed as union Defence Minister left fans and supporters of Rajinikanth a bit upset when he forgot to mention the megastar's name while he was mentioning the dignitaries who were present at the opening ceremony of 45th IFFI in Panaji.
Fans got into a scuffle with an usher minutes before the screening of Gulzar's 'Libaas'
With China being the nation IFFI focused on this year, a variety of Chinese films including 'Beijing Blues', 'American Dreams in China', 'Caught In The Web', 'Feng Shui' were selected for viewing. But the technical glitch during the screening of the film spoiled the experience of the fans who turned up for the morning show of 'Feng Shui' at Kala Akademi.
Comments
0 comment