NEW DELHI: The 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will begin in Goa on November 20 with a strong focus on innovation, inclusivity, and international collaboration.
This year’s edition will introduce two new initiatives—the first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Film Festival and a Hackathon—aimed at exploring the growing link between cinema and technology. Superstar Rajinikanth will be felicitated at the closing ceremony for completing 50 years in cinema.
Centenary tributes will be paid to filmmakers Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, P. Bhanumathi, Bhupen Hazarika, and Salil Chowdhury, with screenings of Musafir, Subarnarekha, and a restored Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani.
The festival will also host 21 masterclasses and panels featuring Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Aamir Khan, Anupam Kher, Ravi Varman, Suhasini Maniratnam, Sreekar Prasad, and others, covering topics from editing and acting in the digital era to sustainability in film.
More than 240 films from 81 countries will be screened during the nine-day festival. The line-up includes 13 world premieres, four international premieres, and 46 Asian premieres. Over 50 women directors have their films featured this year, highlighting the government’s efforts to promote Nari Shakti in cinema.
In a break from tradition, there will be no formal inauguration ceremony. Instead, a grand parade through Panaji will mark the opening, featuring tableaux from leading production houses, state governments, and cultural troupes from across the country.
Joint Secretary (Films) in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ajay Nagabhushan, said the festival had received a record 2,314 submissions from 127 countries. “This shows IFFI’s growing prominence on the global festival circuit,” he said.
At a curtain raiser in New Delhi, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan announced that OTT awards would continue this year to honour excellence in web and streaming content. He said steps were being taken to strengthen anti-piracy laws and simplify film certification. The Central Board of Film Certification’s upcoming Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat certificate for multi-language films would promote India’s cultural unity, he said.
Ministry Secretary Sanjay Jaju said Indian cinema continued to make a strong impact overseas. “Indian films are outperforming Hollywood releases at the Australian box office,” he noted. Festival Director Shekhar Kapur said India remained both the world’s largest film-making and film-watching nation. “Storytelling builds understanding and peace across cultures,” he said. “The Film Bazaar is a movement empowering young creators through technology.”