A star-studded line-up is set to attend the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which will be inaugurated by superstar Shah Rukh Khan and closed by Salman Khan.
Actors Katrina Kaif and Shahid Kapoor will also be present at the inauguration, which will be held on Monday at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium in Bambolim, near Panaji, the capital of the western Indian state of Goa.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will be present at the event.
Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with the Indian Film Personality of the Year Award at the event, while Canadian director Atom Egoyan will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Directorate of Film Festival (DFF) and Goa government’s Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) are organising the festival, which will be held at two venues — Kala Academy and Maquinez Palace.
The organisers said 195 films from across 82 countries will be screened, including 10 world premieres, 10 Asian and international premieres and more than 64 Indian premieres.
Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s new film Beyond The Clouds will open IFFI.
The event will conclude on November 28 with the world premiere of Indo-Argentinian co-production Thinking of Him, directed by Pablo Cesar.
“The closing ceremony will be graced by noted actor Salman Khan. This in addition to a galaxy of noted industry professionals, international guests, dignitaries and film celebrities who will attend the festival,” the organisers said in a statement.
Actress Sridevi will inaugurate the Indian Panorama section of the festival on November 21.
On the same day, IFFI 2017 Country Focus on Canada will be celebrated with a red carpet opening in the presence of noted Canadian actors and celebrities.
The segment has been organised in association with the government of Canada in collaboration with Telefilm Canada, curated by the Toronto International Film Festival.
In the international competition section of IFFI, which carries a cumulative cash prize of more than Rs10 million (Dh565,440), 15 films will be showcased.
The international competition jury will be headed by filmmaker-poet Muzaffar Ali. The other jury members are director Maxine Williamson from Australia, actor-director Tzahi Grad from Isreal, Russian cinematographer Vladislav Opelyants, and director and production designer Roger Christian from the United Kingdom.
“This edition of the festival will also be presenting films from a record number of women filmmakers in addition to a carefully curated section of restored classics from across the globe, which include the recently completed restorations of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Tarkovsky’s Sacrifice, among some other notable films,” the organisers said.
IFFI will also present a specially curated section celebrating the most loved film spy — James Bond.
The segment will showcase nine films featuring various leading actors who have essayed the iconic character.
Additionally, the festival will present four movies from young filmmakers.
