The 55th edition of IFFI (International Film Festival of India), Goa, organised by the NFDC (National Film Development Corporation) and ESG (Entertainment Society of Goa), concluded with the Lithuanian film, Toxic, winning the prestigious Golden Peacock award.
This year IFFI spread its wings as movies were also screened at Inox Margao and Magic Moviez theatre in Ponda. This move gave film buffs from South Goa a chance to enjoy the festival.
But, many delegates felt that this was announced a bit late, and thus failed to get as many delegates as other venues of IFFI.
ALL ABOUT MOVIES
The quality of any film festival depends on its movies. According to artistic director and head of programming for the 55th IFFI, Pankaj Saxena, this year’s IFFI had 320 films from 81 countries and 40 films were screened in a day.
These included acclaimed films like The Room Next Door (2024) by Pedro Almodóvar, which won the Golden Lion at Venice; Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light (2024), which is the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival; while Black Dog (2024) directed by Guan Hu, is the winner of the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes.
Another one worth mentioning is The New Year That Never Came (2024), a Romanian historical tragicomedy film written and directed by Bogdan Mureșanu, which won the Best Director Award at IFFI 2024. Then there’s Meeting with Pol Pot (2024) directed by Rithy Panh, which is about the political situation in Cambodia in the 1970s from the perspective of three French journalists.
There’s also Red Path (2024) by Tunisian director Lotfi Achour which is about the crime and horrors that the young shepherds face in the mountain region of Tunisia.
Dry Season (2024), directed by Bohdan Sláma which focuses on pressing environmental issues told through a family drama was a fitting film to conclude the festival.
This year, like many years before, the Indian Panorama section was disappointing. It failed to showcase the best of Indian films, especially independent films.
Also, this year, there were quite a few documentaries such as The Falling Sky by Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha, which was about the Amazonian Yanomami people and how mining and other activities hamper their survival.
Other documentaries worth mentioning are Mistress Dispeller by Elizabeth Lo (about a Chinese marriage going through an infidelity crisis); On Melting Snow by Mojtaba Bahadori (which is about the Earth’s changing landscape through the eyes of artist Sophie Cauvin's work).
This year, like many years before, the Indian Panorama section was disappointing. It failed to showcase the best of Indian films, especially independent films.
Like last year, this year too, there were many films which were already released in theatres or are easily available on streaming platforms.
This year, for the first time, there was Indian Language sign interpretation at the main events and also at press conferences.
Some worth mentioning are Manipuri film Boong directed by Lakshmipriya Devi. Also the Marathi movie, Raavsaaheb (2024) by Nikhil Mahajan (about conflict between man and nature). The others were the Ladakhi movie Be-qayaam by Maisam Ali; and Kannada non-feature movie, Sunflower Were First to Know by Chidananda S Naik.
Both movies were also screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
One of the popular sections of IFFI is Restored Classics. This year it showcased movies like Kaliya Mardan (1919), directed by Dadasaheb Phalke with live music by Satyaki Banerjee and team.
HITS AND MISSES OF 55TH IFFI
The overall experience of this year’s IFFI was quite satisfactory, and it is always a delight to watch movies in a place like Goa. This year, for the first time, there was Indian Language sign interpretation at the main events and also at press conferences. This is a welcome move.
Also worth appreciating is this year’s IFFI décor. The ‘eco-friendly’ decor looked simple, yet elegant, and showcased the art and craft of India.
Using movie posters as part of the décor all along DB Road was interesting and offered the public a glimpse into the films featured at IFFI.
This year, the volunteers or the ushers, who diligently scanned our cards and bags were warm and welcoming. They answered queries patiently, unlike the rude behaviour of the bouncers which was experienced a couple of years ago.
However, like any other event, there are some issues which need to be looked into. The first is the scheduling. Since movies were also screened at Margao and Ponda, this time, the repeat screening at the same venue was limited and many movies had no repeat screenings.
At Inox Porvorim, the screening of the movie, Be Qayyam was not held even though it was shown on the ticket. It was supposed to shown after the screening of the non-feature film.
This year, there were no Day Delegate passes. Such passes are a welcome move especially for working people since they can’t attend the festival on all days.
Currently, since there were no rush lines (a queue for delegates who do not have a booking for a movie), many seats were vacant especially for movies which showed as ‘houseful’ on the app.
Many delegates felt the need for a rush line and to make IFFI more delegate-friendly since the whole idea of any film festival is to allow delegates to watch movies in the first place.