PNN
New Delhi [India], November 30: The 54th edition of International Film Festival of India ended on a high note with one of the top Hollywood actors Michael Douglas, his actress wife Catherine Zeta Jones and stalwarts from various film industries from across the globe attending one of the oldest film festivals of South Asia.
The Persian film ‘Endless Borders’ by Abbas Amini won the Golden Peacock Award for best film and Michael Douglas was honoured with Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award, while ‘Drift’ by Anthony Chen received the ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal.
Rishab Shetty’s Kantara won the special jury mention and Deepak Mishra’s Panchayat 2 got the best series in the OTT section which was the new addition in this year’s IFFI.
The participation this year was much higher with more than 13000 delegates attending the festival. The information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur announced the hike in incentives for foreign films with added perks if India is highlighted in it.
The biggest achievement was the third edition of 75 creative minds where 20 talents got placed in various industry firms.
The entire south film industry was represented with all top actors making their presence felt on the red carpet.
Vijay Sethupati not only had the premiere of his film Gandhi Talks but conducted a masterclass with film enthusiasts.
Malayalam cinema had one of its biggest stars Unni Mukkudan of Malikappuram fame walking the red carpet.
Rishabh Shetty whose Kantara was screened was also present at the closing ceremony.
Telugu superstar Naga Chaitanya walked the red carpet for his series Dhoota being screened as part of the gala premiere.
There were 23 masterclasses and in conversation session this year while 9 gala premieres took place with over 75 red carpet walks.
Some of the other prominent names present this year were Filmmakers Brillante Mendoza, Director, Palme d’Or winner, Philippines Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Director, Palme d’Or winner, Turkey, Hugh Welchman, Director, Oscar Nominee, UK, James Madio, Actor, USA Jaya Ahsan, Actress & Producer, Bangladesh Diman Zandi, Actress and indian filmmakers like Vetrimaran, Shoojit Sircar, T S Nagabharana, Shekhar Kapur, Vipul Shah and Rajkumar Santoshi to name a few.
The growing stature of IFFI in the global film festival circuit became evident with nearly 3000 film entries being received for the international section, a growth of 3 times from last year.
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