54th International Film Festival of India to kick start in Goa today

The 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is set to commence on November 20 at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Goa.

The festival will have 13 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres, 62 Asia premieres, and 89 India Premieres. Union minister for information and broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur, who will inaugurate the festival. It will start with the screening of the British film ‘Catching Dust’, a movie that narrates the tale of a wife seeking to leave her criminal husband.

A total of 2,926 entries from 105 countries were received, which is three times the international submissions last year. Talking of international presence this year, Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, known for movies like The Sentinel, The American President and Disclosure, will be honoured with the prestigious Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award. Spanish filmmaker-writer Carlos Saura was feted with the Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award during the 53rd edition of IFFI.

Actors Madhuri Dixit, Shahid Kapoor, Shriya Saran, Nushrat Bharucha, Pankaj Tripathi and composer-musician Shantanu Moitra; and singers Shreya Ghoshal and Sukhwinder Singh will perform at the opening ceremony. From Hollywood star Catherine Zeta Jones to Bollywood heartthrobs Salman Khan, Vidya Balan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Vicky Kaushal, Siddharth Malhotra, Aditi Rao Hydari and music directors AR Rahman and Amit Trivedi will attend the event. The festival will open with an international screening of film “Catching Dust”, by award-winning British filmmaker Stuart Gatt.

Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, known for movies like The Sentinel, The American President and Disclosure, will be honoured with the prestigious Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award.

(With inputs from agencies)