International Film Festival of India begins Nov 20 in Goa: Key details

As many as 270 movies would be screened during the 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which will be inaugurated on November 20 at an indoor stadium in Bambolim near here in Goa.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the opening ceremony of the nine-day-long film festival will be held at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium at Bambolim at 5 pm. He said the infrastructure for hosting the multi-venue festival, where a total of 270 films would be screened, was "99 per cent" ready and some final touches were being given. Sawant informed that 198 international films would be screened at the event of which 13 would be premiered.

The chief minister said all the festival venues would be accessible for differently abled delegates. Sawant said the newly inaugurated Kala Academy building in Panaji will host master classes and other events, but there will be no screening of films at the refurbished venue. The CM said different programmes showcasing Goan flavour and culture would be organised at the Mandovi promenade in Panaji and they would be open for non-delegates too. Open air screening of movies would be held at popular spots like Miramar Beach, Ravindra Bhavan (Margao) and Anjuna beach, he stated. Sawant said there were 20 entries of Goan films for the IFFI of which seven were selected for screening by a jury.