FILM '4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS' (ROMANIA) TO OPEN IFFI-2007
* SHAHRUKH KHAN TO BE CHIEF GUEST AT INAUGURAL. *HUNGARIAN FILM MAKER MARTA MAZAROS HEADS COMPETITION JURY
PIB, Nov 14, New Delhi: The Palme D' OR winner of Cannes 2007- titled `Four Months, 3 weeks and 2 days' would be the opening film at International Film Festival of India - 2007 (IFFI-2007), which will be inaugurated on November 23, 2007 in Goa. This was stated by Director, DFF, Smt. Neelam Kapur while addressing a press conference here today. The opening ceremony would be simple and elegant and keeping with international standards she added. Noted film actor Shahrukh Khan will be the Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony which will be attended by Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri P. R. Dasmunsi and Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Digambar Kamat besides several important film personalities. The inaugural lamp will be lit with the assistance of Priyamani, the rising star of southern cinema. The Director of the opening film Mr. Cristian Mungiu and the main actress, Anamaria Marinca would be present at the inaugural ceremony. Besides, there would be other foreign delegates representing various international film festivals from Netherlands, China, Poland and Mexico. A major delegation from Poland and China will also be present.
Smt. Kapur said, Indian Panorama at IFFI - 2007 would present a bouquet of 36 films, 21 features and 15 non-feature films. The package is a mixed bag with stalwarts like Budhadeb Dasgupta and Adoor Gopalakrishnan presenting two films each. The section would have Ami Iyasin Aar Amaar Madhubala (The Voueurs- Feature) and Naushad Ali - the Melody Continues (Non Feature) by Budhadeb Dasgupta and Naalu Penunungal (Four Women - Feature) and The Dance of the Enchantress (Non Feature) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
The debut directors like Sameer Hanchante, Samir Chanda, and Bhavna Talwar would present their films `Gafla' (Scam), `Ek Nadir Galpo' (Tale of a river), and `Dharm' respectively at the festival.
The Festival Director said, a specialized competition for feature films by Asian, African and Latin American Directors is being organized. Films produced after First September 2006 are eligible for the entry. Fourteen films have been selected from 13 countries for the competition.
Competition Jury is headed by the eminent award winning film maker from Hungary Ms Marta Mazaros, who has directed more than 60 films in her film career and has won awards in Cannes/Berlin/Venice and San Sebastian International Film Festivals. Other members of the Jury are, Ms Meltem Cumbul a young leading actress from Turkey; Mr. Shaji N Karun, Cinematographer, Film Director and Script writer from Kerala; a noted Argentinian film director Mr Pablo Cesar, who has won awards in the Montreal International Film Festival and National awards in Argentina and Mr. Robert Sarkies, a young film maker from New Zealand.
The Director said a special section celebrating 60 years of India's independence, India @ 60, would showcase seven patriotic films including three feature and four documentaries.
CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa, Ms. Nandini Paliwal in her remarks said that theatre facilities are being significantly upgraded and increased for IFFI 2007. This year nine theatres with a total seating capacity of 3026 would be part of the Festival complex as compared to five theatres with a total seating capacity of 2200 last year. This will ease considerably the pressure on theatres and reduce the queues witnessed last year. The theatres are, Inox Multiplex (4 screens), Kala Academy (2 screens), Ashok & Samrat (2 screens). Two new screens are being added in Maquinez Palace, which have the capacity to be looped. She also said that a state of the art media centre has been set up in the same compound.
The delegate registration has been made fully online for IFFI-2007 to facilitate easy access to the delegates from all parts of the country and abroad so that they can register in advance. The response has been very good with nearly 2700 applications already approved. These include 1200 from the state of Goa. The last date for applying for delegate registration is 20th November, 2007. Registration fee has been fully waived off for students of films from approved educational institutions.
To avoid long queues at the theatre, a system of booking of tickets in advance has been introduced this time. Tickets, which are free of cost to the delegates, can be booked 3 days in advance. This will help the delegates in choosing the films of their choice and ensure seats in the theatre. 16 booths will be provided at the festival premises for booking tickets. There will be real time display on TV screens around the venue to know about the status of availability of seats for each screening.
