Blockbuster year for IFFI 2017 – Set to create a new benchmark

The International Film Festival of India gets into its 48th year and promises to be a grand cinematic event, celebrating…

IFFI 2017, NEW BENCHMARK

The International Film Festival of India gets into its 48th year and promises to be a grand cinematic event, celebrating the best films from India and across the globe.

Here are a few highlights from this year’s festival and what to look forward to:

– IFFI 2017 will present an impressive line-up of films, with the attendance of some of the biggest stars from various film industries, all of whom have sent their unwavering support to the festival.

 

-Superstar Shah Rukh Khan will inaugurate the festival at the Opening day ceremony.

– Superstar Salman Khan will close the festival with a bang.

-Also expected at the opening ceremony will be Shahid Kapoor, representing the young India at the festival. He will be joined by one of Indian cinema’s most popular leading ladies of all time, as she will lead the guests in paying homage to cinema greats who have left us in the past year. She will also be a guest of honour at the inauguration of the Indian Panorama section the next day.

-Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be conferred with the “Indian Film Personality of the Year” Award at the 48th International Film Festival of India , the country’s biggest and Asia’s oldest film festival that celebrates the future of cinema.

– The closing ceremony will also have a special performance by Gen-X star Siddharth Malhotra.

– Padma Shri and BAFTA award winner Shekhar Kapur will conduct a special masterclass at the Festival.

– Noted Casting director, Mukesh Chabbra, who is credited with having discovered some of the brightest talents in the Industry, will host a masterclass on “Characterization and Casting for Cinema”

– Academy Award nominee, Majid Majidi will showcase the India Premiere of his latest film “Beyond the Clouds” presented by Zee Studios and Namah pictures as the opening film for IFFI 2017

– Argentinean filmmaker Pablo Cesar will present the World premiere of his film “Thinking of Him” as it is the closing film at IFFI 2017 amidst the presence of the film’s cast and crew.

​Indo-Argentinian film, Thinking of Him, 48th International Film Festival of India

– One of Canada’s most celebrated directors, Atom Egoyan , knighted by the French government will also conduct a special masterclass on filmmaking.

– Another masterclass to be conducted by Academy award winner Craig Mann , who did the sound design of Whiplash .

– The Festival will present over 3 World premieres and over 64 India Premieres of the best of International Cinema, including much talked about films such as Murder on the Orient Express, Mother!, The Square, Party Girl, Racer and the Jailbird, Spoor, Redoubtable among numerous others.

– IFFI 2017 will also present a Restored Classics section allowing delegates to watch landmark films such as Frtiz Lang’s Metropolis, Ozu’s Flavour of Green Tea over Rice and Tarkovsky’s Sacrifice among others

– Other stars expected to attend include Bhumi Pednekar, Huma Qureshi, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Diana Penty among others.

– Among the many firsts, those who couldn’t make it for the event have also come out in full force to support the festival including Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Shilpa Shetty, Farhan Akhtar, Prakash Jha, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Rakesh Roshan, Divya Dutta and Saiyami Kher who have given testimonials urging audiences to come be a part of IFFI 2017.

– IFFI 2017, will see some of the biggest filmmakers in cinema onboard for the cinematic celebration that takes
​place ​in Goa.

-While ​the ​Academy Award nominee Majid Majidi-directed “Beyond the Clouds” presented by Zee studios and Namah Pictures will be the opening film for IFFI 2017 in the presence of it’s cast and crew, Padma Shri and BAFTA award winner Shekhar Kapur will conduct a special masterclass at the festival.

-Noted Argentinean filmmaker Pablo Cesar will present the World premiere of his film “Thinking of Him” as the closing film of IFFI 2017. Futhermore, one of Canada’s most celebrated directors, Atom Egoyan, will conduct a special masterclass on filmmaking.

-The festival will also present master classes by Dangal director Nitesh Tiwari as he discusses the making
​of the recent blockbuster and the country’s most successful female filmmaker Farah Khan, who will take delegates through what goes into making a commercially successful entertainer.

-Filmmakers Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, R S Prasanna and Raja Krishna Menon will be part of a panel discussion that takes a look at the emerging voices and narratives that appeal to young filmmaker
​s. Producer Ritesh Sidhwani will conduct a workshop on funding passion projects, bootstrapping and crowdfunding .

-Another highlight at IFFI 2017 will be a panel discussion curated by the World Economic Forum with filmmaker Karan Johar and producer Ekta Kapoor as they address audiences about mastering a new reality, technological innovations and new business models that have the potential to make the Indian television and films more immersive, inclusive and interactive.