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IFFI to focus on Africa, Latin America

Last Updated 20 September 2009, 19:12 IST

Among the special attractions will be focus sections on the African continent, Latin America and the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) director S M Khan told Deccan Herald.

The festival, one of the oldest in the world, was first held in 1952.  It became an annual event from 1975. The festival found its permanent venue in Goa in 2003, before which it used to be a travelling festival.

“This year being an important milestone for the IFFI, we decided to have regional focuses on Africa, Latin America and the Baltic region, since if we go countrywise, it will take many years to cover these important regions which are producing some very interesting cinema in recent years,” Khan said.

High-profile jury
Among other major attractions will be a special section on animation films, apart from  the Indian panorama. “We are in the process of composing a high-profile jury for the competition section in which 14 films from Asia, Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin America regions will compete, along with two Indian films,” Khan said.

Interestingly, the most promising director award category has been done away with this year and has been replaced with the best director award, so that all the directors in the competition category become eligible for the award.

While the best film will get a cash award of Rs 40 lakh along with the Golden Peacock, the best director will get a Silver Peacock and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh. The special jury award, to be given to a film or an individual for his or her artistic contribution, also comprises a Silver Lotus and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, Khan said.

The Indian panorama, comprising 26 feature films (including five, which will be picked up from a pre-selected number of mainstream films proposed by the Film Federation of India) and 21 non-feature films, is expected to be announced by mid-October.

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(Published 20 September 2009, 19:12 IST)

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