IFFI opens with a British film

Panaji: Cinephiles from across the country waited in long queues, sweating in the afternoon heat, to catch this year’s opening film Catching Dust at the International Film Festival of India.

Now in its 54th edition, the festival opened to four fully packed halls. However, as the film ended, murmurs of disappointment were heard about the choice of the opening film.

Directed by Stuart Gatt, the film is set in a desert and captures the life of two couples grappling with loss and despair. It features excellent shots of sunsets and the desert landscape where a lone couple, running from the law, are living in a trailer. Another couple, on a vacation, joins them.

The exceptional performances were lost because of a dull script which largely failed to excite the audience. Erin Moriarty, Jai Courtney, Dina Shihabi and Ryan Corr form the main cast.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan and Entertainment Society of Goa vice chairperson Delilah M Lobo felicitated the director and his cast and crew before the screening.

Cutouts of Telugu stars Ram Charan and Jr NTR, doing their popular number Naatu naatu  from RRR, loomed large at the venue. Posters of Bollywood movies of all time are also displayed a treat for movie buffs and fans who gathered around clicking selfies.

The inaugural ceremony kicked off at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium. Stars such as Madhuri Dixit, Karan Johar, Shahid Kapoor, Shreya Ghoshal, Shriya Saran and Vijay Sethupati walked the red carpet at the opening ceremony.