54th International Film Festival of India begins in Goa with glittering opening ceremony

The 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) began on Monday in Goa. The opening ceremony was held at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Bambolim this evening. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the 9-day event. The opening movie of this year’s IFFI was British film ‘Catching Dust’. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Thakur said that Indian media & entertainment industry, with an annual growth rate of 20 percent, is hailed as the fifth-largest and most globalized industry in the world.

Mr Thakur said, this year’s IFFI has received 2926 entries from 105 countries, which is three times more international submissions than last year. He said, 13 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres, 62 Asia Premiers and 89 India Premieres will be screened during the festival. Mr Thakur said, IFFI has started OTT Awards from this year, to recognise excellence in OTT series and films. He said, a



total of 32 entries have been received in 10 languages from 15 OTT platforms for Best Web Series (OTT) Award.

Minister of State for Information of Broadcasting L Murugan and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant were among a host of dignitaries who attended the opening ceremony. Mr Thakur also inaugurated the Film Bazaar organised alongside IFFI every year. Veteran actor Madhuri Dixit was given Special Recognition to Bhartiya Cinema award for her contributions to Indian film industry.

Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to legendary Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas at the closing ceremony of IFFI on 28th of this month. Film stars Madhuri Dixit, Shahid Kapoor, Shriya Sharan, Nushratt Bharucha, Pankaj Tripathi, Shantanu Moitra, Shreya Ghosal and Sukhwinder Singh mesmerised the audience with their scintillating performances at the star-studded opening ceremony.