Expert Committee submits report on upgradation of IFFI

Chairman of the Expert Committee on International Film Festival of India, Pritish Nandy presenting a report to the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni, in New Delhi on August 19, 2010.

The Expert Committee on International Film Festival of India (IFFI), headed by writer and film-maker Pritish Nandy, has recommended that the competition section at the event should be enhanced from its present status of a specialised competition to an international competition open to all.

It has also suggested the introduction of two new awards - Best Actor and Best Actress. The winners of theese awards will be given a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh each.

With this, the total cash awards at the festival, held in November every year in Goa, will go up to Rs 90 lakh, an official press release said.

The committee has also recommended that the final entries in the International Competition section may be increased from the present 15 to 18. With a view to positioning the festival at par with international standards, the committee has recommended that workshops may be held at IFFI to discuss new technology initiatives and Master Classes should be conducted by eminent people from world cinema.

Mr Nandy presented the report of the committee to Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni here on August 19. Three other members of the committee, Mr A K Bir, Mr Govind Nihalani and Ms Kishwar Desai, were also present.

Ms Soni thanked the panel for submitting its report within a short span of time and said her Ministry would now process its recommendations.

The committee was constituted at Ms Soni's initiatve to make recommendations for the upgradation of IFFI to bring it on par with other reputed international film festivals. It was also asked to make recommendations regarding the changes to be made in the selection of Indian Panorama films, both in the feature and non feature categories.

As part of its exercise, the committee had set up four sub-committees to study issues that would enable the upgradation of the festival. The technical sub-committee was chaired by Mr Bir, the one on sponsorship by Ms Pooja Shetty Deora, the one on events by Mr Nihalani and the one on structural reforms by Mr Nadny.

The Technical Sub-Committee has given a list of technical upgrades required to improve the quality of the viewing experience at IFFI. The Sub-Committee’s report along with Mr. Bir’s report for IFFI 2009 prepared for the Madgaon auditorium and his "Future View Point" document for a new auditorium in Goa were also placed before the Expert Committee. The Sponsorship Sub-Committee outlined measures for building brand IFFI internationally.

The Events Sub-Committee has proposed a series of initiatives under the aegis of New Products Platform (NPP). It recommended the upgradation of the IFFI website. It suggested that the Film Market must be developed to international standards and provide business opportunities to Indian film makers. It felt that international studios and sales agents should be invited for IFFI as per international norms.

The sub-committee recommended that in the Indian Panorama section, the jury should not be bound to select five films from among the 20 recommended by FFI and the Film Producers Guild. Rather, they should be free to select fewer than five films, if the standards of excellence were not met in their opinion. To enhance participation, the Committee recommended Q&A sessions to be held post Indian Panorama screenings at IFFI.

The sub committee on Structuring has outlined a roadmap regarding IFFI’s future structure keeping in mind its mandate and responsibilities in the future.

The other members of the Expert Committee were Mr Kamal Hassan, Ms Shabana Azmi, Mr Karan Johar, Mr Prasoon Joshi, Ms Nandita Das, Ms Maithili Rao, Mr Lakshmikant Shetgaonkar, Mr C.S. Sapra, Chief Secretary Goa, and Mr S M Khan, the Director of Film Festivals. The Joint Secretary (Films) in the Ministry was the Member-Secretary.

NNN