Recommendations Aim at Upgrading IFFI to International Standards

Published on August 26, 2010 by INVC · 1 Comment

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The Chairman of the Expert Committee on International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Shri Pritish Nandy, presented the Committee’s Report to Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Smt Ambika Soni along with Shri A.K. Bir, Shri Govind Nihalani and Mrs. Kishwar Desai.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt Soni appreciated the good work done by the Committee and thanked the Committee for submitting the report within a short span of time. She further stated that the Ministry would now process the recommendations made by the Committee.

The Committee was constituted at the initiative of Minister for Information & Broadcasting, was mandated to make recommendations regarding upgradation of the International Film Festival of India on the lines of other reputed International Film Festivals and the resultant changes based on the recommendations were to be carried out by amendment in the IFFI Festival regulations. The Committee was also to make recommendations regarding the changes to be made in the selection of Indian Panorama films both feature and non feature categories and the resultant changes were to be carried out by amendment in the Indian Panorama regulations. The key recommendations of the committee submitted for consideration are as under:-

The committee has recommended that the Competition section may be enhanced from its present status of a specialized competition to an international competition open to all. A recommendation has also been made to introduce two new awards- Best Actor and Best Actress. The winner of the award will be given a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh each. The total cash awards would now amount to Rs 90 lakh. The committee has also suggested 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.

As part of the exercise, the Committee constituted 4 sub committees to study issues that would enable the upgradation of the festival. The four committees were, Technical Sub-Committee chaired by Shri A.K. Bir, Sponsorship Sub-Committee chaired by Ms. Pooja Shetty Deora, Events Sub-Committee chaired by Shri Govind Nihalani and Structural Reforms Sub-Committee chaired by Shri Pritish Nandy. All the four sub-committees studied the relevant issues in detail and submitted their reports to the Expert Committee.

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). The committee recommended to upgrade the web site for IFFI on the lines of other international film festivals. It also suggested that the Film Market must be developed to international standards and provide business opportunities to Indian film makers. It also felt that International studios and sales agents should be invited for IFFI as per international norms. The Committee also recommended that in the Indian Panorama section, the Jury should not be bound to select 5 films from among 20 recommended by FFI and the Film Producers Guild. Rather, they should be free to select fewer than 5 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 following were the members of the Expert Committee:

Shri Kamal Haasan, Shri Pritish Nandy, Shri Govind Nihalani, Smt Shabana Azmi, Shri Karan Johar, Shri A.K. Bir, Shri Prasoon Joshi, Smt Nandita Das, Smt. Kishwar Desai, Smt Maithili Rao, Shri Lakshmikant Shetgaonkar, Shri C.S. Sapra, Chief Secretary Goa, Director DFF & Joint Secretary (Films) as the Member Secretary.