IFFI to go fully global, including Hollywood
PTI, PANAJI | 28 June 2010 22:57 ISTHollywood will now make inroads into the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) after Union Information and Broadcasting ministry opened up the competition section for global cinema.
"We expect films from Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as the competition section is open for global cinema," Chief Executive Officer, Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), Manoj Srivastava told PTI.
ESG along with I&B ministry's directorate of film festival (DFF) holds IFFI in Goa annually.
Union I&B minister Ambika Soni announced that the competition section is going global.
Hitherto, the competition section was open only for cinema from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Srivastava said that since the competition section was constrained to few continents, IFFI was missing on bigger participation including Hollywood, which will now be able to showcase its films in the festival.
The competition will now be tough.
IFFI is neither priority nor is it essential. The huge amount of money spent on it should be diverted towards better causes. In fact due to IFFI a negative impact has fallen on the common man. They have started losing their lands, properties and the buyers are not Local Goans but outsiders. They would say that IFFI gets in Income. But to whom? Who benefits from this IFFI? Why don't they do the IFFI in other states? Why don't they try it in Kashmir? KASHMIR is a very good place and beautiful too. Move the IFFI there and leave the Goans and Goa alone - Menino (Valpoi)
I don't know how much our Goan treatrists are
involved in this events, please give them chance to participate and it will be nice to have a show (Teatr) with foreign actors during this IFFI.
Is IFFI a priority for Goa? The common man doesnot understand as to why so much extravaganza is made and public funds wasted over the junkets, wet parties, by the bureaucrats and politicians and so called entertainment! It would be better to spend this money in improving the bad roads in the villages, improving electricity supply, improve garbage disposal and supplying pure drinking water to the people!
Yes Menino, you are right. The IFFI only serves to market Goa to the real estate sharks and attract more and more outsiders to settle down here and overload the already poor infrastructure facilities like water supply, electricity supply, garbage disposal, sewerage management, poor roads and so on. It also gives unnecessary opportunities to the Babus and politicians and their henchmen to waste public funds under one or other pretext! The IFFI is not our priority as it is not in the interest of common man! Already every Goan is under the debt burden of over 50 thousand rupees and the projects like IFFI are certainly not going to reduce this burden but increase it!