A Glimpse of the International Film Festival of India

It is a coincidence that the 52nd edition of the Indian Film Festival, which began in 1952, five years after the country's independence, is going to be held this year from November 20 to 28 in Goa. There are many coincidences to this event. One coincidence is that the tradition of film festivals in our country began in the same year that our country's own Parliament and legislative bodies, formed through a democratic process in independent India, started functioning formally. It is noteworthy that two years after the country's constitution was implemented on January 26, 1950, in the first general election held in 1952, the people of the country selected the members of the lower house of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and the lower house of the state legislative bodies (Vidhan Sabha) through direct voting. On this basis, the members of the upper house of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and the upper houses of the bicameral legislative bodies, the Legislative Councils, were also selected in the same year through an indirect voting system. In this way, in compliance with the provisions provided by the constitution, the foundation of a democratic parliamentary system was laid in the country. The work of forming the Parliament and legislative bodies was completed by the month of April of that year. Before this, on January 24, 1952, the country's film festival was organized in Mumbai, which was inaugurated by the country's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

The specialty of this year's Indian film festival is that this event will be organized to celebrate the completion of 75 years of India's independence. Along with this, another coincidence is that this year, 2021, this event is going to be held twice in one year. Due to the outbreak of the corona pandemic in 2020, this festival, which is held at the end of the year, could not be organized. Last year's event was also held at the beginning of this year from January 16 to 24; it was the 51st edition of the film festival, and now the Indian film festival to be held from November 20 to 28 will be its 52nd edition. The specialty of this festival, being held on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of independence, will also be that in this film festival, along with a special presentation of films related to the narrative of the country's freedom, full attention will also be paid to the provisions for protection from corona. In view of the Covid circumstances, its hybrid format will also be seen this time, under which, along with being present on the spot, the audience will also be able to enjoy this festival online.

This festival will be organized by the Directorate of Film Festivals of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, in collaboration with the State Government of Goa and the Indian film industry. The International Film Festival of India, briefly called IFFI, is an organizing body recognized by the "International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF)". Through this event every year, the work of some of the best films made globally is appreciated by showcasing them. The 52nd International Film Festival of India will begin this year by remembering the stalwart of Indian cinema, Satyajit Ray, on the occasion of his birth centenary. In order to preserve the cultural heritage of this great personality of the Indian film world, a special preview program will also be organized on him in the film festival. Keeping his characteristics in mind, the introduction of the 'Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award' for outstanding cinema will also start from this year, which will be continued in the subsequent years. This film festival is counted among some of the special film festivals in the world.

It is a very important annual film festival in Asia, which has been permanently organized in Goa since 2004. Before this, this film festival of India has been organized in various forms in the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Thiruvananthapuram, in addition to Goa. The main objective of organizing this festival is to provide a common platform for the cinema of the world, so that along with showcasing the excellence of film art, it can also help in understanding the social and cultural fabric and mutual concerns of people living in different parts of the world through the films of those countries. Due to such global events, along with getting an opportunity to understand and know about films, friendship and cooperation among the people of the world are also promoted. All the necessary information about the 52nd Film Festival of India is available on the PIB website (pib.gov.in) and the festival's website www.iffigoa.org. In addition, it can also be seen on the Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram handles of IFFI and on the social media handles of PIB Goa.

The Journey of the Film Festival from Mumbai to Goa

The tradition of film festivals in India began in 1952 from Mumbai, the economic capital of the country and the main center of Bollywood. By 2021, this tradition has completed a journey of 71 years, and in this period, 51 editions of it have been organized till last year. Due to corona, last year's event was also held at the beginning of this year, and now at the end of this year, its 52nd edition is going to be organized in Goa from November 20 to 28. The tradition of organizing the International Film Festival of India in Goa permanently started in 2004, which continues till now. This film festival is considered one of the oldest in Asia and the largest international film festival in India. There are many interesting facts about this festival. For example, its first event was held on January 24, 1952, in Mumbai, but it took 9 years for the second event to be held. Thus, the second event was held in the country's capital, Delhi, from October 27 to November 2, 1961. Four years later, the third festival was also held in Delhi from January 8 to 21, 1965. This tradition of organizing the Indian film festival in Delhi continued till the fourth, fifth, and sixth festivals. The fourth film festival was held from December 5 to 18, 1969, the fifth from December 30, 1974, to January 12, 1975, and the sixth event was held from January 3 to 16, 1977. In the meantime, after the fifth film festival, two film festivals were organized in Kolkata and Mumbai from November 24, 1975, and January 2 to 15, and after the sixth film festival, another film festival was organized in Chennai from January 3 to 16, 1978.

There was also a period of a decade from 1979 to 1989 regarding the Indian film festival when a festival was organized one year and a filmotsav the next. In this sequence, the seventh film festival was organized in New Delhi from January 3 to 16, 1979. The next year, in 1980, a filmotsav was organized in Bengaluru from January 3 to 16. Continuing this sequence, the eighth, ninth, and tenth film festivals were organized in New Delhi in the period from January 3 to 16 in 1981, 1983, and 1985, while in 1982 and 1984, filmotsavs were organized in Kolkata and Mumbai during the same period. In 1986, the filmotsav was organized in Hyderabad from January 10 to 24. The 11th and 12th film festivals were also organized in New Delhi from January 10 to 24 in 1987 and 1989. After this, it was given a new form and it received global recognition with a different name as the International Film Festival of India, and this Indian film festival became a medium of competition. The tradition of this event with a new name at the global level started in 1990. In this sequence, these events were held in Kolkata, Chennai, and Bengaluru in 90, 91, and 92 respectively. Thus, during the entire eight years from 1993 to 2000, the film festival was organized in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, New Delhi, Hyderabad, and New Delhi respectively. In 2001, this festival could not be organized due to unavoidable reasons. In 2002 and 2003, this event was held in New Delhi in both years. After this, from 2004, it has been permanently transferred to Goa. Looking at this background, it is also revealed that before 2004, in whatever form this film festival of India was organized, it was organized the most, 15 times, in the country's capital, Delhi. After Delhi, the names of the country's economic capital, Mumbai, and the former capital during the British era, Kolkata, come in second place. Both these cities have had the good fortune of hosting it four times each. The film festival has been organized twice each in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Thiruvananthapuram. From 1990 to date, 31 films and 9 short films have been honored with various awards in the film sector at the International Film Festival of India. The Golden Peacock, Silver Peacock, and Indian Film Personality of the Year awards are presented at the International Film Festival of India.