Actors Pankaj Tripathi, Sunil Shetty, Prabhu Deva, Manoj Vajpayee and Ajay Devgn will be felicitated at the 53rd International Film Festival (IFFI) starting November 20 in Goa.
The honor will be conferred at the inaugural function on Sunday evening, which will be attended by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, MOS I&B L Murugan, Goa Governor PS Sreedharan and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
There will be a special announcement for the Indian Personality of the Year award, which has been given to actors Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Hema Malini and lyricist Prasoon Joshi in the past.
Besides, a short film will be released on the occasion of 75 years of independence. The Film and Television Institute of India also organized an exhibition this year showcasing technology and various elements related to cinema and aesthetics. The exhibition showcases what’s new in entertainment technology.
Austrian films Alma and Oskar, directed by Dieter Berner, will open this year’s edition, which features 280 films from 79 countries. Spanish film director Carlos Saura is being given the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award.
France is the ‘spotlight’ country this year, with eight films screened under the Country Focus package. Three films featuring Dadasaheb Phalke-awardee Asha Parekh – Do Badan, Teesri Manzil and Kati Patang – will be screened, while the festival will conclude on November 28 with Krzysztof Janusi’s film Perfect Number.
To promote films in the Northeast, five feature and five non-feature films will mark the golden jubilee of Manipuri cinema.