The 45th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will open here on Thursday evening in the presence of actor Amitabh Bachchan as the chief guest and film directors Jeon Soo-il (South Korea), Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Iran) and Krzysztof Zanussi (Poland) as the guests of honour.
Film star Rajinikanth will be bestowed the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year at the opening ceremony to be held at Shama Prasad Mukherjee indoor stadium at Taleigao, around eight km from here. The award was instituted last year to commemorate 100 years of Indian cinema. Actor Waheeda Rehman was the fist recipient of the award. Chinese film-maker Wong Kar Wai will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Other celebrities expected to be present include film directors Shekhar Kapur and Satish Kaushik, and actor Roopa Ganguly. Nearly 13,000 delegates have registered for IFFI 2014, Mr. Shankar Mohan, Director, Directorate of Film Festivals and IFFI Secretariat, told reporters here on the eve of the festival on Wednesday.
Minister for Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Arun Jaitley, Minister of State for I & B Rajyavardhan Rathore, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar will be present for the opening ceremony that is expected to be attended by around 5,000 invitees. A cultural programme by dancer Shobana from Tamil Nadu is also on the cards. The 11-day festival will open with The President , directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and close on November 30 with The Grandmaster by Wong Kar Wai. IFFI 2014 will screen 178 films from 79 countries.
