Panaji: Curtains will come down on Monday on the 46th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which commenced here 10 days ago. Organised by Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in collaboration Government of Goa and Entertainment Society of Goa, this is the 12th consecutive year that the coastal state played host to the film festival.
The final day will have only 16 films while the Monday evening will witness a spectacular concluding ceremony which will be graced with the presence of musical maestro A.R. Rahman at the Shyamaprasad Mukherjee stadium at Goa University campus here.
Argentina's Oscar entry and this year's biggest Argentinean box office hit, "The Clan" ("El Clan") will be the closing film at the festival which was opened with Matt Brown's "The man who knew infinity".
As many as 187 films from 89 foreign countries were screened under various sections such as Masterstrokes, International competition, Country Focus, Restored Classics, Indian Panorama, First cut and a Retrospective on Amos Gitai. Forty-seven films, cutting across languages and genres, were screened as part of the Indian Panorama section, an opportunity which the Indian filmmakers consider as a great honour.
The International Competition section, assessed by a jury headed by eminent filmmaker Shekhar Kapur featured 15 movies including two Indian titles - Kaushik Ganguly's Cinemawala and Natoker Moto by Debesh Chatterjee.
Films of master Spanish filmmakers Carlos Saura and Pedro Almadovar along with contemporary filmmaker Alejandro Amanabar were screened as part of the Country of Focus section.
Noted filmmaker K Balachander, music composers Ravindra Jain and Aadesh Shrivastava who passed away were honoured with tribute sections.
Opened with Guru Dutt's 1957-classic Pyaasa, a section dedicated for restored Indian classics showcased Jait Re Jait, Manthan, Bhavni Bhavai, Is Raat ki Subaah Nahi, Uttarayanam, Ek Din Achanak, Ajantrik and Do Bigha Zameen.
Russian film's doyen Nikita Mikhalov was awarded this year's Lifetime Achievement award while Indian musical maestro Ilayaraja was conferred with the Centenary award.