The 55th International Film Festival of India, popularly known as IFFI, just ended last week, on 28th November, 2024. India’s own film festival had been exhaustive and exploratory this year, with many new, innovative things for the cine-goers from all across the world. India’s renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur was the brand new festival director and the mammoth steering committee included industry’s reputed names Bobby Bedi, Khushboo Sundar, Prasoon Joshi and Jerome Pillard. I was also a member of the steering committee.
The 18th edition of the Film Bazaar this year, which is presently the largest film market of South Asia, had 350+ film projects featured in the various verticals of the Film Market. The Bazaar team worked tirelessly under the guidance of Jerome Pillard, ex-Market Head of ‘Marche du Cannes’, who has taken over as the Advisor of Film Bazaar. Lots of producers participated in Film Bazaar, which was about mentoring mid-career success level producers on how to pitch a film, budget it and make it a global success. This year’s film bazaar was one of the largest yet. The bazaar was a buzz, bringing in about 2000 delegates! Countries including Australia, Bhutan, Belarus, Hong Kong, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and the United Kingdom were represented, demonstrating the broad international appeal of the event. These nations, with their unique filmmaking cultures and approaches, underscored the importance of cross-border collaboration in a rapidly evolving industry. The participation of these diverse countries highlighted Film Bazaar’s role as an international platform that not only facilitates dialogue but also promotes film industry exchanges that are key to the growth and sustainability of cinema worldwide. The discussions covered a wide range of topics, including film policy development, filming incentives, and the economic benefits of film production, ensuring that all participants, both international and local, could contribute to shaping the future of global cinema.
Better Man, one of the biggest global releases of this year, was the opening film for the festival. The semi-biographical film about British pop singer Robbie Williams, directed by Australian film-maker Michael Gracey, will release in theatres on 26th December. The closing film was Dry Season by Czech Director Bohdan Sláma, who is known for his innovative works in European films and his take on urban civilizational crises seen in societies. The Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award went to one of the iconic masters of cinema – Phillip Noyce. The Australian film director is recognised globally for films like Bone Collector, Dead Calm, Sliver, Rabbit-Proof Fence, among many of his other works. It was an honour for the festival organizers to have Phillip Noyce come personally to receive the Lifetime Achievement award!
The International Cinema section was very, very vibrant, having 12 films that competed for the coveted ‘Golden Peacock’.
The Golden Peacock for Best Film in the 55th IFFI went to Lithuanian film Toxic by director and screenwriter Saule Bliuvaite. Romanian Director Bogdan Muresanu bagged the Best Director award for The New Year that Never Came. Clément Faveau took home the Best Actor (Male) award for his nuanced and captivating portrayal in the French film Holy Cow. This French film’s director Louise Courvoisier also received the Special Jury Award for her debut film. The Best Actress award was jointly given to Vesta Matulytė and Ieva Rupeikaitė for their roles in Toxic. American Director Sarah Friedland was awarded the Best Debut Feature Film award for her poignant narrative Familiar Touch.
Australia was the focus country in the festival this year. Within the Australian bouquet, there were producer round-tables at the Film Bazaar, where the co-production treaty was discussed. Australia is the latest signatory of the co-production treaty which found fruition in 2023. The Australia team, with support from Screen Australia, was present in full strength and led by two amazing ladies – Screen Australia’s Chief Operating Officer Grainne Brunsdon and CEO Deirdre Brennan. The Australian delegates participated in the festival with full enthusiasm, and many of their producers came to pitch their projects.
This year there were 15 International Premieres, the largest since the start of IFFI! Many domestic premieres also happened in the 55th IFFI, which included films of popular stars, like Manoj Bajpayee’s Despatch, Boman Irani’s Mehta Boys and many others.
The International Jury headed by India’s renowned film maker Ashutosh Gowarikar had big globally well-known film personalities as jury members. The Oscar-winning film editor Jill Bilcock, who has edited Baz Luhrmannm films like Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Moulin Rouge! (2002), and also Shekhar Kapur’s films, was a jury member. Then there was Anthony Chen, a winner at Cannes Film Festival. Fran Borgia, one of the new voices of independent cinema globally from Spain, and UK’s Film Producer Elizabeth Karlsen, who is the winner of many BAFTA awards, were also amongst International Jury members.
An important vertical of the film festival was the Masterclasses addressed by prominent names from cinema world like Phillip Noyce himself, Australian Academy award winning cinematographer John Seale – who was the DoP for Mad Max: Fury Road, The English Patient, and animation director Chris Kirshbaum, who is the creator of Avengers. The legendary AR Rahman addressed a masterclass and also delivered the Lata Mangeshkar Memorial Lecture this year. Headhunting to Beatboxing – a musical documentary produced by Rahman also made its Asia Premiere in the film festival. Vidhu Vinod Chopra spoke on his film 12th Fail which was screened with audio descriptions and sign language interpretation. Anupam Kher spoke on ‘Power of Failure’ in a Masterclass. Who better than him to speak on it, as he has decades of cinema and theatre experience behind him?
There were amazing panel discussion sessions. I moderated a session on ‘Women’s Safety and Cinema’ where eminent panelists Imtiaz Ali, Suhasini Rani Ratnam, Bhumi Pednekar and Khushboo Sundar, which explored the realms of safe spaces for women who work in films, objectification of women in films which happens everywhere in the world, and also how empowered roles for women in cinema is a new normal today. In another interesting session moderated by Boddy Bedi, renowned writer Farrukh Dhondy, documentary filmmaker Lucy Walker, Spanish producer Anna Saura, internationally recognized actor Tannistha Chatterjee and I had come together to talk about ‘stories that travel’, that is, cinema without borders.
In the knowledge series, the team from the state of Madhya Pradesh came in full strength, with teams of ‘Stree 2’ represented by actor Abhishek Banerjee and director Amar Kaushik and youngsters from the Oscar nominated film ‘Lapataa Ladies’. They spoke about how film policies of the state are encouraging young film makers to shoot their films in MP.
Prasar Bharati launched its OTT platform ‘WAVES’ in the opening ceremony of IFFI, with a promise to bring diverse Indian content to a global audience. This year’s VFX & Tech Pavilion, supported by FICCI, was another focal point of the event, attracting major international industry players. The pavilion was a testament to the role of technology in transforming filmmaking, offering a glimpse into the future of cinematic experiences through groundbreaking innovations. Market leaders like Netflix, Sony and others presented their offerings and products in the tech pavilion.
The festival had special features for people with special needs, like sign language interpreter at opening and closing ceremonies, press conferences and sessions. Mainstream Films like ‘12th Fail’ were screened for people with visual and hearing impairments.
It’s time to celebrate the new global narratives that the festival could create, with India being at the centre of attention, with a Grand Prix at Cannes by Payal Kapadia and many accolades which India received, including the Oscar, in the bygone year.
Hope the festival will be more vibrant and exuberant next year, for India’s cinephiles and film makers all across the world.
