The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held as scheduled from November 20-28, officials at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said, but the format will be changed in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In accordance with the regulations formulated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the festival will screen films on its official digital platform, along with a theatrical screening during the festival in Goa “subject to the then prevailing conditions”. Senior officials at the Ministry said that all the necessary precautions and COVID-19 protocol will be followed.
The Ministry has called for entries for the festival. Ministry officials added that it was an evolving situation, and modalities would have to be worked out closer to the date of the festival.
The festival has been an annual event since 1975.
Meanwhile, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has also asserted that IFFI 2020 will stick to its laid down schedule, but said that he had not heard anything so far on the subject from the Union government.
The festival is organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals in association with the State government’s Entertainment Society of Goa. According to the latest figures, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Goa is close to 10,000, and the State has so far reported 89 deaths.
In 2019, nearly 200 films were screened from 76 countries at the festival. During last year’s festival, Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, Amit Khare had announced that the next edition would be dedicated to celebrated filmmaker Satyajit Ray as part of his year-long birth centenary celebrations.
