International
46th International Film Festival of India in Goa concludes; Spanish films win top honors
NEW DELHI: The curtains came down on the 46th International Film Festival of India in Goa with internationally co-produced Spanish adventure drama film ‘Embrace of the Serpent’ directed by Ciro Guerra bagging the Golden Peacock for best milm. The film also won a citation with prize money of Rs 40 lakh to be shared between the Director and the Producer.
The Special Jury Award also went to a Spanish film – ‘Sealed Cargo’ directed by Julia Vargas. The Special Jury Award carries a Silver Peacock, citation and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh. The Serbian film ‘Enclave’ directed by Goran Radovanovic got the special mention award. Spain was the focus country at the annual festival this year.
At a colourful event showcasing a cultural performance and some eminent personalities at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee indoor stadium, the awards were presented by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, and Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. The chief guest of the function was the internationally acclaimed music maestro A R Rahman.
The best director award went to British filmmaker Peter Greenaway for the film ‘Eisenstein in Guanajuato’ which is based on the real-life story of eminent Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. The best director was presented with a Silver Peacock, a citation and a prize money of Rs 15 lakh.
The best Actor (male) went to Vincent Lindon for his portrayal of a laid off factory worker Thierry Taogourdeau in the French film ‘The Measure of a Man’ while the best Actor (female) award was shared by Gunes Sensoy, Doga Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu, Elit Iscan and Ilyada Akdogan for portrayal of the roles of five young orphaned sisters in the Turkish film ‘Mustang’. The best Actor – male and female were awarded the Silver Peacock, citation and prize money of Rs One Rs 1 million.
Russian film maker, actor and head of Russian Cinematographers’ Union Nikita Mikhalkov was conferred upon the Lifetime Achievement Award while the first-time instituted International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT) – UNESCO Fellini Medal was awarded to Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘Cinemawala’ since it highlights some of the socio-cultural values that UNESCO stands for, as the film was about the depleting state of cinema houses in West Bengal.
The Centenary Film Personality Award was conferred on internationally acclaimed music composer Illayaraja.
The International Jury of IFFI 2015 headed by internationally acclaimed Indian film maker Shekhar Kapur, comprised UK based director, Micheal Radford, Palestinian based Israel director, Ms. Suha Arraf, German Actress, Julia Jentsch and South Korean filmmaker Jeon Kyu-Hwan.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Rathore said that while seeing a film could be an escape, it was also a source of inspiration, since it remained with the viewers long after they had seen it and they carried it into their real lives by becoming a part of the film. A film therefore has to espouse good values.
Rathore said IFFI provided a unique platform for confluence of ideas and stories from across the world and helped to learn from each other. This helped in better realization of the commonality of the joys and sorrows that transcended all kinds of distinctions and boundaries.
Elaborating on the new media initiatives this year, Rathore said that the festival reached out to the larger audience through various initiatives like Live Streaming of Press Conferences, Festival Mobile App, Talkathons for disseminating the information and content of the festival. He said there was also a special section on National Film Heritage Mission at IFFI 2015 which showcased his Ministry’s efforts to restore and digitize films and archive film material. He said that out of a total of 1300 films, 375 films had already been digitized and preserved.
Rahman said cinema helped us understand culture and commonality of consciousness of people across the world.
Parsekar said IFFI had further enhanced the image of Goa as world class filming destination. The festival had also inculcated the film culture in Goa. He said IFFI 2015 showcased excellent cinema with participation from eminent national and international film personalities.
I and B Secretary Sunil Arora speaking on the occasion said that people in the film industry had stood the test of time and became the iconic figures in India and abroad.
The Festival closed with the screening of the Argentinian film ‘The Clan’. It had opened with the film ‘The man who knew eternity’ on 20 November. The mid-Fest film was ‘The Danish Girl’.
A total of 182 films from ninety countries besides India were shown in the Festival which had a record number of 7000 delegates.
There were 47 films in the Indian Panorama section (Feature and Non-feature). The 13-member Indian Panorama Feature Jury was headed by Aribam Syam Sharma while the 7-member Non-Feature jury was led by Chairperson, Rajendra Janglay.
The Festival had a total of 120 world, international, Asia and India premieres. The festival hosted more than 820 film delegates including 540 national and 280 international directors, actors, producers, technicians including Oscar Academy members and Hollywood experts
New Horizons from North-East- A special retrospective on ace filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma and special section on new generation filmmakers from the North-East were some other features of the festival this year. A multimedia exhibition on National Film Heritage Mission was organized by DAVP and NFAI
A special retrospective on Shashi Kapoor offered glimpses of the work of the legendary actor Shashi Kapoor and screened 8 of his films at IFFI 2015.
A three member delegation from the Oscar Academy visited India for the first time to present important master classes. Academy members and Hollywood experts like Mark Mangini, Milt Shefter, Humphrey Dixon and Nancy Bhishop conducted master classes on varied topics like sound designing, film archive, film editing and casting.
Eminent national and international film celebrities like Anil Kapoor, Illayaraaja, Sonakshi Sinha, Kabir Khan, Dev Patel, Mark Mangini, Ayushmann Khurrana, Aditi Rao Hydari, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Subash Ghai, Shekhar Kapur, Kaushik Ganguly, Edward Pressman, Nikita Mikhalkov, Michael Radford, Julia Jentsch, Suha Arraf, Rajkumar Hirani, Priyadarshan, Vetrimaaran, Madhur Bhandarkar, Anand L Rai, Shyam Benegal, KK Senthil Kumar and Shankar Mahadevan to name a few were at present.
International
Moskino and Bollywood: Moscow Film Cluster and Film City Mumbai signed a cooperation agreement
Moscow Film Cluster has signed a cooperation agreement with Film City Mumbai. The parties agreed to cooperate in developing the film industry, promoting shooting locations and supporting filmmakers.
The memorandum was signed on the sidelines of the India International Film Tourism (IIFTC) Conclave in Mumbai. At this forum, the Moscow Film Cluster presented Moscow’s opportunities for film shooting, including infrastructure projects such as Film City Moskino and Film Factory. Special attention was paid to the Moscow rebate system – up to 45% – and the co-production development.
Memorandum of Understanding between the Film City and Moscow Film Cluster provides for the establishment and development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the film industry development, including joint promotion of shooting locations, support for filmmakers, implementation of marketing and industry events, development of incentive support measures and strengthening of economic and cultural interaction between India and Moscow.
The parties also intend to promote the development of the audiovisual sector through the exchange of experience, joint initiatives and the search for opportunities to create new industry partnerships and clusters.
Moscow Film Cluster is a major city initiative led by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to develop the capital into a global cinema hub. It brings together key production infrastructure – such as the Moskino Film Сity, Film Factory and Gorky Film Studio – along with the Film Commission, digital platform and cinema chain to streamline shooting, support productions and attract international filmmaking to Moscow.
Also, Moscow offers a rebate of up to 45%: 30% as direct production cost compensation, up to 15% for visa and accommodation support. The Moscow Image Grant provides up to $255,000 for films showcasing iconic city views.
The Moscow Film Cluster booth attracted considerable attention from Indian producers and studios. Over 80 business meetings were held, including those with major Indian companies.
One of the booth guests was the famous Indian actress Khushboo Sundar, known to Soviet and Russian audiences for her role in My Soul and considered the leading star of Tamil cinema, in whose honor one of the local temples was even built. Prithul Kumar, representative of the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of the officials responsible for regulating the film industry in the country, also expressed interest in the development of the Moscow Film Cluster.
One of the highlights of the India International Film Tourism Conclave was the awarding of The Greatest of All Time in the For Cinematic Excellence category. The movie was shot in Moscow. The jury members noted the project’s contribution to the development of tourism.
The shooting of The Greatest of All Time AGS by Entertainment was organized with the assistance of the Moscow Film Cluster and the Moscow Film Commission and took place in April 2024 on the streets of Moscow. The scenes were shot in such famous locations as Patriarch Bridge, Teatralnaya Square, Manezhnaya Square, Kazarmenny Lane, Podsosensky Lane, Nikolskaya Street and one of the festival venues of Moscow Seasons.
The Greatest of All Time became a landmark event in Indian box office history. It ranked fourth in box office earnings among all movies released in India in 2024 and is one of the most successful Tamil-language movies in history.
At the same time, the shooting of another joint Russian-Indian movie started at the Moskino Film City in Moscow. A film project dedicated to badminton became one of the first participants in the Moscow rebate program.
A project by Smena & WISH Media (Russia) and Kartina Entertainment And Sports Private Limited (India) will tell the story of a badminton player who travels to India with the Russian national team to compete in a tournament. Russian viewers will see for the first time the scale of sporting competitions in Asia, where badminton is a cult sport and draws packed stands of fans.
The agreement on the joint production of the Smash movie was signed st the Moscow International Film Week in August 2025. And as Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, a rebate application was also submitted at that time to reimburse part of the costs incurred during the shooting process in the Russian capital.
