Fun 'n Frolic the theme song of 37th IFFI

Kochi, Nov 8 (UNI) The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is no longer only about watching art house cinema in darkened movie halls, but having a blast at open air music concerts, beach screenings and workshops to be conducted by renowned film personalities, the organisers said today.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Nikhil Desai, the General Manager of the Entertainment Society of Goa, an autonomous body under the Goa Government, said that the 'sun and sands and fun and frolic' associated with Goa now form the backdrop of IFFI, with the golden state being made the permanent venue of the annual movie extravaganza.

''This is our USP and we will like to highlight it,'' he added.

That the IFFI is moving out from under the shadow of the Directorate of Film Festivals is also clear in the fact that the Rs 12 crore to Rs 15 crore budget for the 37th IFFI, getting underway at Panjim on November 23, is being mobilised by the Goa Government.

The Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) is handling the selection of movies, the jury and the opening and closing ceremonies. ''They will have their internal budgeting for all this. But, they are not contributing to the estimated Rs 12 crore to 15 crore budget for the IFFI logistics this year,'' Mr Desai said.

Corporate sector majors like Kingfisher, Sahara, Dish TV and others are contributing Rs five crore by way of cash prizes and another Rs two crore to three crore in kind for the festival, he said. Kingfisher, which is being designated as the official airline, has agreed to give tickets at 50 per cent rates for the festival, Mr Desai said.

''It is our goal to make IFFI self-sustainable in two to three years' time,'' he said.

Mr Desai said that in an effort to make IFFI a truly film industry affair, the ESG was holding roadshows in major film producing centres in the country. The roadshow in Kochi was the 11th in the series.

''We will like to make IFFI an event of the film industry and by the film industry,'' he added.

While traditionally, Goa did not have a film industry as no films were being made in the regional Konkani language, the state had contributed eminent personalities like Lata Mangeshkar and Kishori Amonkar to the film world, Mr Desai said.

However, with Goa being made the permanent venue for IFFI, an increasing number of Hollywood productions were being shot in the state. It was the ESG's endeavour to make Goa into an 'international entertainment nerve centre', he added.

In keeping with the theme of ''fun 'n frolic'', beach screenings, touring cinemobiles, concerts by Sonu Nigam and Boney M besides workshops and classes by eminent filmmakers would be the highlight of the eleven-day festival, Mr Desai said.

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