Argentine filmmaker Pablo Cesar to head 51st IFFI”s International Jury
The International Jury for 51st edition of International Film Festival of India has been announced with eminent filmmakers from across the world. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry in a statement said that the Jury will comprise Pablo Cesar of Argentina as Chairman, Prasanna Vithanage of Sri Lanka, Abu Bakr Shawky of Austria, Priyadarshan of India and Rubaiyat Hossain of Bangladesh.
Pablo Cesar is an Argentine filmmaker. He has contributed to the African cinema by making the critically acclaimed films, Equinox, the Garden of the Roses, Los dioses de agua and Aphrodite, the Garden of the Perfumes.
Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage is considered as one of the pioneers of the third generation of Sri Lankan cinema. He has directed eight feature films including Death on a Full Moon Day, August Sun, Flowers of the Sky and With You, Without You and won many prestigious national and international awards and has also been commercially successful in Sri Lanka.
Abu Bakr Shawky or “A.B.” Shawky is an Egyptian-Austrian writer and director. His first feature film, Yomeddine, was selected to participate in the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and will screen in the Main Competition section and compete for the Palme d’Or. Rubaiyat Hossain is a Bangladeshi film director, writer and producer. She is notable for the films Meherjaan, Under Construction and Made in Bangladesh.
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. In a career spanning over three decades, he has directed more than 95 films in various Indian languages, predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi, while also having done six films in Tamil and two in Telugu.
51st International Film Festival of India will open on 16th January, 2021, with the Indian premiere of the movie ‘Another Round’ by Thomas Vinterberg. The movie starring Cannes Best Actor Award winner Mads Mikkelsen is among a star-studded line up of movies being showcased at IFFI. The movie is also Denmark’s official entry to the Oscars.
The festival will also witness the World Premier of ‘Mehrunisa’. The film by Sandeep Kumar will premier mid-fest. Starring formidable actor Farrukh Jaffar, the movie narrates the story of a woman’s lifelong dream.
The festival will close on 24th January, 2021 with the India Premier of the historical drama ‘Wife of a Spy’ by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The Japanese film bagged Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice International Film Festival.
51st IFFI is being organised from 16thto 24th January, 2021 in Goa. This edition is being organised in a hybrid mode for the first time and will comprise of both online and in-person experience. The festival will be loaded with a line-up of famous movies with a total of 224 films from across the globe screened. This includes 21 non-feature films and 26 feature films under the Indian Panorama films section.
Media registration for the festival has opened recently and is available till 10th January, 2021. Applicants should be above 21 years of age as on 1st January 2021 and should have professional experience of covering major International Film Festivals such as IFFI for a minimum of three years.
