“Better Man”, a semi-autobiographical film about British pop singer Robbie Williams, will open the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
The annual film gala will present over 180 international films from 81 countries, including 15 world premieres, three international premieres, 40 Asian premieres and 106 Indian premieres.
The curtain raiser press conference for IFFI 2024 was held on Monday at the National Media Centre here. The event was attended by L Murugan, Union Minister of State for I&B; Sanjay Jaju, Secretary I&B; Shekhar Kapur, Festival Director; and Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, CBFC.
The IFFI is “not less than the Cannes Film Festival”, said Murugan.
“You can compare our IFFI with Cannes and some of the other festivals... The response that we are getting from the international audience and delegates is great... There are roadshows about the festival in Mumbai and Chennai. Another roadshow will happen in Hyderabad. We are seeing how the industry is owning the festival, taking responsibility,” the minister told reporters.
The festival will open with the Asia premiere of Michael Gracey's “Better Man”, an Australian film that offers a captivating glimpse into the life of popstar Robbie Williams, portrayed as a chimpanzee by Jonno Davies in a groundbreaking motion-capture performance.
Jaju said the team behind IFFI is excited to be charting a new path.
“This is the first time in the history of the film festival that we have started this tradition of handing over the festival to the industry. Now, Shekhar Kapur has taken over as the festival director. This is the festival of the industry being completely led and run by the industry.
“We look at the festival as the biggest because we are the world's biggest filmmaking nation. The content we make in our country is made at one-millionth of the cost at which the content is made outside,” he added.
The theme of this year's festival is ''Young Filmmakers - The Future is Now'', following which the Creative Minds of Tomorrow initiative has been enhanced to support 100 young talents from 75 in the previous editions.
