The 52nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Panaji from November 20-28. This will be the second time such a film festival will be held this year as the 51st IFFI was held earlier in January 2021 instead of November 2020. A total of 6,000 representatives are expected to attend the festival this year. It is understood that there is a proposal to have open screening of the films on the beaches and other open places. It is a fact that the Covid-19 pandemic is on the decline in the state and the positivity rate is less than 1%. Screening the films on the beaches and open places will draw large crowds and maintaining the pandemic related protocol may not be possible.
It is pertinent to note that there is a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in Russia, China and some other countries. Several foreign tourists will be in Goa during the film festival which leads to the feast of St Francis Xavier and the festive season. A safer alternative could be to telecast the films on the local channels so that citizens can enjoy some world class movies from the safety of their homes.
