48th IFFI: A look at this year's International Competition



The 2017 International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is being organized from November 20-28, 2017 at Goa. And, away from all the glamour and razzmatazz, serious moviegoers will have their eyes on the IFFI mainstay, the International Competition, which carries a cumulative cash prize of over INR 1 crore. This year, a total of 15 films from across the globe would be competing for the Golden and Silver Peacock awards.

Renowned Indian filmmaker Muzaffar Ali heads the jury. He is joined by Actor-Director Tzahi Grad from Israel, Russian Cinematographer Vladislav Opelyants, Production Designer Roger Christian from the United Kingdom, and Festival director Maxine Williamson from Australia.

The complete line up of films completing in the International Competition is as follows:


1. Ana, mon amour
Director: Cãlin Peter Netzer
Country: (Romania-Germany-France)

2. BPM (120 battements par minute)
Director: Robin Campillo
Country: (France)

3. Angels Wear White
Director: Vivian Qu
Country: (China)

4. Racer and the Jailbird (Le Fidèle)
Director: Michaël R. Roskam
Country: (Belgium-Netherlands-France)

5. Dark Skull (Viejo Calavera)
Director: Kiro Russo
Country: (Bolivia-Qatar)

6. Freedom (Freiheit)
Director: Jan Speckenbach
Country: (Germany-Slovakia)

7. The Great Buddha +
Director: Huang Hsin-Yao
Country: (Taiwan)

8. Blank 13
Director: Takumi Saito
India: (Japan)

9. Marionette
Director: Lee Han-Uk
India: (South Korea)

10. Still Night Still Light (Mes nuit feront echo)
Director: Sophie Goyette
India: (Canada-China-Mexico)

11. Shuttle Life (Fen BeiRen Sheng)
Director: Tan SengKiat
India: (Malaysia)

12. A Man of Integrity (Lerd)
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
India: (Iran)

13. Kachcha Limbu
Director: Prasad Oak
Country/Language: (India-Marathi)

14. Take Off
Director: Mahesh Narayan
Country/Language: (India-Malayalam)

15. Village Rockstars
Director: Rima Das
Country/Language: (India-Assamese)

Even a cursory look at the above lineup of films is enough to tell that the competition this year is quite stiff. When asked to share his predictions, Jugu Abraham, a former staff film critic of the Hindustan Times Group in the late 70s and early 80s who currently runs a popular blog on world cinema, said: “Three top films in competition are those by Netzer, Campillo and Rasoulof. Between them they should sweep the awards.”

While Ana, mon amour, A Man of Integrity, and BPM are certainly strong contenders, the other films in the competition are quite capable of running them a run for their money. For now all that can be said is that Muzaffar Ali and team have a tough task on hand.  

Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!


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