LATA TO BE THE CHIEF GUEST AT IFFI-2002
Lata Mangeshkar will
be the Chief Guest at the 33rd International Film Festival
of India, (IFFI-2002) scheduled to be held in Delhi from October
1 to 10 this year. Thirty-five countries are expected to participate.
In the Asian Film Competition Section 12 to 14 countries are likely
to compete.
Presiding over
the first Organizing Committee meeting of the IFFI-2002, the Union
Information and Broadcasting Minister, Smt. Sushma Swaraj said
that the IFFI which had started as a cultural festival has now
acquired great trade orientation with the increasing popularization
of Indian films abroad. Two years back films worth Rs. 250 crores
were exported, raising it to Rs. 400 crores last year and this
year the target of Rs. 900 crores has already been crossed, she
said.
Co-chairing the
meeting, the Chief Minister of National Capital Territory of Delhi,
Smt. Sheila Dikshit assured all out support from the Delhi Government.
She particularly asked the NDMC and MCD to provide clean environment
around the Festival venues and the power companies to ensure uninterrupted
power supply.
The Director,
Film Festivals, Smt. Deepak Sandhu detailed the elaborate arrangements
being made for the IFFI-2002. She said 70 to 80 films are likely
to be screened in the ‘Cinema of the World’ section. A new award
is being instituted this year for the Outstanding Contribution
to the World Cinema. The Festival will also have Foreign Retrospective,
Indian Panorama, Indian Retrospective and Mainstream Indian Film
section. Three seminars on film themes are also proposed to be
organized during the Festival, Smt. Sandhu said.
The Organizing
Committee also discussed various arrangements following reports
given by the Chairpersons of Committees such as the Technical
Committee, Theatre Committee, Security Committee and Publicity
Committee.
The Government
of India and Delhi Government will share the cost of the Festival.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting would contribute
Rs. 1.67 crores and the Delhi Government Rs. 1.25 crores.
