IFFI to honour Scorsese, Szabó with Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award

Renowned directors Martin Scorsese and István Szabó will be honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the 52nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held in Goa next month, as per an announcement by India's Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, in New Delhi.

Szabó is one of the most critically acclaimed Hungarian film directors, known for masterpieces like "Mephisto" (1981) and "Father" (1966). Hollywood's Scorsese, on the other hand, is widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in film history.

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The 52nd edition of India's most prestigious film festival will be held from November 20 to 28 in Goa. Thakur said that for the first time ever, IFFI has invited major OTT players to participate in the annual event.

In a first, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, Voot and Sony Liv will participate at the film festival through exclusive masterclasses, content launches and previews, along with curated film package screenings and various other on-ground and virtual events.

Thakur said the trend of watching movies on OTT platforms is on the rise and IFFI is embracing new technology, providing a platform for industry artistes to interact with OTT players.

Netflix is set to organise a three-day virtual masterclass by Paris-based renowned school of image and arts, Gobelins – School L'image. The streaming giant will also organise the India premiere of "The Power of the Dog" by Jane Campion and has also proposed to host a special screening of the film 'Dhamaka', including an introduction of the film by actor Kartik Aaryan, and a preview of Episode 1 of "Aranyak", an upcoming crime thriller series starring Raveena Tandon and Ashutosh Rana.

Zee5 has specially curated "Breakpoint" a series with Indian tennis stars Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, helmed by Nitesh Tiwari and Ashwini Iyer, for IFFI.

Thakur also announced that for the first time ever, films from five BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries will be showcased through the BRICS Film Festival alongside IFFI. The five countries are also the "Focus Countries" of the 52nd IFFI.

The opening film of this edition of IFFI is "The King of all the World" (El Rey de Todo El Mundo) directed by Carlos Saura. This will also be the film's international premiere.

Around 30 films have been shortlisted for screening at 52nd IFFI from prominent international film festivals in the Festival Kaleidoscope and World Panorama sections.

The 52nd IFFI will pay homage to thespian Dilip Kumar, director Buddhadeb Dasgupta actors Jean-Paul Belmondo and Surekha Sikri , Christopher Plummer and Jean-Claude Carrière.

The jury for the International Competition for 52nd IFFI, comprised of

the retrospective section, will feature renowned Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr, whose films have won accolades at Berlin, Cannes and Locarno Film Festivals.

A retrospective of Russian filmmaker and stage director Andrei Konchalovsky will also be shown. His films have won numerous accolades, including the Cannes Grand Prix Spécial du Jury, a FIPRESCI Award, two Silver Lions, three Golden Eagle Awards and an Emmy Award. A retrospective will also have films featuring South Indian superstar Rajinikanth.

The IFFI will pay a special tribute to Sean Connery, the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on the big screen.