The valedictory ceremony for the 49th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa got off to a glittering start at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, in Taleigaon, Goa. Union Tourism Minister K. J. Alphons graced the closing ceremony. Indian cine celebrities Anil Kapoor, Rakul Preet, Chitrangada Singh, Diana Penty and Keerthi Suresh walked the red carpet, adding to the colour and glamour of the star-studded evening.
Many renowned film personalities such as IFFI 2018 Lifetime Achievement Awardee Dan Wolman, Member of Parliament Manoj Tewari, Anil Kapoor, Arbaaz Khan (son of master screenwriter Salim Khan), Indian Panorama Jury Chief Rahul Rawail, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Kabir Bedi too attended the closing ceremony.
Over the last nine days, more than 220 movies from 67 countries were screened at IFFI. While the festival opened with the world premiere of English film ‘The Aspern Papers’, the world premiere of German film ‘Sealed Lips’ marks the conclusion of this festival bonanza. 26 feature films and 21 non-feature films were screened in the Indian Panorama section. While Israel was the focus country, Jharkhand was the focus state this year. This is for the first time that any state was made focus state at IFFI. Veteran Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman was given he Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening ceremony. Another new section at IFFI this year was the screening of six Indian sports biopics as an extension of the Khelo India initiative.
