IFFI will come to a close Saturday with screening of 'The Lady'

Panaji (Goa, India) Dec 2 (PTI) The 42nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), with its share of laurels and controversies, is all set to come to a close here on Saturday with the screening of French director Luc Besson's 'The Lady' based on veteran Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi's life. The 11-day festival, flagged off by Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan will end with Besson and Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh adding glamour to the closing ceremony. "This edition has been far more organised than previous years in terms of content. It has gone global with French directors Luc Besson, Bertrand Tavernier and Australian director Phil Noyce attending it," IFFI director Shankar Mohan told PTI. The festival was also technologically more advanced this year with films in 3-D and animation being exhibited. "The master classes and 3D summit were very fruitful. The festival is going in the right path," said Mohan. The fest had a few hiccups too. Brazilian Director Oscar Maron Filho's passed away here after a fatal cardiac arrest while speaking at the Open Forum. He was here for the Soccer package, which unfolded as a Goa-friendly initiative but end with a poor response at at the Campal ground. The controversy pertaining to the century old Mullaperiyar dam in the southern state of Kerala also made its presence felt at the fest with delegates of the state in support of a new dam getting into a verbal clash with delegates of Kerala's neighbour Tamil Nadu who were only for strenghtening the existing dam. Besides, the opponents of English as a medium of instruction at elementary level education in Goa demonstrated through an innovative 'black carpet' near the festival. Also, there were protests by Goa Church groups condemning the Indian and Goa state governments for not curtailing IFFI by a day instead of holding it till December 3, the day of feast of St Francis Xavier. Hindu Janajagruti Samiti forced the organisers to postpone the screening of legendary Indian painter M F Hussain's 15-minute documentary 'Through the Eyes of Painter' in the homage section. It was finally screened amidst security. Actor R Madhavan was the casualty of an organisational mess as he had to return from the gate in the absence of a pass. He was at the venue to cheer up his '3 Idiots' co-star Omi Vaidya for the screening of his documentary 'Big in Bollywood'. Goa since 2004 is the permanent venue for IFFI and the festival, organised jointly by India's Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and the Goa state government, has been trying to elevate itself to a global level striking a balance between Indian films and those from abroad. "In the next edition, we will try to involve the local filmmakers more in the festival," said Mohan. PTI