By Utpal Borpujari
Malayalam film “Jallikattu”, Lijo Jose Pellissery’s powerhouse exploration of the beast in the human being, and Marathi film “Mai Ghat: Crime No. 103/2005”, Ananth Mahadevan’s heartfelt tale about a mother’s fight to get justice for her son, will represent India in the Competition section of the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
The two films were chosen from among the Indian Panorama films selected for IFFI to be held in Goa from November 20 to 28.
The Competition films, comprising 15 titles from all across the world, will be judged by a jury headed by former President of Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences John Bailey. The other members of the jury are French filmmaker Robin Campillo, Chinese director Zhang Yang, British indie filmmaker Lynne Ramsay and veteran Indian director Ramesh Sippy.
Among the films that will compete for the Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film as well as several other awards in the Competition are: Pema Tseden’s “Balloon” (China), Ali Aydin’s “Chronology” (Turkey), Andreas Horvath’s “Lillian” (Austria), Wagner Moura’s “Marighella” (Brazil), Hans Petter Moland’s “Out Stealing Horses” (Norway, Sweden, Denmark), Blaise Harrison’s “Particles” (France, Switzerland), Gregor Bozic’s “Stories from the Chestnut Woods” (Slovenia), Yosep Anggi Noen’s “The Science of Fictions” (Indonesia, Malaysia, France), Erdenebileg Ganbold’s “Steed” (Mongolia), Kristóf Deák’s “Captives” (Hungary), Ben Rekhi’s “Watch List” (Philippines), Sophie Deraspe’s “Antigone” (Canada) and Mahnaz Mohammadi’s “Son-Mother” (Iran).
To mark the Golden jubilee of IFFI, the festival will have a special retrospective of nine films that have won the Golden Peacock Award in the past, winning films over the past 49 years. “Gamperaliya”, directed by Sri Lankan master the late Lester James Peries, which had won the first Golden Peacock in 1963, will open this section.
