NFDC may hold future film fests

New Delhi: The government is likely to give National Film Development Corporation the charge for organising film festivals in the country. As a first step towards the issue, the Union information and broadcasting ministry has decided to begun the process by giving the task of organising the annual International Film Festival of India -— to be held in Goa between November 20-28 this year — to the National Film Development Corporation taking it away from the charge of the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF). 

Sources stated that the NFDC could now end up organising all government film festivals held throughout the country. So far, this task was being performed by the DFF. The Iffi has been organised each year since 1952 and has been held under the aegis of DFF. Sources stated that the I&B ministry wanted to shift the organisation of the important festival to NFDC as part of making an effort to professionalise and modernise it. 

The move is expected to change the outlook of film festival organisation in the country as the NFDC is likely to rope in top professionals from the film fraternity to make these a success, sources added. The NFDC, based in Mumbai, is the Central agency established in 1975, to encourage high quality Indian cinema. It functions in areas of film financing, production and distribution and under the I&B ministry. 

The DFF was set up by the Government of India in 1973 to organise International and National Film Festivals within the country. DFF facilitates India’s participation in Festivals abroad, arranges programmes of foreign films in India and Indian films abroad and holds the National Film Awards function. The DFF also promotes International friendship, provides access to new trends in world cinema, generates healthy competition and, in the process, helps to improve the standards of Indian films.