IFFI 2018 all you need to know: The Aspern Papers to open film festival in Goa, Arijit Singh, Anil Kapoor's masterclasses

There is a breathlessness associated with the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) – a last-minute flurry of activity and excitement in the final hours before the inauguration of the 49th edition on 20 November. [caption id=“attachment_5581151” align=“alignnone” width=“848”]  Films that will be screened at IFFI 2018. Twitter[/caption] Director Julien Landais and cast members will present the opening film, The Aspern Papers , at a screening in Goa today on 20 November. Sealed Lips will have its world premiere when it closes the festival on 28 November. Director Bernd Böhlich, and actresses Barbara Schnitzler and Swetlana Schönfeld are expected. This marks one change – the 10-day festival has been reduced to nine this year (with delegate screenings on eight days). At the closing ceremony, the international competition jury of John Irvin, Adrian Sitaru, Robert Glinski, Anna Ferraioli Ravel and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, will announce prizes, including best film. Besides the big-ticket movies, the most over-subscribed are likely to be the ‘In Conversation’ and Masterclass sessions. Popular Bollywood singer Arijit Singh will speak about ‘Hitting the right notes’. The Kapoors will be out in full force with Boney Kapoor chatting with his children Arjun Kapoor and Jhanvi Kapoor in one session, and Rhea Kapoor conducting a masterclass with her actor-producer father Anil Kapoor in another. Varun Dhawan and David Dhawan’s conversation, titled ‘Dha-One’, moderated by Rumi Jaffery, is likely to be over the top. Turning attention away from Bollywood, South superstars Venkatesh, Suresh Babu and Rana Daggubati will participate in a conversation titled, ‘Decoding the Daggubatis’. Every year, IFFI pays homage to those who have left an indelible mark on Indian cinema. This year, the section celebrates the life and work of Sridevi, Vinod Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, Kalpana Lajmi and M Karunanidhi. Commemorating Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman on his 100th birth anniversary, alongside a retrospective of seven of his films (such as Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal and Autumn Sonata). A documentary titled Bergman Island will also be screened. Panelists will discuss the filmmaker in a session titled ‘Wild At Heart, Master At Craft’. Another regular section is ‘Country Focus’. This year, the spotlight is on Israel with a package of 10 films and felicitation of Israeli writer and director, Dan Wolman (The Dreamer, Hide and Seek) with the Lifetime Achievement Award. There is another special package of Tunisian films too. One of the sidelight programmes is open-air screenings of a package of sports biopics such as Soorma, Mary Kom and M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story. Among the world cinema titles to look out for are 3 Faces by Jafar Panahi, _Ash is Purest White_ By Zia Zhangke, Gasper Noe’s Climax , Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War , Lars Von Trier’s _The House That Jack Built,_ Hirokazu Koreeda’s Shoplifters, Birds of Passage by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra, Babis Makridis’s Pity, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s The Wild Pear Tree and Lijo Jose Pellissery’s  Ee.Maa.Yau.  Shaji Karun’s Olu opens the feature section of the Indian Panorama and Aditya Suhas Jambhale’s Kharvas opens the non-feature section. The programme is concentrated around the Old GMC building, Inox multiplex and Kala Academy in Panjim. Additional events will be held at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium and Azad Maidan. With a packed schedule of 212 films from over 68 countries, not to mention the ancillary events and the distraction of Goan beaches, if you are heading to IFFI 2018, be quick about studying the festival catalogue and filling up your calendar. Then grab your tickets and settle down for armchair travel around the world in eight days.