'IFFI needs more global celebrities'

Exhorting festival organisers to rope in international stars to promote the International Film Festival of India in Goa, Union Culture Minister S Jaipal Reddy said advance planning was required to ensure the success of the annual event.

"Cinema is not about glamour alone. But cinema would be nothing without glamour. We need better infrastructure and more global celebrities to be associated with the festival," Reddy said, inaugurating the IFFI Indian Panorama section.

"There were too many political uncertainties in Goa this time. But for 2006, it should be possible to fix up many more global celebrities," he added.

The minister said the organisers should start planning early for the next edition of IFFI. "We should not rest on our laurels. We need to put our act together right after this festival," Reddy said, adding that he would discuss the issue with Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi.

Reddy pointed out that no one had ever raised any allegations against the jury for the Indian Panorama section. "It is great that the professional integrity of the jury has never been questioned. There has never been a whisper of discrimination against the members," he said.

The minister's advice for filmmakers was: "Technology must be used in a proper way and cannot be substituted for content."

Reddy said within the next three years, IFFI Goa would be as high-profile as the Cannes Film Festival.

The minister presented festival mementos to filmmakers Jayaraj and Gautam Saikia whose films -- Daivanamathil (In The Name Of God) and The Jaws Of Death, respectively -- were screened as part of the IFFI Indian Panorama section.

Goa Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane and feature and non-feature film jury chairpersons M S Sathyu and Aribam Syam Sarma were also present.

The festival, which started on November 24, will go on till December 4.