India is a country of storytellers: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at IFFI

Panaji, (Goa) [India] Nov 20 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore who addressed the opening ceremony of 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) said that India is a country of storytellers as every person has a story to tell.
The opening ceremony of IFFI 2018 was anchored by Mandira Bedi and Amit Sadh and was inaugurated by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha in the presence of Rathore.
"India is a land of storytellers where every person has a story to tell. These stories inspire and entertain us. IFFI is a platform for our young generation to showcase their talent. It is a platform for the international filmmakers to see India and explore the talent that we have," started Rathore while addressing the cinema lovers visiting IFFI.
Speaking about IFFI, he said that the event is being held in a grand scale because of the collaboration between Information and Broadcasting team and Entertainment Society of Goa.
He hoped that the Masterclasses, which are a part of the event, reach everyone. "I hope the organisation involved is putting it online so that it reaches everyone," he said.
"It is a lovely time to come to Goa since this year we are having street cinema open to the tourists who are visiting the state for the next 9 days and they can experience this at IFFI," signed off the minister.
Akshay Kumar of 'Gold' fame who graced the event praised Rathore's efforts for helping spread important films as a means to impart knowledge to people free of cost.
"Our Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is doing an incredible job of combining entertainment and education. It is very important to have films which have substance and meaning behind it. I am very thankful to the government that because of such films and initiatives there are lakhs of villages who get information free of cost and trigger massive positive changes," said Kumar.
The inaugural ceremony saw some mesmerising music and dance performances.
Versatile singer Shilpa Rao sang popular songs from across the country in multiple languages such as Bengali, Punjabi, Hindi and also a beautiful rendition of the timeless song 'Aaj Jaane Ki Zidd Na Karo'. Following this, actor Sonu Sood took to stage pay tribute to Bollywood's action stars through his dance performance.
The IFFI 2018 opening ceremony saw an informal tete-a-tete between Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Akshay Kumar and filmmaker Karan Johar about sports and cinema.
The opening ceremony of IFFI 2018 also saw the launch of the Web Portal of Film Facilitation Office (FFO) by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting set up the Film Facilitation Office (FFO) in NFDC in 2015 with a view to promote and facilitate film shootings by foreign filmmakers in India, the services of which have now been extended to Indian filmmakers as well.
Also, Israeli director Dan Wolman was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony of the 49th IFFI. Wolman in his acceptance speech thanked and called it the "highest award" that he had "ever received".
The 49th edition of the festival will showcase 212 films, including 16 Oscar-nominated films, from over 68 countries. It will commence on November 20 and culminate on November 28.
In this edition, Israel is the country of focus. Ten films will be showcased in collaboration with the Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai. The opening film for this section is 'The Other Story' directed by Avi Nesher. A special presentation of Tunisian films will also be showcased.
Also, a special package for Visually Impaired Children will be organised with special screenings with the aid of audio description. The festival will even showcase 'Sholay' and 'Hichki' under this section. (ANI)