Abhishek Shah’s Hellaro to open IFFI 2019, Amitabh Bachchan to be honoured  

A total of 250 films from 76 countries will be showcased at the 50th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Abhishek Shah’s Gujarati film Hellaro, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, will open the Indian Panorama feature section of the festival. 

About 26 feature and 15 non-feature films in various Indian regional languages will be screened at IFFI. Ashish Pandey’s Nooreh, a short film set in Kashmir, will open the non-feature section of Indian Panorama. Mainstream releases like Uri: The Surgical Strike, Gully Boy and Badhaai Ho will also play at the festival, alongside classics turning 50 this year. 

Additionally, the festival will honour Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Amitabh Bachchan with a select retrospective. In a first, screenings will be equipped with audio descriptions for the visually impaired. 

The Golden Jubilee edition of IFFI will run from November 20 to November 28 in Goa. The festival was founded in 1952 by the Films Division of India.