9th Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival: Javed Akhtar To Receive Padmapani Lifetime Achievement Award

An annual celebration of acclaimed films from around India and the world, the 9th Ajanta-Ellora Film Festival (AIFF 2024) is to be inaugurated today, on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at Rukmini Auditorium, MGM Campus, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar in the presence of national and international artists, film lovers and eminent personalities from different walks of life.

AIFF is organised by the Marathwada Art, Culture and Film Foundation and presented by Nath Group, MGM University and Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, Mumbai. It has the proud endorsement of FIPRESCI, a renowned international federation of film critics and FFSI, the Federation of Film Societies of India. It also enjoys the support of the Government of Maharashtra and the National Film Development Corporation Ltd, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. The Nath School of Business Management and Technology (NSBT) and Abhyudaya Foundation are the co-organizers of the festival. Dailyhunt is the digital media partner, the MGMU School of Film Arts is the academic partner and MGM Radio FM 90.8 is the radio partner of the festival.

Opening Ceremony and Lifetime Achievement Award

The Opening Ceremony of the film festival will be held on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 7.30 PM at Rukmini Auditorium, MGM Campus, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. The festival will be inaugurated by renowned film director R. Balki. Noted film director Anubhav Sinha will be the chief guest of the event.

This year, the festival's Padmapani, Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred upon the legendary poet, lyricist and screenwriter, Javed Akhtar for his invaluable contributions to Indian cinema.

The Senior Official of NFDC Gauri Nair, District Collector Astikkumar Pandey, Deputy Managing Director of Filmcity Mumbai, Sanjay Krishnaji Patil, Chairman of the AIFF Organizing Committee Nandkishore Kagliwal, Chancellor of MGM University Ankushrao Kadam, Vice Chancellor Dr. Vilas Sapkal, Festival Director of AIFF Ashok Rane, Artistic Director Chandrakant Kulkarni, Prozone Centre Director and Senior Vice President Kamal Soni, Siddharth Manohar of Inox will be the special guests of the closing ceremony.

Fallen Lives, the globally acclaimed German movie of this year, will be the festival's opening film. It will be screened after half an hour of the opening ceremony at Inox, Prozone Mall, where the festival will continue for the next four days.

Indian Competition

All five days of the festival are packed with enchanting programs including different film sections. Like every year, this year too, has a separate Indian Competition of nine Indian films in different languages. These films will be judged by a five-member national-level jury who will watch the films with the audience in the theatre. The winner in this category will be awarded the Golden Kailash Award and a cash prize of one lakh rupees. The best actor, best actress and best script will also be rewarded individually.

Veteran actor and director Dhritiman Chatterjee (Kolkata) will be the Chairperson of the Indian Competition Jury while the acclaimed cinematographer Dimo Popov (Czech Republic), senior director Nachiket Patwardhan (Pune), senior film critic Rashmi Doraiswamy (Delhi) and renowned cinematographer Hari Nair (Panaji) will be the jury members.

FiPresci Awards

FiPresci is an international association of film critics. FiPresci India awards the best films from around the world. These awards are of international repute and it is a matter of pride for the people from the region that FiPresci has chosen the festival for this year's award selection. Three special juries from FiPresci India will review the films in the festival (except films from the Indian Competition). The chairperson of the jury will be N. Manu Chakravarthy (Bangalore), Sreedevi P. Arvind (Cochin) and Sachin Chatte (Panaji) will be its members.

Master Class and Special Lectures

Apart from film screenings, the festival also hosts an array of other programs. A Masterclass by R. Balki, the director of sensitive films like Paa, Chini Kam, Ghumar, Shamitabh, and Padman has been organized on Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 2 pm at Inox.

On Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 6.00 PM, an Exclusive Interview with the legendary poet, lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar will be held at Inox, Prozone Mall. Director Jayprad Desai will have a candid conversation with him.

Another Masterclass by Anubhav Sinha, the director of films like Article 15, Thappad, Ra-One and Mulk has been scheduled on Friday, January 5, 2024 at 2 PM at Inox, Prozone Mall.

On Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 2.30 PM, a special lecture on 'Gandhi and Cinema' by Central Government-PIB Senior Officer Prakash Magadum has been organized.

On Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 6.30 pm, there will be an interactive session - 'Meet the Directors' with all the directors of the Indian Competition has been organized. Here film buffs will have an opportunity to interact with and ask questions to the directors.

On January 7, 2024 at 12.00 noon, a special interaction session will be held with veteran actor and director Dritiman Chatterjee on 'Understanding Mrinal Sen'. Mr. Chatterjee has played the lead actor in many of director Mrinal Sen's films.

Delegate Registration

AIFF, to provide cinelovers with an opportunity to watch the best films from around the world at an extremely affordable cost, has capped the catalogue fee at just Rs. 500. Senior citizens and students can avail of it at an even more discounted price of Rs. 300. The delegate registration has started now and film lovers can book their seats at www.aifilmfest.in. Offline registration is also available at Saket Book World (Aurangpura), Hotel Swad (Osmanpura), Tapdia Inox, Inox-Prozone Mall and Nirmik Group, Opp. Venkatesh Mangal Karyalaya, Sutagirni Road.

Organizing Committee

The Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival's Founder and Organizing Committee Chairman Nandkishor Kagliwal, Chief Mentor Ankushrao Kadam, Sachin Mule, Satish Kagliwal, Festival Director Ashok Rane, Artistic Director Chandrakant Kulkarni, Festival Convener Nilesh Raut, Creative Directors Jayaprad Desai, Dyanesh Zoting, Shiv Kadam and Dr. Srirang Deshpande, Suhas Tendukar, Akash Kagliwal, Dr. Aparna Kakkad, Dr. Ashish Gadekar, Dr. Rekha Shelke, Prof. Dasu Vaidya, Dr. Anand Nikalje, Prerna Dalvi, Dr. Kailas Ambhure, Neena Nikalje, Nita Pansare, Subodh Jadhav, Nikhil Bhalerao, Amit Patil, Kishore Nikam, Ajay Bhavalkar, Neeta Pansare, Nilima Jog and others have urged citizens to participate in the festival to highlight the name of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the film sector at the global level.

For more information and updates about AIFF, please visit: www.aifilmfest.in or write to [email protected].