IFFI set to spellbound audiences with opening film 'Despite the Fog'

The Asia Premiere of the Italian film will bring to screen the story of Paolo, owner of a restaurant in a small town in the province of Rome, returning home after work on a rainy evening.

The 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is all set to spellbound audiences with the Opening Film of the Festival, which is “Despite the Fog (Nonostante La Nebbia)”, directed by Goran Paskaljevic, one of Europe’s most respected filmmakers.

The Asia Premiere of the Italian film will bring to screen the story of Paolo, owner of a restaurant in a small town in the province of Rome, returning home after work on a rainy evening. Along the way he sees a child huddled in the cold at a bus stop and decides to take him home. The child is called Mohammed and is a refugee, abandoned, who lost his parents during the trip to Italy on a rubber boat. The presence of the child upsets his wife Valeria, hesitant and doubtful at the beginning, but who eventually agrees to host him for the night. After a while, she changes her mind and decides to keep Mohamed despite everybody’s opinion.

Goran Paskaljevic is one of Europe's most respected independent directors. Born in Belgrade (Serbia), he studied at the famous Prague school of cinema (FAMU). He has made 30 documentaries and 18 feature films, shown and acclaimed at the most prestigious international film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, San Sebastian, to name a few. The renowned filmmaker has received numerous awards and honors for his acclaimed works.

In 2001, Variety International Film Guide marked him as one of the world's top five directors of the year. The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) in 2008 and the British Film Institute (London) in 2010, both presented a full retrospective of his feature films, along with the publication of a monograph in English about his work. He was awarded the title of Officier des Arts et des Lettres, the most important French decoration in the field of culture.

2019 marks the 50th year of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which is often counted amongst one of the earliest film festivals of the Asian continent. The 50th International Film Festival of India,2019 will witness over 200 best films from 76 countries, 26 feature films and 15 non-feature films in the Indian Panorama section and more than 10,000 people and film lovers are expected to participate in the golden jubilee edition.

(With Inputs from PIB)