A still from Beyond the Clouds. A still from Beyond the Clouds.

After much speculation about the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) — scheduled to be held in Goa from November 20 to 28 — Iranian master Majid Majidi’s latest movie, Beyond the Clouds, was announced as the opening film. The acclaimed filmmaker, who is also the recipient of several prestigious awards for movies such as Children of Paradise and Children of Heaven, chose India as a setting to make a film, his first away from Iran.

He described the experience of making Beyond the Clouds as “one waiting for years to happen”. The movie, featuring Indian actors Ishaan Khatter and Malavika Mohanan, is supposed to be an extension of Majidi’s cinematic beliefs, the roots of which lie in human values, love, friendship and family bonding.

Majidi will be present for the screening on the inaugural evening along with music maestro AR Rahman and multi-talented Vishal Bharadwaj, who has written dialogues for the film. They will be joined by actor Khatter, who makes his debut with the film, and Mohanan, along with the producers. Shah Rukh Khan is expected to be the main guest for the opening ceremony.

Says Sunit Tandon, Festival Director, IFFI, “IFFI is delighted to host the India premiere of Majidi’s first made in India film. Majidi is known for dealing with bonds that emerge in the midst of adversity and suffering. Beyond the Clouds continues this trajectory in an Indian setting, making it a reflection of the truly international outlook of this truly Indian film festival,” said Tandon.

On Thursday, the festival announced the line-up of feature and non-feature films under Indian Panorama. The final list of 26 feature films selected for the Indian Panorama includes Pihu (Hindi), Kshitij (Marathi), Kachcha Limbu (Marathi), Kasav (Marathi) and Newton (Hindi). It also includes popular movies such as Jolly LLB 2 and Baahubali: The Conclusion and Poorna. The selection of 16 non-feature films includes Kamal Swaroop’s Puskar Puran, Amar Kaushik’s Aaba, Prateek Vats’s An Old Man with Enormous Wings, and The Waterfall by Lipika Singh Durai.

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