PANAJI: Goa is preparing itself to organise the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on its own from next year.

Earlier, the State, which has become a permanent venue for IFFI, had expressed its desire to takeover the entire IFFI only by 2008. The prestigious festival has moved out of Delhi since 2004.

Chief Secretary J.P. Singh told presspersons on Friday that for the last three years, the State had gained in experience by organising the festival in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF). While Goa had been handling the logistics part of the festival, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry was taking care of the software part of the festival through DFF.

The Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), the State-owned nodal agency dealing with the organising the IFFI, was in the process of appointing two film programmers to take up the software part of the festival from next year. The Government has appointed Uma da Cunha as a consultant for the purpose of IFFI.

The blueprint for this year's event had been prepared and that the opening ceremony of IFFI 2006 would be restricted to one and a half hour to be followed by screening of the opening film.

Mr. Singh said the films to be screened at the opening and closing ceremony would be known by October 15.

The process of selection of the films in various categories would begin from September 1 at DFF.

Goa has three representatives on the film selection panel — Gurudas Kamat, Nandini Sardesai and Maria A. Couto.

The jury for the festival would be decided by DFF, he added.

Brilliant Entertainment Network, New Delhi, has been selected as the event management agency for the coming film festival.

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