Panaji (PTI): Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat on Saturday said that the International Film Festival of India(IFFI) would be branded after Goa as the state was a permanent destination for the event.

"IFFI has moved from strength to strength. Ultimately, the aim is to brand Goa and we want that the festival should be known by a Goan name," Kamat said while participating in `The Big Picture Conference' organized by Confederation of Indian Industry on the sidelines of IFFI 2008 here.

Kamat said when Goa was selected as the venue for the event, many questions were raised and it was said that Goa did not have a film culture.

"Those who made such statements did not know the contribution of Goans to the film industry. Veterans like Dattaram Wadkar, Lata Mangeshkar, K Vaikunth and various others are from Goa," he added.

The state government is doing its best to develop Goa as a film destination, which is imminent from the number of film shootings that are increasing in the state, the Chief Minister said.

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Anand Sharma was amongst the guests present for the conference.