The 52nd International Film Festival of India opened on 20 November 2021 with The King of All the World (El Rey de Todo El Mundo) by Carlos Saura in Goa. Like the 51st edition, this edition was held in a hybrid format which combined online and face-to-face participation. The BRICS Film Festival was held alongside main festival, in which films from BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia, South Africa, China and India were showcased. These five countries were 'the 'countries of focus' in the 52nd edition of the festival.
In the 2021 festival, on the occasion of the birth centenary of Satyajit Ray, the Directorate of Film Festivals paid tribute to him through a 'Special Retrospective' in which his 11 specially curated films were screened. The Lifetime Achievement award, in recognition of the auteur's legacy, was named the âÂÂSatyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Awardâ from this year. In this edition, for the first time, streaming video platforms Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, Voot and Sony Liv participated in a series of physical and virtual events.
The opening ceremony on 20 November 2021, hosted by Karan Johar and Manish Paul, was aired live. It was also streamed live on YouTube. The festival closed on 28 November with Asghar Farhadi's film A Hero, and the closing ceremony was streamed live on YouTube.
Being a 'hybrid' film festival, a few events were organised online also.
The festival paid tribute to:
The retrospective section featured Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr, Russian filmmaker and stage director Andrei Konchalovsky, and Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner Rajinikanth.
75 creative minds selected in the first round by a selection jury and in the final round by a grand jury attended the 52nd International Film Festival. These '75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow' in the age group of 35 years and below interacted with industry stalwarts and attended the masterclasses.
11 films are shortlisted for screening under Kaleidoscope section.
In Indian Panorama, feature and non-feature films of cinematic, thematic, and aesthetic excellence are selected for the promotion of film art through the non-profit screening of these films under different categories.
India's entry for the 2022 Academy Awards, Tamil film Koozhangal, was screened in the Indian Panorama feature film segment. 24 feature films reflecting the vibrancy and diversity of the Indian film industry were selected out of 221 contemporary films for screening.
55 films were invited for screening under the World Panorama section.
Six films were slated for screening under this section.
The 6th edition of BRICS Film Festival was held alongside main festival, in which films from BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia, South Africa, China and India, are showcased. These five countries are 'countries of focus'.