Panaji, Nov 20 (PTI) Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Monday said the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has been attracting a lot of interest worldwide and the annual event has taken a 'new flight'.

He also said a new film policy will be unveiled by the central government soon.

Talking to reporters at the red carpet on the sidelines of opening ceremony of IFFI 2023 in Goa, he maintained the high-profile film festival has taken a 'new flight' (nayi udaan).

The minister informed that there were 3,000 film submissions from across the globe for the 54th edition of the festival which, he said, shows the “interest in IFFI has increased”.

Thakur said India's media and entertainment industry is clocking an annual growth rate of 20 per cent and added post-production work is creating different kinds of interest in the country.

The minister informed a new film policy will be in place soon and added the Cinematography (Amendment) Bill, 2023, passed recently by Parliament, has stringent provisions to curb piracy.

He said introduction of section “75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow” at IFFI will be entering the third edition this year.

'(At this section) Budding talents get to attend master classes of world's best directors and also an opportunity to network with them,” Thakur stated.

The minister said this time, 600 youths had submitted applications for the section of which 75 were selected.

IFFI is an annual event organized by the National Film Development Corporation of India Ltd (NFDC), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in collaboration with the Goa government through Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) and the Indian film industry. PTI RPS RSY