from Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji (GA)

Panaji, Nov 22: State chief minister Digamber Kamat said that the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be branded after Goa as the state is 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 Goa name," Kamat said participating in 'The Big Picture Conference' organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on the sidelines of IFFI 2008 beginning from today.

Union minister of state for information and broadcasting Anand Sharma was amongst the guests present for the conference.

The chief minister said that when Goa was selected as a venue, many questions were raised and it was said that Goa does 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 said.

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

Earlier state chief secretary J P Singh said that we can take pride in the fact that Goa is a permanent venue for the festival.

"The festivals are known more by the place so it is important that we should brand IFFI Goa," he said.

He appealed the stake holders to deliberate on how IFFI Goa brand can be created and what direction should the government work to make the festival more successful.

Singh said that Goa name has terrific advantage and Entertainment Society of Goa, a nodal agency, has been working to en-cash on it. 

The chief secretary said that Goa is an attractive destination to produce films and all efforts are on to provide required infrastructure for the film-makers.