Will laptops replace big screens at IFFI?

PANAJI, INDIA: Technology is spreading its roots in film festivals.

For the first time ever, delegates attending the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be able to watch films of their choice on You Tube.

The move is part of several technological innovations being brought to the 46th edition of the festival. Ira Joshi, Additional Director General, Press Information Bureau, said the initiative was taken to expand the reach of the festival including live streaming of the opening and closing ceremonies, celebrity interviews to a broader audience.

IFFI has set up a dedicated YouTube channel that will screen all prominent festival events. "Besides movies and the regular content, celebrities will be responding to Twitter queries from media as well as film critics," she said.

"In order to enhance the viewership of the much sought after Master-Classes at IFFI, they too will be streamed live," she told PTI. The film to be screened at the festival will be available only through the local IFFI Wi-Fi network within the festival campus, she said.