Hollywood actor John Landis, best known for directing Michael Jackson’s music videos “Thriller” and “Black or White”, is expected to attend the foreign retrospective segment at the 39th International Film festival of India (IFFI), starting November 22 in Goa.

‘Along with John Landis, his Oscar nominated wife Deborah Nadoolman is also expected to come,” Manoj Srivastava, CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), said at a press conference.
This year, Iran has been chosen for the ‘country focus’ segment, while the Bollywood premiere section is still being vetted by the jury, said Srivastava.
There are twenty-two entries from India. The jury will whittle it down to five.
IFFI is also organizing heritage walks to provide delegates an opportunity to appreciate Goa’s cultural environment better. “We have tied up with the Goa Heritage Action Group (GHAG) to work out a programme.”
Shrivastava also informed that a jury led by renowned filmmaker Arvind Sinha is in the final stages of sifting through the 310-odd entries that were received for screening till now.
“The response has been overwhelming. We were expecting about 120 entries. Most of the films were from European countries like France, Holland, etc,” he said.
This is the fourth year that IFFI is being held in Goa, after it was chosen as a permanent venue in 2004.