The festival saw the likes of Yash Chopra, Shyam Benegal, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Mani Ratnam, Mira Nair, Aamir Khan and others attending and supporting it.

Mani Ratnam heads the four-member jury, along with German director Florian Gallenberger, Egyptian actor Mahmoud Kabil and director Moussa Sena Absa. Italian director Irene Bignardi dropped out at the last minute as she met with an accident.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar received all round applause at the opening ceremony for providing world-class infrastructure within a short span of time.