<span style="color: #222222;">The Open Forum, which has been an integral part of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for the past 30 years, began today at Panaji in Goa. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Open Forum provides a platform to filmmakers, actors, jury members, senior government officials, and organisers of film festivals from India and abroad to exchange their views in a free and frank manner. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Discussions at today's Open Forum centred around the role of film festivals in promoting film culture and need for spreading film festivals across the country.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Key speakers included filmmaker Rahul Rawail, IFFI Head Chaitanya Prasad, Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) president Kiran V Shantaram, OSD to IFFI Senthil Rajan and Karnataka Chalchitra Academy Chairman N Chandrasekhar.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Speaking on the occasion, Mr Prasad said, IFFI is not a festival of the government, it is a festival of cinema lovers and the government is only a facilitator. He called upon all stakeholders in the film industry to help make the next festival a big event when IFFI completes 50 years.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">This year's Open Forum is being organized by FFSI in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals, Entertainment Society of Goa and Indian Documentary Producers Association. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Open Forum was introduced at the Thiruvananthapuran Filmotsav in 1988 at the initiative of local film societies and the FFSI.</span><br />''