Veteran actors Rekha and Kamal Haasan will grace the opening and closing ceremonies respectively of the forthcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI), starting Nov 22 in Panaji.

"Rekha and Kamal Haasan will be the chief guest of the opening and closing ceremonies, respectively, at IFFI 2008, besides the presence of the governor of Goa, S.S Siddhu, Chief Minister Digamber Kamath and the minister of state for Information and Broadcasting Anand Sharma," said S.M. Khan, additional director general and director of film festivals.

Bollywood actress Amrita Rao will host the inaugural ceremony.

Telugu actress Illina D.Cruz, who is of Goan origin, will be a special guest, stated a press release.

In the competition section at IFFI, 15 films from all over the world will be showcased. Film India Worldwide will be another attraction in the cinema of world section, which will showcase films made by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in collaboration with foreign filmmakers.

In addition, there will be 47 films including 26 feature films and 21 non-feature films in the Indian Panorama section.

Films of veterans like Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, B. Saroja Devi and Tapan Sinha will be presented in Lifetime Classics.

IFFI will also pay homage to late filmmakers G.P. Sippy and B.R. Chopra.