MUMBAI: Thirty films will vie for prize money worth over Rs1 million at the short film centre (SFC) at the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI), starting in Panaji from 22 November.

It is said that the international competition section at the SFC will have 20 short films from India, Australia, US, Spain, Mexico, Iran, Britain, UAE and China.

The winner in the international competition section wins a prize of Rs 500,000 as part of the Golden Lamp Tree award, while the silver lamp tree award will carry a cash prize of Rs 300,000.

The environment competition will have ten films from India that will vie for the coveted Vasudha award, which is India‘s only government award for an environmental film. The Vasudha award will carry a purse of Rs 300,000.

The films will be judged by a jury comprising Green Oscar winner Naresh Bedi (chairman of the jury), documentary filmmaker Romulus Whitaker and founder and director of the International Film Festival of Innsbruck Helmut Groschup.

The jury for the SFC‘s international competition comprises Indian director Goutam Ghose, Russian actress Oxana Federova, French producer Patrick Jorge, actress Helene Cardona and founder of the London Film Academy Daisy Gili.

More than 8,500 delegates from across the world will take part in the 10-day film festival that ends on 2 December.