NEW DELHI: Prasad V. Lolayekar, Director for Art and Culture in the Goa Government and Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, has been given additional charge as Chief Executive Officer of the Entertainment Society of Goa.

This follows the resignation of Manoj Srivastava, who was Deputy Director in the Directorate of Film Festivals of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Earlier, Srivastava had been a producer with Doordarshan.

During his tenure from June 2008 to 31 December 2012, Srivastava managed the International Film Festival of India on behalf of the Goa Government, since the ESG had been established for collaborating with the DFF after Panaji became a permanent venue for the IFFI in 2004.

During his tenure, Srivastava introduced short films to IFFI by launching the Short Film Center in 2008, giving a fillip to short film movement.

Ever since, the short film movement began in India. During his tenure, Goa bagged the Best Film Destination Award last year.

From a state having five films shot each year, Goa last year boasted of shooting 79 films. Sources said the non-existent film business in Goa has shot up to an industry of Rs four billion.

The attendance at the IFFI has risen from a paltry 3,700 in 2008 to over 13,000 in 2012.

During Srivastava’s tenure, the first Digital Film Archive in Asia was set up in ESG, apart from Goa Cinephile, a famous Film Club for Goans and development of film culture in Goa.