The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Voting Weekend for the IIFA Awards in Toronto, opened on Friday to the members of the Indian Film fraternity. The 4th, 5th and 6th of March marks the 12th year of IIFA’s Voting Weekend, where the reigning superstar of the big screen, Kareena Kapoor cast her first vote, followed by Arjun Rampal, Karan Johar, Sonu Sood, Riteish Deshmukh, Yash Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, J.P. Dutta, Manmohan Shetty and other members of the film fraternity and the IIFA Advisory Board. Akin to past IIFA Voting Weekends, many prominent members from the fraternity would participate this year.
Each year over 1000 industry stalwarts, actors, directors, producers, technicians and composers among others cast their votes, which decide the nominations for the awards. Each year, the IIFA management invites the Academy members and the Film Industry to cast their votes and shortlist nominations in the category of the Popular Awards. The Voting Weekend also derives the Technical Award winners.
Having cast the first vote, previous IIFA awardee Kareena Kapoor shared, “It is a great privilege that has been bestowed upon me to cast the first vote and inaugurate the 12th IIFA Voting Weekend. IIFA has set a high standard with its voting procedure and hence established a benchmark for excellence and credibility. This being the IIFA’s premiere in North America, I am eagerly looking forward to the IIFA Weekend in Toronto.”
2011 marks the twelfth year of the IIFA celebrations. The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) will make its North American debut in Ontario, Canada this year wherein the three-day long IIFA Weekend and Awards is all set to take place from the 23rd to 25th of June.
Ramesh Sippy, IIFA Advisory Board member said, “In its 12th year, IIFA has continued its focus of promoting the very best of Indian cinema globally and the IIFA Voting Weekend is a key component of making IIFA, the success it is.”
“2010 has been a great year for the Indian movie business. The IIFA Voting Weekend is a wonderful opportunity to honour colleagues by voting for the best of the best. With the Videocon IIFA Weekend and the Micromax IIFA Awards 2011 in Toronto, Canada, we will continue to bring the on-screen magic to the Indian diaspora with the grandest celebration of Indian cinema.” said Wiz Sabbas Joseph, Director – Wizcraft International Entertainment.
The IIFA Voting process is a stringent and methodical procedure that is closely monitored by PriceWaterHouse Coopers (PwC), the official auditors for the event. The popular category nominations will then be available for the global audience to participate in the voting process. The final winners of the IIFA Awards are revealed on the night of the Awards ceremony when the envelope is opened onstage, in front of the live audience. The results are surrounded by secrecy and the credibility of the voting process is one of the key parameters of this prestigious award.
Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd promotes the IIFA celebrations globally each year and travel to a new beau locale taking the Film fraternity with it to amalgamate and celebrate the best of both cultures, thereby taking Indian Cinema to a wider audience.
