NEW DELHI: ‘Swacchta’ will be the main theme for the Rashtriya Bal Film Mela being held from 14 November, which is also marked as Children’s Day.
The three-day festival at Siri fort auditorium in the capital has been planned for the first time in Delhi on the sidelines of Childrens’ day celebrations. The event will focus on Children’s films which are either made or shot in India or the makers are Indian and will be held every alternate year. Tennis ace Sania Mirza would be the chief guest for the inaugural function.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the theme for Rashtriya Bal Film Mela would help in taking ‘Swacch Bharat Abhiyan’ to children and would create awareness among them through the medium of films.
The Minister said programmes like performance of the Shiamak Davar Dance Group at the inaugural function, ‘Cinematography Workshop’ by the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, workshop on ‘Best out of waste’, Magic performance: Act ‘Garbage Man’ impromptu work of art by the ace artist Vilas Nayak, and the presence of actor Jimmy Shergill on the theme ‘Swacchta’ would be other attractions for children at the festival. A special focused workshop on Charles Chaplin based on the film “Boot Cake” will be held. In addition, there will be paintings on Swachhta, and digital collage making on clean India & craft on making utility items through waste materials. The workshops will be conducted by experts from film institutes including FTII for groups of talented and deserving children between the age group of 5 to 16 years.
‘Pappu Ki Pugdundi’ would be the opening film of the festival being organised by the Children`s Film Society of India under the aegis of the Ministry.
Shortcut Safari which will be premiered for the first time, The Goal, Mahek Mirza, Ek Ajooba, Kummati, Krish Trish and Baltiboy-3 are some of the curated movies amongst others. The films are carefully handpicked to create an opportunity for children to experience qualitative content made exclusively for them. Some of these films have won several awards, globally.
Talking about the festival, CFSI CEO Shravan Kumar said, “At CFSI we not only want to make films but also make filmmakers. The objective behind this festival is not just to expand the children’s film market or encourage makers to come forward but also to nurture talent from a very young age. If we can showcase the right content and create a conducive environment for children to pursue film making or allied creative career paths, I am sure we will get great talent emerging out of our country. Films, I believe is the most powerful medium and if used effectively we can entertain while addressing various pressing issues”.
Interestingly, Bollywood personalities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Sonakshi Sinha have given video bytes to wish CFSI and NCFF. Celebrities such as Jimmy Shergill and Shaimak Davar team will participate in cultural programmes and workshops.
