Colourful start to kids' film festival
Hyderabad: In a glittering function, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy formally inaugurated the 17th International Children's Film Festival - The Golden Elephant - at the Global Peace Auditorium at Gachibowli on Monday evening. The festival will be on till November 20.
Speaking on the occasion, Kiran Kumar Reddy announced the allocation of the 10 acre land for the permanent venue of the festival to Children's Film Society of India (CFSI).
'We are happy to have convinced the society to hold the film festival this year in Hyderabad. We hope to finish the construction of the permanent venue before the next one and retain the festival here,' he said.
'As a young nation we have to set our goals to compete in the global village. With over 150 films from 40 countries, our children are lucky to be able to watch the films and gain global exposure.'
Nandita Das, chairperson, CFSI, said, 'This is the first time we have films from Africa and South America. China is the country in focus.
'We have filmmakers and children from China who have come to share their films. This is a wonderful opportunity for the children to watch the films and interact with the film makers and delegates.'
Minister DK Aruna, addressing the gathering, said, 'When consumerism and violence are the order of the day, the film festival will be a delight to watch. Programming of the films was done to cultivate understanding of other cultures, stimulating critical appreciation.'
She expressed happiness that two films 'Seven Days in Slow Motion produced by K Basi Reddy and Lotus Pond produced by PG Vinda who belongs to the backward district of Mahbubnagar are participating in the festival.
The inaugural ceremony had filmmakers from all over the world, jury and Telugu film personalities including Daggubati Rama Naidu, Nagarjuna, Ram and Samantha as special guests.
News Posted: 15 November, 2011
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