December 20, 2013
WB CM inaugurates 3rd Kolkata International Children`s Film Festival
West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the 3rd Kolkata International Children`s Film Festival at Nandan, West Bengal Film Center today. Eminent actor Mohan Agashe will be the Chief Guest.
In her speech,the Chief Minister said that, `Children are the future of the world. We need to gift them a beautiful world.`. She said that, this is the age of globalisation. The world is now at the fingertips of children, thanks to the internet.' She said that not just kids, people of all ages love watching children's films. `Do not pressurize your kids for marks. Let them grow up with an open mind,` she said to the parents who had come to the inaugural ceremony with their children. `Children are like rainbows – they have shades of all colours in them,`she added.
The festival will host Oscar-nominated Shwaas, a Marathi film by Sandeep Sawant, on the inaugural day. On the closing ceremony Fandry by Nagraj will be screened.
As a gesture of solidarity with special children, the inaugural ceremony was dedicated to the `special children`.
`Special` child Shuvangi Mitra was present at the inaugural ceremony. 186 films (including short films and documentaries) from 22 foreign countries including films from India will be screened at the nine-day affair. The films will be screened across nine venues. The closing ceremony will also be held in Nandan on 28 December.
The focus of the film festival will be movies from the USA. Movies like Snow White, Alpha and Omega, The life of Pi, Gold Rush and many more will be screened. Blue Umbrella, Alice in Wonderland, The Superstition, and Billy Elliot will also be screened.
The organisers, Paschim Banga Sishu Kishore Academy, said that embassies have also contributed to the list of movies to be screened at the festival. “Germany , Iran, US, Japan have been very supportive and have suggested to us a good number of movies,“ Ms Arpita Ghosh, the Festival Director, said.
The festival will screen selected movies of Chalie Chaplin as well. Bengali classics like Pather Panchali, Bari theke Paliye will be screened as well as a package of classics from the National Film Archives of India.
There will also be a workshop on Animation movies, in collaboration with the National Institute of Design, Pune.
To make it an inclusive affair, screenings via mobile vans have also been organised in five different pockets of the city. Organisers are taking the fest to the streets this time with flash mobs and movie mobs lined up. Information regarding the KICFF will be available on the Internet with details of movies to be screened.
