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Shilpramam in Hyderabad promises to be a treat for children this Children's Day on November 14. The arts and crafts village is gearing up to host the 17th International Children's Film Festival, which will showcase 170 films from 40 countries.
“The venue is on an elevated ground and very beautiful. The festival will be bigger and better than any year before,” said Sushovan Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer, Children's Film Society of India.
The budget for this year's festival is Rs 5 crore, of which Rs 1.45 crore is funded by the Central Government and the rest by the Andhra Pradesh Government.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry has come on board for the first time, bringing with it private broadcasters Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.
These two channels will help promote the event through their networks.
FICCI will also organise a summit where artists and the industry can meet, in a first-of-its-kind B2C event, said Munjal Shroff, FICCI representative.
Around 10 children from each district will be brought to view films, said Nandita Das, Chairperson, CFSI.
“Some of them have never stepped out of their villages and have never seen a movie before,” she said.
A lot of them are under-privileged children but several schools, non-governmental organisations and individuals are also bringing children.
Hostels and dormitories have been arranged to house the children. There is also a children's jury, where the children judge and give awards to films they like.
The festival has tied up with Doordarshan and is trying to rope in All India Radio. Talks are on with private sponsors as well, said Sushovan Banerjee.
National films such as Stanley ka Dabba , I Am Kalam and Harun Arun will be screened alongside international films such as The Other (Iran), Tales of the Night (France) and The Star and the Sea (China).
Though Hyderabad has become the festival's permanent venue, efforts are on to make the biennial festival travel every other year to a different state, said Nandita Das. Around 1,50,000 children are expected to participate this year.
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