Intl Children’s Film Fest to be declared as Telangana Festival

Record 1,204 entries for the gala event

Telangana chief secretary Rajiv Sharma on Friday informed that the 19th International Children’s Film Festival (ICFF), which will be held from November 14-20, will be declared as a state festival.

“The event is being held for the first time after the formation of Telangana and all members should co-operate to make the event successful,” he said.

Rajiv informed that the opening and closing ceremony of the festival will be held at the Lalitha Kala Thoranam. Prasad’s IMAX will be the main venue for the screening of films along with 11 other theatres. Workshops will be held in Bal Bhavan at Public Gardens.

Rajiv directed the organising committee to look after the accommodation of 500 expected child delegates.Shravan Kumar from the Children Film Society of India (CFSI) explained that this year, the Society has received 1,204 film entries from 80-countries online for screening in this edition, which includes award winning films.

During the last edition in 2013, only around 900 entries were received.Competitions will be in International, International Short, Asian Panorama and Little Directors categories.

“To enlighten children, five workshops along with a special workshop on making films digitally will be conducted,” Sharavan said.

Mukesh Khanna, president, Children Film Society of India (CFSI), stated, “We should not step back on welfare activities of children. I will stay in Hyderabad in closely monitor and will also head to villages to extend assistance for the cause.”

A moblile app will also be launched to ahead of the event.Sunil Arora, secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, directed the organising committee to make the festival entertaining, interactive, informative and fun for children.