Children's Film Society, India

ow! What happened today was

something even I, Gajju, could not Whave guessed. The inauguration of

the 17th International Children Film Festival

turned out to be an extravaganza rarely seen

before. I cannot but feel a secret thrill that

most of the performers who took the evening

by storm were children.

The tone for the programme was set in the

very beginning by the beating of two large

drums to announce the commencement of

the function, followed by dancing to a

S w a g a t h a m s o n g s u n g b y S P

Balasubramaniam which not only talked

about unity in diversity but also secularism,

and two young Uncles making a sketch on

sand which depicted the theme of the festival

and also had the Festival logo.

And I felt humbled by the large number of

dignitaries who had come to welcome me on

my return to this city of Pearls. The Minister of

State for Information and Broadcasting

Chaudhary Mohan Jatua, the Chief Minister of

Andhra Pradesh Mr N Kiran Kumar Reddy,

Andhra Information and Public Relations

Minister Ms D K Aruna, Children’s Film Society,

India, Chairperson Ms Nandita Das, the Chief

Executive Officer Sushovan Banerjee, and B

Venkateshan of the Andhra Pradesh State

Film, Television and Theatre Development

Corporation. Also present were Mr Uday Kumar

Scintillating and Energetic Performances mark start of the

17th International Children’s Film Festival

A peep into the Wonderous World of Cinema

Hyderabad www.cfsindia.org Issue: 2 November 15, 2011

I am still to get over all the excitement at the

inauguration of the Festival. But I know that all

my young friends are also here to learn a lot of

new things and so I have planned so many

interesting events so that we can all meet and

make friends while learning something.

15-19 November, 2011

Film Making - Dining Hall, 2.30-5.30pm

Script Writing - Exhibition Hall 2.30-6.30pm

Film Appreciation - Shilparamam 4.30-6.30pm

Animation - Shilpakala Vedika 4.30-6.30pm

Puppet Making - Exhibition Hall 4.30-6.30pm

Sampradaya Vedika 9.30 am to 6.30 pm

FICCI Business of Kids Entertainment Summit

Media Centre, Shilpakala Vedika

11.00 am Rajan Khosa, Director of opening film ‘Gattu’

4.30 pm Chinese delegation for ‘In Focus’ section

I am sure you will agree that is quite a handful!

But my only worry is whether I will get the time

to eat, since I have a huge appetite. After all, I am

the Jumbo Mascot of the Festival!

Workshops

l

l

l

l

l

Business Summit

Press Meets

l

l

Gajju’s

Programme Today

Varma and Mr D P Reddy, Secretary and Joint

Secretary respectively in the Information and

Broadcasting Ministry.

The charming Dia Mirza, a Hyderabad-born

former Miss Asia Pacific, presented the

programme. But she was not the only star

present, as those in the audience included

Nagarjuna, senior producer D Rama Naidu,

and young stars Ram and Samantha.

In his speech, Mr Jatua said children are the

future in a country and have to be taken care

of. I liked it when he said the Golden Elephant

had come to open its magic box and display its

treasures.

The Chief Minister said this was the ninth ICFF

in this city of the Char Minar. He said in a

Contd. Page 4...

Children's Film Society, India

Date Time Name of Film Mins Age

15th 9:30 am Gadkiy Utyonok (The Ugly Duckling) CI 75 6+

11:30 am Iep! (Eep!) CI 81 10+

2:30 pm Xinghai (The Star and the Sea) CI 106 10+

Magic Land, Rock Heights, Shilparamam

Screening Schedule

Date Time Name of Film Mins Age

15th 9:30 am I am Kalam IC 87 10+

11:30 am Derevo Detstva (My Childhood Mystery Tree) CW 11 6+

Ledus Pavelnieks (Ice Master) CW 24 6+

Lost and Found CW 24 6+

Il Re Dell’isola (The King of the Island) CW 17 10+

Steinfliegen (Stoneflies) CW 15 6+

2:30 pm Krish Trish Baltiboy II CW 60 6+

Wonder Land, Rock Heights, Shilparamam

Date Time Name of Film Mins Age

15th 9:30 am Niao Chao (Bird’s Nest) IFC 90 10+

11:30 am Keshavrz Va Robat (The Farmer and the Robot) SC 21 6+

Os Olhos Do Farol (The Eyes of the Lighthouse) SC 15 10+

Bob SC 4 6+

The Lost Thing SC 15 10+

Kahanikar (Storyteller) SC 10 10+

2:30 pm Océans (Oceans) CW 104 10+

Dream Land, Rock Heights, Shilparamam

CI-Competition International IC-India Competition SC-Shorts Competition LD-Little Director CW-Children's World IFC-In Focus China

What I recommend for today…..and whyThe Ugly Duckling

Eep!

Director: Garri

Bardin | Russian

Federation / 2010

/ Col. / 75 mins

A fledging belonging to no known species of

chicken, duck or goose is rejected by all and so

courageously decides to make it on his own in

the dangerous world outside.

Director: Ellen Smit | Netherlands / 2009 /

Col. / 81 mins

Warre finds a

baby girl with

wings that has

fallen from the

sky and takes it

home. His wife

Tine calls it Birdie. But when Birdie flies away

to the south, both Warre and Tine go looking

for her.

The Star and the Sea

I am Kalam

Director: Xiao Guiyun & Li Qiankuan | People’s

Republic of China /2010 / Col. / 106 mins

Young Xinghai’s poor mother struggles to

educate him while

his grandfather

introduces him to

the indigenous

mud pipe and

bamboo f lu te .

Forced to go from Macao to Singapore, Xinghai

meets an inspiring mentor

Director: Nila Madhab Panda | India / 2010 /

Col. / 87 mins

Chhotu, an intelligent boy from a poor family

in Rajasthan,

meets the local

p r i n c e a n d

they take a

liking to each

other, marking the beginning of an unlikely

and unstable friendship.

Director: Natalia Mirzoyan | Russia / 2009 /

Col. / 11 mins

A six year old

boy enters the

inner world of

his childhood in

search of his

favourite toy, a

teddy bear, and discovers a mysterious world

inhabited by fabulous creatures.

Director: Evalds | Latvia / 2009 / Col. / 24 mins

An angry Wizard freezes

the whole kingdom and

kidnaps the beautiful

Princess, and only young

Page can save her.

My Childhood Mystery Tree

Ice Master

Children's Film Society, India

Lost and Found

The King of the Island

Stoneflies

Krish, Trish and Baltiboy II

Bird’s Nest

Director: Philip Hunt | UK / 2008 / Col. / 23 mins

A boy finds a

penguin at his

d o o r s t e p a n d

decides to take it

to its home...even

i f t h a t m e a n s

rowing all the way to the South Pole!

Director: Raimondo Della Calce | Italy / 2009 /

Col. / 17 mins

S i x y e a r o l d

Gioanni discovers

that his seafaring

father is even

better than he

had imagined.

Director: Anne Walther | Germany / 2009 /

Col. / 15 mins

Ferdi , a l i t t le

stone, lives with

his parents on an

island and his

biggest wish is to

fly. So he must

journey north to the wise mountain to learn

how to fly.

Director: Munjal Shroff & Tilakraj Shetty |

India / 2010 / Col. / 60 mins

Three lovable

m i n s t r e l s

Krish, Trish

and Baltiboy

tel l stories

from Indian

folktales and folk music. Mr. Crocodile takes

some fruit for his wife but she wants to eat her

husband’s friend, the Monkey. In Bihar, two

village monkeys set out for the city in search of

a better life. The lazy barber shows his wit

when he sets out to the forest to make a living.

Director: Ning Jingwu | China / 2008 /

Col. / 90 mins

A young boy sets out from his village in south-

western China to find his father. The film

reveals the Miao people’s natural and

harmonious condition of life, honest and

simple relationships.

Director: Abdollah Ali-Morad | Iran / 2011 /

Col. / 21 mins

A robot from

a spacecraft

w h i c h

crashes in a

watermelon

field runs to a

pitcher to quench his thirst, frightening the

farmer and his donkey.

Director: Pedro Serrazina | Portugal,

Netherlands / 2010 / Col. / 15 mins

T h e l i t t l e

daughter of a

l i g h t h o u s e

keeper in a

rocky i s land

builds a unique

relationship with the sea, making her father

uncomfortable.

Directors: Jacob Frey and Harry Fast |

Germany / 2009 / Col. / 4 mins

A hamster chases his lady-love all around the

world to attain her affection.

Director: Andrew Ruhemann & Shaun Tan |

Australia / 2010 / Col. /15 mins

A boy brings

h o m e a

s t r a n g e

creature he

found on a

beach, but every

one believes there are far more important

things to pay attention to.

Director: Nandita

Jain | UK / 2011 / Col.

/ 10 mins

Young Nirmala becomes a storyteller in the

The Farmer and the Robot

The Eyes of the Lighthouse

Bob

The Lost Thing

Storyteller

hope of getting rid of the demons in the story

told by her grandfather.

Director: Jacques Perrin & Jacques Cluzaud |

France / 2007 / Col. /104 mins

This is a journey into the heart of the world’s

oceans where unknown and neglected

marine creatures live, threading their way

through a shoal of tuna on the hunt,

accompanying dolphins in their joyous rush,

and swimming with a great white shark.

Oceans

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant for

Golden Elephant plaque for

Golden Elephant plaque for

Golden Elephant plaque for

Golden Elephant plaque for

Best Feature Film

Best Director

Best Screenplay

Best Feature Children’s Jury

Best Short

Best Short, Children’s Jury

Best Indian Feature Film

Best Indian Director

Best Indian Screenplay

Best Indian Feature, Children’s Jury

Best Little Director

Plaques

Runner up Best Feature

Runner up Best Short

Runner up Best Indian Feature

Runner up Best Little Director

Our Awards for The Achievers

Children's Film Society, India

Edited by B.B. Nagpal on behalf of the Children’s Film Society, India, Films Division Complex, 24, Dr.G.D. Marg, Mumbai-400 026.

Design Seshu Kumar MVV, Satya T, Guru J

Photos Kotnis Murali Krishna, Chillam Charla Suresh Kumar, D.S. Chakravarthi, D. Yuva Raj

Designed & Produced by Efforts, 11-6-872, Red Hills, Lakdikapul, Hyderabad-500 004. www.efforts.co.in

Festival Office CFSI, Camp: Shilparamam, Madhapur, Hyderabad.

country which had 54 per cent below 25 years

of age and 41 per cent below 18 years of age, it

was important to make cinema that appealed

to the young. He said the goals should be clear

since children today were competing in a

global village. He said films should make

children think, even as they get entertained.

Reiterating that the CFSI had been allotted ten

acres of land for a children film complex and

promising that it would be ready by the next

festival, he said Andhra Pradesh was the only

state where children’s films were tax-free and

a subsidy of Rs three million was given for

makers of children’s films. This was because

children’s films needed support because of

competition from television and the internet.

Ms Aruna appreciated showing of good films

in a world cluttered with violence and

consumerism. Good films cultivate an

understanding of other cultures, she said

adding that it was the vision of Pandit

Jawaharlal Nehru to have decided to set up

the CFSI.

Ms Das said the number of films this year –

152 – was a record and there were films even

from Africa and South America. She

particularly referred to the 17-member

Chinese delegation which had come for the In

Focus section on that country (they later

presented a special token to her).

The programme included the showing of an

old film where Chacha Nehru was shown

telling children why he wanted more films

made for them.

And I really loved Dia referring to children as

the living messages ‘we send out to a time in

the future which we will not see’. I really

enjoyed the answers when a young girl,

hen I see so many things written

about me, I realize how important Wthe media is to any festival. The

media plays a major role in any Film Festival,

and this is only possible if the mediapersons

are given all facilities they need for covering

such a major event as the 17th ICFF.

The Media Centre of the 17th ICFF in the first

floor of the Shilpakala Vedika in Shilparamam

was inaugurated by the Andhra Pradesh

Minister for Information and Public Relations

Ms D K Aruna. Emphasizing the importance of

the media, she expressed the hope that full

use would be made of the facilities given at

the Centre to give the best possible coverage

to the Festival.

The Media Centre has a place for Press

Conferences and a place where they can sit

and file their stories. For this purpose, there

are ten computers with LCD screens with

internet connectivity, apart from telephone

and other facilities.

Mediapersons will be able to get all possible

i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m t h e w e b s i t e

www.cfsindia.org about the Festival and also

get regular updates.

I just love publicity, and so I am happy that the

media has turned out in such numbers to

meet me, and I am personally excited that

these mediapersons will also interact with me

and my young friends who have come from all

over the country. And do not forget to see

some films, as I have brought some of the best

from all over the world.

thMedia Centre at 17 ICFF is opened to National and International Media

...from Page 1

Suma, went around in the crowded venue,

Global Peace Foundation Auditorium, asking

questions about what children and adults

thought of films for children and the Festival.

The Auditorium was decorated beautifully

with a lot of colour and children dressed in

various costumes.

The sensational Prince Dance Troupe had got

their bodies painted in the colours of the

Indian flag and it was natural that while their

acrobatics had everyone gaping in wonder,

many clapped whenever the flag was waved

by small children from the troupe.

There was a violin concert by almost twenty

children conducted by Ashok Rajala, and then

young girls giving a fantastic performance

while standing on one leg on top of earthen

pots holding or balancing candles on their

heads or hands. They had been trained by the

wellknown Bharatnatyam dancer Manjula

Ramaswami.

But what left me really clapping was a very

scintillating performance by the renowned

percussionist Sivamani – who not only used

things like kitchen utensils and a suitcase for

his music, but was accompanied this time by a

child prodigy Samuel.

The programme concluded with the

screening of the Indian film ‘Gattu’ by Rajan

Khosa and produced by the Children’s Film

Society, India. The film was about a young boy

who loves kites, and I was immediately

mesmerized as I love them too!