Press Meet: The 18th International Children's Film Festival, India-2013

The 18th International Children's Film Festival, India-2013

Mumbai, October, 2013: The 18th International Children's Film Festival, India (ICFFI) popularly known as 'The Golden Elephant' will be held in Hyderabad from November 14th to 20th, 2013.

Lalitha Kala Thoranam has been selected as the venue for the inaugural and closing ceremony and the films will be screened at Prasad IMAX Multiplex and 7 other theatres.

The 18' Golden Elephant will see over 1.5 lakh child delegates from across the nation. The festival will feature Children's Film Society India's (CFSI) Goopi Gawaiyya Bagha Bajaiyya, as an inaugural film.

The Festival Director and CEO, Children's Film Society, India Dr. Shravan Kumar informs, "Out of 900 films received from over 75 countries we will be screening 200 films sourced from more than 45 countries. This year we have received films from 20 countries that were not represented in the 17th ICFFI. These countries are Austria, Chile, Cuba, Lebanon, Ethiopia Ghana, Jordan, Malaysia, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Tunisia, Slovenia, Senegal and Scotland among others."

Talking about the aim of the festival, Dr. Shravan Kumar said. "The 18 Golden Elephant which is a collaborative effort between CFSI an autonomous organisation of the l&B Minisry, the Andhra Pradesh Government and the l&B ministry aims to promote the ethos of healthy and wholesome entertainment for children by bringing the best films from all diverse cultural backgrounds representing different countries and by carefully curating a package of around 200 films" he added.

Ranbir Kapoor will be inaugurating the 18 Golden Elephant. The veteran writer, lyricist, poet and director Gulzar will be the guest of honour. Taare Zameen Par actor Darsheel Safary and the child stand up comedian Saloni Daini will co-host the inaugural ceremony.

A strong supporter of The Golden Elephant, Superstar Salman Khan has shot a promotional AV for 18 ICFFI to encourage all the delegates. "In spite of his busy schedule Salman Khan lent his support to the 18 Golden Elephant. His involvement with ICFFI will help us to reach out to the maximum number of children as they adore him." says the Chairman CFSI, Amole Gupte.

Disclosing the highlights of the festival Dr. Kumar says, "There are many 'firsts' in this festival. "Some of the ICFFI films have been sourced from Cannes Film Market, allowing us to pick a selection of the latest children's films, awaiting their World/ Asian Premiers. ICFFI has received 26 films from South America, a region barely represented in the earlier editions. For the first time the films will be screening through Digital Cinema Package (DCPs)."

The festival will have four competitive sections, 'Competition International Animation", 'Competition International Live Action', 'Competition Shorts' and 'Competition Little Directors' where total 54 international and national films will compete against each other for the prestigious Golden Elephant Trophies. The best film would bag the Golden Elephant trophy and Rs 2 lakhs in cash and the second best feature will bag the Golden Elephant Plaque with Rs 1 lakh in cash.

The festival will also have two non-competition categories, Children's World and Country In Focus. Children's World (85 films) will present award winning international and national films from the last decade. Country in Focus, Czech Republic (12 films) will present the best of Czech Children's Films, including live action and animated features and shorts. This section is made possible by collaboration with Zlin Film Festival, the oldest children's film festival in the world.

There are total 10 feature films in the newly introduced 'Competition International Animation' including two Indian animations, Goopi Gawaiyya Bagha Bajaiyya and Arjun.

The festival will have a section, 'Special Focus on Children with Special Needs', delivered through dedicated film screenings.

There will be a special workshop conducted on the Rights of Child Actors in the festival , "More emphasis should be given on 'child rights' and rights of children working in media should be adequately safeguarded. It's important to see that a child actor doesn't lose his precious time or days at school just because he is shooting" the Stanley Ka Dabba director says.

The festival will have a section, 'Special Focus on Children with Special Needs', delivered through dedicated film screenings.

About International Children's Film Festival India: International Children's Film Festival India (ICFFI) also popularly known as The Golden Elephant is a biennial festival that strives to bring the most delightful and imaginative national and international children's cinema to young audiences in India. Outstanding features, shorts, live action and animation films are screened over seven days of festive celebrations, attended by more than one hundred thousand children and hundreds of film professionals from across the world .ICFFI is organized by Children's Film.

Society India (CFSI) — an autonomous body under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India committed to nurturing a dynamic children's film culture in the country.

Every two years, the festival begins on 14th November, the birth date of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.