Pawan Malhotra inaugurates the 5th AICFF at AMA

The Three day film festival (Dec 7-8-9) will be showcasing world’s select children films for the audience of Ahmedabad at AMA for free

BILKULONLINE

Ahmedabad: With Iran’s film ‘Balit’ which was in Persian language with English sub-titles the AICFF started. People appreciated the movie and were delighted to see a new culture and uniquely nice film with a child as a protagonist.

In his welcome speech, Unmesh Dixit, Executive Director, Ahmedabad Management Association said “We at AMA are always keen to collaborate with such programmes which are meant to educate and entertain the youth of the society.  Films for children must be made and must be watched. These days films are watched on home-theatres, laptops or mobiles also but the joy of going to a theatre and watching it is altogether different. Enjoy the joyride of more than 15 countries and 19 plus films at AICFF organised at AMA”.

Fifth AICFF (Ahmedabad International Children Film Festival) is a three day festival. It was declared open by the veteran actor  Pawan Malhotra. He is a renowned actor known for his versatile performances in both movies and TV shows. Some of his popular works include “Black Friday,” “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,” “Baghban,” and “Don 2.

An entertaining and crisp talk was arranged at the occasion which was moderated by Shyam Parekh, senior journalist and Director Bhavan’s Mass Communication Institute.

Narrating his experiences, ups and downs, commitment and firmness of decisions while choosing or rejecting a film or show Pawan Malhotra shared his experiences and anecdotes.

Applauding the efforts of Chetan Chauhan, Manish Saini and team of AICFF, Nukkad fame veteran actor Pawan Malhotra said “it is not easy to organise children film festivals, there goes lot in selecting getting films, gather like  minded team members and market the idea. There is both money and time involved in it. More and more people must visit such festivals with their children and friends to watch such films who are made to bring soft and strong values and virtues before the audience in their own style. It is not necessary that each film drops a message but it is important that the audience must think about the questions raised there or statements made, analyse and thus the process of decision making from the early years of life must be started. Films play an important role along with providing entertainment”.

Pawan suggested organisers of the AICFF to organise the events in an off season of festivals and marriages and possibly get dubbed films so that more and more people of Gujarat come forward with their children and enjoy and appreciate children films.

Founder of the AICCF, Chetan Chauhan said “If you want to show a film to your child it is difficult to find one, CFSI of India used to make films for children but not release, now government seems to have closed it and merged it. There was a vacuum there. So we decided to work on these lines, try getting films where children are filmed as protagonists. Using internet’s advantage of providing Mileage and Knowledge we decided to bring to India, to Ahmedabad best of children’s films with English sub-titles. So, here we are with the help of AMA and others showcasing these films for free for all of you”.

Manish Saini, an award winner Gujarati film maker who is known for his simplicity and innocence in film’s fabric is the Director of the Film Festival for children. He while addressing the gathering said “I see things with a little different angle, with emotions and so for me it is as if our child has grown five year old. It is difficult to get people to see your films, I have made two children’s films I know it. Films are like a book. If the book is good it helps in moulding their thoughts, reasoning and understanding in their growing up years into a better human being, same is the case of films which is a powerful media and leaves a lasting impression on children’s minds. It is therefore our vision is to provide viewing of best of children’s films available to us to be brought here in Ahmedabad during the AICFF.”

 Japanese film director Fumie Nishikawa was also present on the inaugural day of the AICFF on Friday. She said it was her first visit to India and she was excited to be present at the AICFF, she thanked the organisers to have selected her movie to be shown at the AICFF.

AICFF has consistently attracted worldwide attention and contributions from various content creators. Over the past four editions, the festival has seen more than 500 films from around the globe. This year, the festival received impressive 90-plus films from 24 countries, including entries from Iran, Italy, India, Turkey, China, Croatia, United States, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Taiwan, Switzerland, Singapore, Nepal, Japan, Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic, Canada, Brazil, and the Republic of Korea.

AICFF proudly presents a range of categories and awards, recognizing excellence in various aspects of filmmaking. The categories include Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Animation Film, Best Student Film, Best Director for Feature Film, Best Director for Short Film, Best Director for Documentary Film, Best Actor in a Feature Film, Best Child Actor, Best Story, Best Background Score, along with special recognition through the Golden Kite Award, Silver Kite Award, and Bronze Kite Award.

Distinguished jury members are Aarti Patel, Girish Makwana and Shiladitya Bora who bring their expertise to the festival, along with advisor Abhishek Jain, a renowned Director and Producer.