Raju Hirani’s son debuts as a director at ‘The Golden Elephant’ at Hyderabad

Here’s another star kid on the block who is making his debut at the 18^th International Children’s Film Festival India and is following his father’s footsteps. Raju Hirani’s son Vir has directed a movie titled ‘Return Gift’ under the Little Directors category, which will be screened at ‘The Golden Elephant’ this year.

The film is said to be inspired by a true story narrated to Veer by his grandmother. ‘Return Gift’ is a four minute movie and proud papa Raju Hirani has already made arrangements to be in Hyderabad at the screening of his son’s directorial debut.

The Little Directors is an In-Competition section featuring films made by children between from the age group of 6-16. There are eleven other films that are competing in the same category for the reputable ‘Golden Elephant’ award.  "We are happy to have Vir Hirani participate and compete in the festival. It is a proud moment for us” added Amole Gupte, the Chairman of Children's Film Society of India.

Children are the toughest audience & best critics: Ranbir

At a the press conference for The 18^th International Children’s Film Festival India in Hyderabad, Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor stated that children are the toughest to please as an audience and they are the best critics too.

Meanwhile veteran Bollywood lyricist-director Gulzar’s said “It revolves a lot around children and I also play an 18-year-old in the film,” He also stressed that concerns of children need to be addressed in a better way than how they are being done now.

“There are gaps and we need to fill them with positive entertainment. As far as such festivals go, they also have to be taken to different locations to spread their reach across the length and breadth of the country,” he added.

The ace director also mentioned that he has experienced his best moments working with children during the making of films such as Parichay and Masoom.

The three movies at ‘The Golden Elephant’ you should look out for!

It’s Childrens Day tomorrow and also ‘the big day’ when ‘The Golden Elephant’ kickstarts in Hyderabad. The week long children’s film festival will attract over 1,50,000 children and numerous film professionals across the globe. The event will have various National and International children’s cinema across various genres screened throughout its span.

 Here are the three movies from ‘The Golden Elephant’ which are definitely not worth missing-

1)      Adventures in Zambezia (3D)

An adventurous journey of a young falcon who leaves his desolate desert to the famous bird city of Zambezia

2)      Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha)

A story of two musicians Goopy and Bagha who are banished by the kings of their respective kingdoms for bad quality of their music and how they together dispel evil magic through their music

3)      Kauwboy

A movie that beautifully unravels the story of a 10 year old Jojo who finds solace in a baby jackdaw and how this friendship mends ties between him and his father

Arrangements in full swing for ICFFI: Minister

D K Aruna, Minister for state information and cinematography, Andhra Pradesh has stated that arrangements for the upcoming ICFFI festival is on full swing.

The 18th International Children's Film Festival of India (ICFFI) is a 7-day film festival starting from the 14^th of November to the 20^th of November 2013.

The first ICFFI event was held in the year 1995 in Hyderabad and has since become the permanent venue for the biennial event. The event has been seen as an effort by the Government to encourage children’s cinema.

The minister has also stated that around five child delegates belonging to various districts of the state have been invited to attend the festival.

This year, one of the main highlights of the festival is that 3D movies would be showcased for the first time during the 7-day long festival.

An estimated two hundred films from 48 different countries will be screened across 10 theatres in the city as a part of the festival.

Centre to set guidelines protecting rights of child artists in ‘The Golden Elephant’

Union I&B Secretary Bimal Julka hints at the centre coming up with certain guidelines with a view to safeguard rights of child artists. 

"We will soon evolve guidelines on which the film industry needs to operate vis-a-vis child artistes. The guidelines will cover the process (of film making) and the content (of films). We will deliberate on the rights of child artistes at the International Children's Film Festival of India (ICFFI) beginning in Hyderabad on November 14," Julka stated during a recent press conference.

She also stressed that this innovative concept will be used to set certain guidelines keeping in mind the conditions and situations that child artists are subjected to while shooting.

"They shoot for 6-7 hours a day. What are the conditions they shoot in...What is the content of the film... Whether it is suitable for the children...We will deliberate on all such issues," Julka said. 

Two movies by NIDians to be screened at ‘The Golden Elephant’

‘The Golden Elephant’ will showcase two movies by NID graduates this year at the 18^th International Children’s Film Festival India to be held in Hyderabad starting from the 14^th of November to the 2oth of November.

NID's student Anoop Sathyan's documentary named  'A Dream Called America' and an independent short fiction by alumnus, Ridham Janve's titled 'Kanche Aur Postcard’ (Marbles and Postcards) are among the various movies to be screened during the 7 day festival. ‘The Golden Elephant’ will attract an estimated one lakh children and over 100 film professionals from across the globe, screening over 200 films from 48 countries. It is held in Hyderabad once in every two years. The festival aims at bringing the best of National and International children’s cinema under one roof and making it accessible to the young Indian audiences.

Pakistani author and peace activist, Fauzia Minallah, one of the jury members at ‘The Golden Elephant’!

An 18-member jury comprising of various film personalities from across the globe will judge films in different categories in the 18th International Children's Film Festival, India which will be held in Hyderabad from 14^th of November. Fauzia Minallah- an artist, author and a peace activist from Pakistan is among the jury for the 7-day film festival. 

Fauzia’s has been actively involved in tackling issues of heritage, conservation, environment and other social issues. She encourages peace, tolerance and justice through her literary works for children. She uses various art and reading workshops to help ‘children in crisis’ and blends animation with her work for children, thus bringing out political satire effectively. According to the Children’s Film Society, India (CFSI), she has won various National and International awards for her outstanding contribution to children literature and animations.