The 15th International Film Festival, held in Hyderabad from 14th to 20th of November, attracted large number of children and the attention of main stream film industry. The children found the Festival interesting, as it is in tune with what they get to see on TV and Internet these days.
The Festival, which screened a lot of distinctive films, was indeed a rare feast to the children, and the filmmakers as well.
Apart from the huge crowd of children and their parents, the Festival had many visitors form main stream cinema, which normally looks down children's films. Character artiste Nazir came to the Festival and watched a Chinese film. Tamma Reddy Bharadwaja and Siva Nageswara Rao, who made Sisindri, too were present. Siva Nageswara Rao was seen in the screening of Invisible Wings, a Chinese film.
S.S. Rajamouli and Chandrasekhar Yeleti contributed their bit to the Festival. They gave financial help to the film, 'I am Famous', by Hanumantha Rao. It was well appreciated by the children and the delegates.
There was a huge crowd on Sunday. One of the favourites of the day was Khan Khulay, a Thai animation film. It is a wonderful film shot in the jungles of Thailand and Bangkok of yore. It is about a little elephant and its journey of discovery of his father and the values that his father, a great warrior elephant, had stood for.
Outstanding films like Honeymoon, The Genie in a Tin of Raviolis, Little Heroes, Bonifac, The Tallest Story Competition were screened in the Festival. Honeymoon and Invisible Wings, both from China, were hot with the viewers.
There was Amulyam, Foto and Chittigadi Mahabharatam from the local filmmakers. Journey, by B.A. Nag (son of B Narsing Rao), a corporate guy, was appreciated, though many thought some of the scenes did not fit into the Children's film genre.
Foto was all about the celluloid history and the technicalities of filmmaking. Naseeruddin Shah's appearance provided the star value to the film. The film narrates the inspiring journey of a little boy Foto, from being an aimless kid to a filmmaker. The footage from the original films (like Griffith's Birth of Nation, Battleship Potemkin, Alam Ara, and the first film by Lumiere Brothers) makes Foto a must watch for all film buffs.
The Festival also had a workshop conducted for the children on animation. The workshop helped them understanding the basics of animation and it introduced them to the world of moving images.
Ramesh Prasad, the owner of Prasad's, spoke to us about his experience at the 15th International Film Festival and Prasad's plans to host many more in the days to come.
The Festival provided a rare opportunity to the children to enjoy many important international and national films. It also provided the chance for the local filmmakers to learn a few things about making films for children.