Young talent on display at children's film fest launch

Thu, Nov 5 06:11 AM

Mohammed Akram wants to be a filmmaker when he grows up. Holding a camera for the first time in his life, this Class-IX student from Daulatabad in Andhra Pradesh has already made five films that will be entered in the Golden Elephant 16th International Children's Film Festival India (ICFFI) at Hyderabad.

At an interaction hosted by UNICEF and the Children's Film Society India at the WWF building in Lodhi Road, Akram made a little speech after the screening of his film This is how we study. The film also featured Nagraj and Navaneeta, the other children who are part of the 21-member child-reporter team.

Amid warm encouragement from his mentors, actor-filmmaker Nandita Das and Vasnki Belavadi, who assisted the children in making the films, Akram recalled his experiences during the UNICEF-funded, five-month media course,

"We started off by making a news wall, where we put up cuttings from newspapers that we thought were relevant. Then we learnt how to do voice-overs. Finally, we began writing scripts and editing our own films, which was really exciting," the 13-year-old said in broken Hindi.

"We wanted to make a film about our village and what goes on in it, whether it is the water problem or the woes of handicapped children," he added.

Belavadi said: "It is amazing how confident these children have become after they made these documentaries. They now have the courage to confront their village sarpanch, who breaks into shivers at the idea of answering their uncomfortable questions."

Das, chairperson of ICFFI, said she is committed to the cause of meaningful cinema. "We face issues of distribution, but I'm negotiating with filmmakers like Vishal Bharadwaj on how we can make entertainment for children more meaningful and provide an alternative to the meaningless violence on television and the stereotypes they perpetuate. Children continue to be at the bottom of the pyramid when it comes to cinema."

ICFFI in Hyderabad features 15 international and 18 Asian films.

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