Mumbai – 22nd November 2020 - An online international children’s film festival KidzCINEMA2020 concluded here today on a grand note. The festival was opened by none other than India’s greatest showman, Subhash Ghai on the Universal Children’s Day falling upon 20th November, KidzCINEMA2020. Today Golden Gaja Awards from were announced by KidzCINEMA, which had some of the eminent Jury Members including Satish Kaushik, Dr. Madhu Chopra, Meghna Ghai Puri, Vinod Ganatra, Bobby Sarma Baruah and international child cinema authorities like Marion Creely, Sean Cisterna, Pierre Assouline and Josep Arbiol.
Subhash Ghai, Founder & Chairman, Whistling Woods International, said, “Cinema is all about storytelling, it’s all about the storytelling of their own land and culture, it’s a reflection of society. We have been brought up for thousands of years through storytelling through Ramayana, Mahabharata, Duta Vakyam etc. Films support a variety of art forms like music, dance, and drama etc. and I am happy that if we encourage this among kids, we are broadening their horizon, and I hope this will develop a new generation making this country among the biggest powers.”
Praveen Nagda, Festival Director, KidzCINEMA2020 informed that this festival in its very 1st edition became a truly international event with the online participation of global festival directors and eminent personalities of global children’s cinema like Josep Arbiol, Director MICE Cuba, Alejandra Fritis Zapata, Director of “Ojo de Pescado”, Daniel Lundquist, Head of Programming, BUFF Malmö Film Festival, Michael Harbauer, Festival Director, SCHLINGEL, Pamela Bisson, Founder Le Machin Club, Quebec, Vassilis C. Karagianis, President, ASIFA HELLAS, Anis Ben Ahmed, SOUSSE International Film Festival, and Dr. Madhu Chopra, Co-Founder, Purple Pebble Pictures.
Elizabeth Venkataraman, Joint President – Consumer, Commercial and Wealth Marketing, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “Kotak Junior is a savings account tailored exclusively for children to encourage savings and teach financial planning early on to prepare them to fulfil future goals. We constantly engage with our Junior customers and their parents through a host of knowledge and entertainment-based initiatives. KidzCINEMA2020 is one such unique platform for children to learn more about different types of cinema in an interesting way. We are happy to bring some exclusive children’s movies to our Junior customers that showcase a diverse mix of talented participants, especially in the 'Kids-Made Film' category. Kotak Junior congratulates every participant for their hard work and creativity in moviemaking and extends an invitation to all Junior customers and their parents to view this unique body of work.”
"KidzCINEMA has come as a welcome engagement and refreshing entertainment for all the kids. Through the last 7-8 months all the kids were confined to homes with restricted activities. The very idea of Kidz Cinema provides these kids an exposure to over 1100 films from 87 countries. This will allow them to understand the cultures, ambiance, and storytelling from all over the globe. Also, that the films are in live action & animation makes an interesting mix. Large number of films are show cases which are made by kids for kids as well. This is a great beginning for India, and I am very sure that Kidz Cinema will continue for generations to come." Ashish S K, Founder - Punnaryug Artvision Pvt Ltd and Screenyug Creations Pvt Ltd.
One of the panel discussions, Children’s Film Culture, A lost Opportunity was participated by Amole Gupte, Rajiv Chilaka of Green Gold Animation, Animation Directors Vikram Veturi and Vaibhav Kumaresh and was moderated by Ashish Kulkarni. Another panel discussion on Opportunities for Children's Films in Broadcast and OTT space was moderated by Prof. Ujjwal K Chowdhury, Pro Vice Chancellor, Adamas University with eminent people including Aparna Acharekar, Programming Head, ZEE5 India, Madhavan AK, Assemblage Entertainment, Munjal Shroff, Graphiti and Vidhyalakshmi, who heads a regional children’s channel.
Over the 3 days, there were 44 films were screened in a completely online environment for the children spread across the world. From the 1101 film entries from 87 countries, there were 88 films, which made into official selection. Besides, children enjoyed Master class by Amole Gupte, Masterclass on Smartphone Filmmaking by Ritesh Taksande, Theatre Workshop by Gulshan Walia, Storytelling Workshop by Deepa Kiran, Animation Workshop by Munjal Shroff, Acting Workshop by Suvahhdan Angre, Scriptwriting Workshop by Varun Gautam, Becoming a character by Nivedita Bhargava, Filmmaking Workshop by Ashok Kaul among other activities undertaken for the children.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to the tremendous support from UNESCO, the film fraternity & our partners and we sincerely hope that children and youth will make the most of it,” added Manasvini Singh, Artistic Director.
Kotak Junior was associated as Banking Partner and Whistling Woods International was associated as a Knowledge Partner to KidzCINEMA2020, which was organized in partnership with UNESCO New Delhi Office.
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