Mrs. Maneka Gandhi, Hon’ble Minister for Women and Child Development, Government of India and Mr. Tigmanshu Dhulia graced the occasion
New Delhi, December 22, 2015: Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY) was inaugurated today by Hon’ble Minister For Women and Child Development, Government of India, Mrs. Maneka Gandhi, the Chief Guest for the occasion and national award winning director and actor Mr. Tigmanshu Dhulia, the Guest of Honor along with the presence of the Festival Chairperson Mr. Santanu Mishra and the Festival Director, Mr. Jitendra Mishra. The Russian film ‘Celestial Camel’, directed by Yury Feting was chosen as the opening film for the festival besides “Birds of passage’ from France-Belgium. The weeklong festival started from today will continue till December 27th, 2015. The film festival will witness more than 80 films to be screened which include 30 feature films, 30 Shorts and documentaries. The festival will also include 20 films made by students. Workshops on children related Film Making, Photography, Sand animation, storytelling and other activities will also be part of the festival.
Speaking on this occasion, Hon’ble Minister for Women and Child Development, Government of India, Mrs. Maneka Gandhi said “Good films for children stay in your mind forever and good cinema makes positive impact on children. I congratulate Smile Foundation for SIFFCY”
Noted film makers such as Nagesh Kukunoor, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Hansal Mehta, Santosh Sivan, Jahnu Barua, and Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty are part of the advisory board for the festival, along with National award winning film critics Saibal Chatterjee, Utpal Borpujari and film producer Sushil Kumar Agrawal.
Mr. Tigmanshu Dhulia overwhelmed with the initiative said “I am glad that I have been a part of such good initiative by Smile Foundation. We have very good films on board which definitely will convey a message and will create a lasting impact on our children, in a light hearted manner.”
“I hope through SIFFCY, we will be able to channelize the energy of children and youth in a positive way and engage them proactively in the process of initiating social change” – said Mr. Santanu Mishra, Festival Chairperson, SIFFCY.
Targeting country’s children and youth, the week-long festival in Delhi will only be the beginning, after which SIFCCY will travel across India aiming to reach out to Children and Youth in 400 districts and sensitize them with good cinema.
About Smile Foundation:
Smile Foundation is a national level development organisation benefitting over 300,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 25 states of India every year. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.