THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:It was a children’s day out. They congregated in hordes in the capital city to take part in the first of a kind film festival crafted for them. The International Children’s Film Festival of Kerala (ICFFK) 2018 opened to a full house on Monday. A total of 19 movies were screened on the first day.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the festival on Tuesday at Tagore Theatre. Festival committee chairman M Mukesh MLA will deliver the keynote address. Children’s Prime Minister of 2017 S S Abhinavamirag will deliver the message of the festival.The week-long film fete organised by the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW), in association with Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC), and the State Institute of Children’s Literature will screen 140 films.
More than 3,000 delegates have registered for the fest. As many as 10 ‘festival autos’ have been roped in to ferry children between theatres.Terming the film fest as a milestone, KTDC chairman M Vijayakumar released the souvenir by handing it over to a delegate Jishnu. An interactive session was also held in the sidelines of the fest where noted film critic V K Joseph shared some of his thoughts on film-making. A discussion on how to make good movies was also held. He shared some of the technicalities involved in the movie-making process with children.
A host of cultural programmes was held as part of the film festival. The Tagore Theatre resonated with mellifluous notes as a children’s orchestra group named ‘Talent Kids Orchestra’ rendered a spectacular performance of memorable songs from Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil movies. The festival has also offered a platform for children who have no avenues for watching movies. Children from orphanages and various tribal villages across the state have joined in the festival milieu. The students from the Government Tribal High school, Idinjar, have also arrived to participate in the fete.