THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The second day of the second edition of International Children’s Film Festival Kerala (ICFFK), witnessed a flurry of activities with children’s movie buffs running around from one screen to another to watch the films.
The films which received appreciation from the children were Wangdrak’s Rain Boots directed by Zha de Yuxue and The Witch Hunters directed by Rasko Miljkovic.
The movie lovers were spotted carrying the popular film festival bags and festival booklet, and engaged in serious discussions, unmindful of the mercury levels slowly rising at Kariali theatre.
However, the other venues especially Tagore theatre witnessed a low turnout. Speaking to Express, S P Deepak, general secretary, said that around 3000 delegates have registered for the fest and more registrations are expected.
“Registration is still on. Many students are coming and many more to come. So far, student delegates from six districts have registered and come here. The delegates from six more districts are expected to come here on Sunday. The participation of delegates has increased from last year and it is a great achievement. The success is due to the infrastructure and facilities provided here for the delegates coming from distant places”, Deepak said.
Open forum - Children’s parliament
More than a festival, the ICFFK provides a platform for cultural exchange. The festival hosted an open forum, introducing representatives of the Children’s Parliament.
Children’s Parliament started in Tamil Nadu at the neighbourhood level and later expanded to the village, district, state and national levels. It is currently associating with the United Nations to take it a global level.
Gokul Raj, Gnana Shekar and Shaktivel were the speakers for the session. The movie, ‘Power to the children’ directed by Anna Kersting, screened at the festival, is based on this organisation and their lives. The Children’s Parliament focuses on educating children on the rights they possess. It works for the benefit of children to rid social evils like child marriage and abuse that affect them.
An interactive session was conducted between the children and the representatives where they threw light on their initiatives taken up in order to help abolish child marriage and help in the development of their village as well as the differently-abled.
The Children’s Parliament in the past eight years has been able to stop 237 child marriages and rescue over 3,000 child labourers. ‘Power to the Children’ will be screened again on Monday at 11.30 am at Sree Theatre.
Volunteers, anchors in action
Volunteers were seen, moving briskly, helping delegates and attending counters. “We are third-year BBA tourism students,” said Sharon, a volunteer with two of his companions.
“I am a first-year law student and I am doing an internship in Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW),” said Arya Padmam, a volunteer who is busy handing out entry passes at the counter.
Anchors for the screening, wearing official tags, were happy to speak about their experience within the event. “This is my first time, in a film fest and as an anchor too. It’s simply exciting,” said Sayona, an eighth-grade student of Government School Vithura.
The seven-day long festival will showcase around 90 films from across the globe. The council has received around 17 entries for the competition section.
Shane Nigam’s visit
Meanwhile, actor Shane Nigam’s visit to Kairali theatre gave the students an unforgettable experience. “I want to act in a film which has a strong message and stand in the society. Earlier, I always wanted to work behind the camera. But I am satisfied with the acting offers coming in”, Shane said.
Short film by delegates
Unlike last year, this edition introduced an opportunity for delegates to showcase their films made by them with the help of festival authorities. “We are giving the opportunity to the delegates so that they could make a short film to screen on the last day of the fest. This helps the students to make a film and we offer all assistance to them with the help of KSFDC in terms of technical aspects and to make a well-written script for the film,” Deepak added.