As the curtains went up for the 17th All India Children’s Educational Audio Video Festival in the city on Monday, films from Kerala are perched high on the list of strong contenders for prizes. A total of thirteen films, an all-time high, made in the State are competing for the awards along with 55 other films from all over India.
“This is an especially hopeful year for the State as the number of entries we have is remarkably high,” said State Institute of Educational Technology Director Babu Sebastian.
The festival, organised by the Central Institute of Educational Technology, is a platform to showcase video and audio made with a view to furthering video-based education in the country.
Veteran Malayalam actor Madhu inaugurated the Festival at Jubilee Memorial Animation Centre, Archbishop’s House Compound, Vellayambalam. Terming the brainwashing of children in the wrong direction through mass media as criminal, the actor-producer urged for responsible film making.
“The concept of book learning has undergone a sea change overt the years. We are focusing on providing visuals for every concept learned in the classroom. Hence the thrust on video and audio recordings which contribute significantly to the process of broadening of horizon of children and teachers,” said Babu Sebastian. He added that the videos include those produced by children and those produced by adults for child audiences. “There are many videos made by children that are quite promising. For instance, ‘Daivasoothram’, made by a bunch of young film makers from Kasargode has already garnered a lot of interest and is a sure contender for the awards,” he said.
R Rajaram Sharma, joint director CIET-NCERT and festival director Lal Singh attended the inaugural function. The two-day festival will conclude on February 29.