International Children's Film Fest opens up in Hyd today

Hyderabad,  Promising to be a rich ensemble of films from across the globe, the 18th International Children's Film Festival of India (ICFFI) would get underway here on Wednesday.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy would inaugurate the week-long event in the presence of Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tiwari, veteran lyricist Gulzar and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor.

State Information and Cinematography Minister D K Aruna said the government had made elaborate arrangements for the jamboree.

About 200 films from 48 countries would be screened in 12 theatres across the city during the festival and an estimated 1,50,000 children are expected to turn up.

The minister said 3-D movies would be shown for the first time, along with 20 best films sourced from Cannes, Berlin and Toronto international festivals.

Czech films will be the Country Focus in the festival, which would showcase a diligently curated package of children's films from the Czech Republic, right from 1950s to some of their recent productions.

Debates and open forums would also be conducted on topics like film-making, animation, script-writing and child rights as part of the festival.

The Children's Film Society of India has selected 'Gopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya' for screening at the inaugural of the Children's film festival of India, said an official release.

The 78-minute animation film, directed by Shilpa Ranade, is the fabulous story of Gopi and Bagha, a pair of musicians gifted with magical powers by the King of Ghosts, which has been a stellar success, it said.

The film is the Hindi version of the iconic film-maker Satyajit Ray's popular Bengali film 'Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen'. The special film will be the main attraction at the inaugural event at Lalit Kala Thoranam tomorrow, the release added.