Lights, camera, action! - The 4th International Children's Film Festival in Bangladesh, January 22-28, 2011

Lights, camera, action!
The 4th International Children's Film Festival in Bangladesh, January 22-28, 2011

by Faizul Khan Tanim

A child’s heart and mind first sparks with imagination when listening to bedtime stories and lullabies. Children’s novels introduce a child to people, places, and thoughts and inspire dreams as well.

Most importantly, books cultivate this affection and then audio-visual media create a wonderful bond between children and their dreams. Video illustrations not only enhance their thinking and strengthen their use of creative mediums but also explain certain situations and feelings from everyday life.

Children's films and animations act as a mirror and a window to the world around them, showing them how people from diverse groups and cultures live and work together, and solve problems and overcome barriers. To open a new world of cinema and entertainment for children in Bangladesh and to expose them to different cultures and traditions using film, the Children’s Film Society (CFS) of Bangladesh organises a festival annually.

Continuing on the success of the last three years’ festivals, CFS’s 4th International Children’s Film Festival Bangladesh will take place in Dhaka from January 22 to 28 next year.

The festival screens children’s films made by both young and adult filmmakers who direct them from home and abroad. The CFS also arranges an essay competition for children all over the country. Festival secretary Sheikh Sazid told Dhaka Live that the festival is still looking for event partners to help financially organise this fourth festival not just in Dhaka but throughout the country’s seven divisional headquarters.

He stated, “Our society's aim is to bring our children a creative and healthy entertainment so they can experience their world in their own way. This will never happen if we are only Dhaka-centric. Since CFS is a voluntary and complete non-profit oriented organisation, we don’t have enough funds to optimally organise a festival in all seven divisions. We plan to screen in DVD format more than 150 feature, animation and short films, appropriate for children worldwide, simultaneously throughout the country’s seven divisional cities during the week-long festival. For that, we require assistance from institutions who would love to support children.”

Sazid added “We will also be happy to extend local hospitality to filmmakers from abroad who are willing to attend the festival as delegates. Our young filmmakers and enthusiastic children will see films not only produced in our country but also those set in foreign countries. This will actually help the youngsters here understand that despite our social and political differences, children and people around the world share common feelings and aspirations, including love, misery, fear and the desire for justice.”

Feature films, short films, animations and documentaries suitable for children will be hosted in venues such as the Central Public Library Auditorium (Shawkat Osman Hall and Seminar Hall), Shishu Academy Auditorium, British Council Auditorium, German Cultural Centre Auditorium, Russian Centre for Science and Culture, Iran Cultural Centre and Alliance Francaise de Dhaka.

Apart from films, the event will have day-long workshops and seminars for children and on children’s films. For young filmmakers, this event will create opportunities to make films that can be aired on state-owned and private channels.

Our country’s children are often neglected when it comes to suitable entertainment. According to a young filmmaker Nowsher Rahman, “We only watch adult programmes since there is nothing for us on TV. Imagine the budget that is allocated abroad for children's entertainment and film production – the successful films not only entertain kids but have multiple selling points. The clothes, accessories and even food products in the films have huge sales. It is a big industry which our local producers, filmmakers and organisations fail to understand.”

CFS’s regular activities include monthly screenings and sessions of children's films from different countries for members. The society is run by an executive committee which serves for two years. At present, Dr. Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, writer, educationist and social activist, is president and Munira Morshed Munni, photojournalist, is the general secretary. There is also an advisory committee headed by artist Mustafa Munwar.

This article was first published in The Independent, November 28 2010
http://www.theindependentdigital.com/?opt=view&page=25&date=2010-11-28