- Cinemela Film Festival
-
Cinemela 2011
Cinemela(सिनेमेला Carnival of Cinema) is an annual film festival organized in New Delhi, India since 2006. This festival provides the best stage to young filmmakers from all over the globe to showcase their works.[1] The festival has been recognized by the Limca Book of World Records for its uniqueness.[2]
Contents
History
Cinemela was started in 2006 by enthusiasts Prakash K. Ray and Rishika Mehrishi, soon joined by Khush-Hal Singh, Chandan Srivastawa, Kumar Pranab, Muntazir Qaimi, Javed Naqi and a few more friends from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The aim of the festival is to create space for the films made by the young filmmakers. Apart from many short films and documentaries from India, the festival screened films made by the final year students of the film institutes and schools in Germany.[3] In 2006 Rahul Bose's short film "Ctrl+Alt+Del" was premiered here.[4]
Goethe-Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi (the German Cultural Centre in India) supported the festival in 2006 & 2007.
In 2007, films from Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, USA and Israel were screened. From India, it had received films in Rajasthani, Hindi, Assamese, Marathi, Bhojpuri and languages of Jharkhand. The festival was inaugurated by Aruna Vasudev, the person behind of Osians Cine Fan film festival and the editor of Cinemaya. Apart from her veteran journalist Prananjoy Guha Thakurta and Prof Parul Dave Mukherji, then Dean of School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU, were also present in the inaugural session.[5]
The 2008 Cinemela festival opened with the Academy Award nominated film "The Little Terrorist" by Ashvin Kumar. The director was present during the screening and had a long session with the audience after the film. As a special screening, the first Indian Film Raja Harishchandra was also screened.[6]
As an interesting initiative, Cinemela in 2009 showcased the short films of India Cinema veterans such as Smita Patil, Jaya Bachchan, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Suresh Oberoi.[7] The festival also presented films on many socio-cultural and contemporary themes underlining the eagerness of the young filmmakers towards a meaningful engagement with the world around.[8]
Aim of the Festival
Cinemela Film Festival intends to take the films created by young artists to the young audience. The festival is trying to make a space for the new creative voices from all over the world that is denied by the crude logic of media industry. It believes that the young filmmakers and their works deserve attention for their ability to go beyond local issues and provincial tastes while simultaneously opening up a window onto a diverse culture. Cinemela is designed to serve as a glass through which audience may have an opportunity to glimpse important aspects of rapidly emerging creative sensibilities which are all set to conquer the future. Keeping this in view, we plan to take the selected films from the festival to other campuses and institutions. The young films, despite the diverse styles and subjects, tell something about the cultures from which they spring, and have the capability to make an impression with their individuality. The festival aspires to provide an ideal opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of regional distinctiveness through films and rejoice in their universal appeal. With the images and sounds of these films, we learn about other portions of the world and witness the ascendancy of new artists to creative acclaim.
Venue
Films during the festival are screened at various places inside the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. Important institutions and organizations like JNU, JNU Students' Union, Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, British Council, Film and Television Institute of India, Amnesty International, Control Arms Foundation of India, The Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Asia Pacific Youth Network, INSAF have extended support to the festival in different ways.
Beyond Boundaries
Cinemela is extending its scope a step further by acting as a bridge between emerging filmmakers of India and the masters of Indian and the World Cinema. The festival serves as a platform for interaction among veteran film personalities, young filmmakers, audience and others.
External links
References
Categories:- Indian art
- Film festivals in India
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
