By IANS,
New Delhi : A blissful summer is here for movie buffs – young and old – with a month-long European film festival for adults and a weeklong cine-camp for kids in the capital.
For enthusiasts of serious cinema, the April 27-May 24 European Film Festival offers a package of over 17 movies, each one representing a different state.
The festival opened with the screening of Academy award-winning German film “The Lives of Others”.
The list includes “Step by Step” (Belgium), “Crazy Day” (Bulgaria), “Journey to Jerusalem” (Bulgaria), “Hanele” (Czech Republic), “Wallah Be” (Denmark), “Four Minutes” (Germany), “Shop of Dreams” (Estonia), “Dancing at Lughnasa” (Ireland), “Iberia” (Spain), “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” (France), “Three Days of Anarchy” (Italy), “Honey and Wine” (Cyprus), and “Warrior” (Britain).
Besides entertainment, the festival aims at promoting cultural understanding, friendship and cooperation between India and Europe.
“As India and Europe possess many cultural similarities – like both are multi-religious and multilingual – the festival aims at promoting cultural understanding and mutual cooperation between both countries,” said Stefan Dreyer, regional director South Asia of the Max Mueller Bhavan.
The festival is a part of the European Union-India strategic partnership established at the sixth EU-India summit in September.
“The festival is like a bouquet of films that gives vivid reflections of the cultural streams of Europe and stories that describe the European life in a certain socio-economic and cultural environment,” said Alexander Spachis, deputy head of a European Commission delegation in India.
“Transcending all boundaries, the impact of a visual medium is much more than books or write-ups,” said Spachis.
In a bid to net the maximum number of viewers, the European festival will travel to other parts of the country, including Pune (May 4-11), Kozhikode (May 14-18) and end in Kolkata (May 19-24).
Aimed at entertaining and educating children, Fun Cinema is hosting FUN Summer Kids Film Festival for children of six-15 years. The April 27-May 3 festival is on in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Ghaziabad, Agra, Jaipur, Gulbarga, Lucknow and Panipat.
“There is so much child-centric cinema these days that kids now form a huge segment of the audience, which cannot be neglected. The festival aims at providing kids with an avenue that will not only entertain them with some of the best films, but also provide them an interactive atmosphere where they can learn,” said Shirish Handa, the senior vice president (marketing) of Fun Cinemas.
The festival offers films like “Koi Mil Gaya “, “Hum Hai Lajawab”, “The Lion King”, “Scooby Doo 2”, “Cars”, “Chicken Run”, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, “Ice Age 2”, “Finding Nemo”, “Happy Feet”, “Krishna”, “Hanuman”, “Open Season” and “5 Children and It”.
The festival also has an art and craft workshop for the tiny tots.
“Not just the kids, but their parents are also happy because the festival offers good movies and workshops so that the kids are gainfully employed,” added Handa.