Month: November 2022

Actress Raveena Tandon believes films can be a learning experience for children.

Raveena, who who was here for the inauguration of the third edition of Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY) on Monday, said in a statement: “It is something that is to be very proud of that there is a film festival, that is only and wholly for children. I want kids to take a vow that whatever they will learn from here, they will follow in their daily life.

“Movies are the best media to educate our children, so I also want to thank SIFFCY which has acted as a media to communicate goodness to our children as it is the right time to educate them about what is good and what is bad for them.”

The week-long festival, which has international jury members on board, and also a young jury board where children have given their inputs in selection of movies, began at the Sirifort Auditorium here.

SIFFCY is a reflection of Smile Foundation’s efforts to use films as a medium for sensitizing masses, especially children and youth, and engaging them proactively in the process of bringing Social change.

Santanu Mishra, Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation and Chairman of SIFFCY, said: “I hope through SIFFCY, we will be able to channelize the energy of children and youth in a positive way and engage them proactively in the process of initiating social change.

“The idea behind SIFFCY is to design a rich mix of film programmes to build and support the growing interest in the infotainment industry. This includes programming that cultivates an audience for world cinema while supporting filmmakers in career development, so that this powerful medium can be explored in a more focused manner for disseminating serious yet effective social messages.”

Apart from movies, engagement activities include capacity-building workshops, panel discussions and forums on Environment, Climate Change, Road Safety and Role of Cinema, apart from technical workshops by industry experts on filmmaking, cinematography, sound design, production design, storytelling and photography, said festival director Jitendra Mishra.

The opening film at the gala was Rima Das’ “Village Rockstars”, besides “Cloud Boy”, a joint production by Belgium, Sweden, Norway and Netherlands.

Assamese filmmaker Rima Das’ award-winning “Village Rockstars” will open this year’s Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY).

Over 100 films from over 30 countries will be presented at the third edition of the movie gala, which will run through December 11-17. The fest will have showcase feature, non-feature, shorts and documentaries, and films made by children during its run.

Other films in the line-up include – “The Day My Father Became a Bush”, “Cloud Boy”, “Junod”, “Nafas”, “Glasses”, among others. Twenty-five shorts films made by children from across the globe will be screened in the “Take One” section.

Talking about this year’s gala, festival director, Jitendra Mishra said, “This edition is going to treat the audience with recent hand-picked quality films, with assortment of various topics starting from gender equality, environment, family values, friendship, aspirations, dream, self-confidence and importance of education from across the globe.

“We have designed this very special program by travelling around the world and pushing boundaries, so that we shall bring the best of world cinema for our local children and youth.”

This year SIFFCY will have a special focus on Dutch cinema, for which top-10 Dutch movies have been curated. These films will be presented by Gert Herman from the European Children’s Film Association at the festival.

Santanu Mishra, executive trustee of Smile Foundation and chairman – SIFFCY said, “SIFFCY plays an important role to sensitize children and youth through the medium of infotainment and create a lasting impact in their minds…

“We strongly believe that films represent much more than entertainment; this is the most powerful medium to depict the reality and emulate values.” The week-long movie gala will be held at Siri Fort Auditorium.

Rima Das’ award-winning “Village Rockstars” will open this year’s Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY).

Over 100 films from over 30 countries will be presented at the third edition of the movie gala, which will run through December 11-17.

The fest will have showcase feature, non-feature, shorts and documentaries, and films made by children during its run.

Other films in the line-up include – “The Day My Father Became a Bush”, “Cloud Boy”, “Junod”, “Nafas”, “Glasses”, among others.

Twenty-five shorts films made by children from across the globe will be screened in the “Take One” section.

Talking about this year’s gala, festival director, Jitendra Mishra said, “This edition is going to treat the audience with recent hand-picked quality films, with assortment of various topics starting from gender equality, environment, family values, friendship, aspirations, dream, self-confidence and importance of education from across the globe.

“We have designed this very special program by travelling around the world and pushing boundaries, so that we shall bring the best of world cinema for our local children and youth.”

This year SIFFCY will have a special focus on Dutch cinema, for which top-10 Dutch movies have been curated.

These films will be presented by Gert Herman from the European Children’s Film Association at the festival

Santanu Mishra, executive trustee of Smile Foundation and chairman – SIFFCY said, “SIFFCY plays an important role to sensitize children and youth through the medium of infotainment and create a lasting impact in their minds…

“We strongly believe that films represent much more than entertainment; this is the most powerful medium to depict the reality and emulate values.”

New Delhi: The much-awaited third edition of the ‘Smile International Film Festival for Children & Youth’ (SIFFCY) will premiere over 100 significant films including feature films, short films, and documentaries from across the globe at Sirifort Auditorium in New Delhi from 11-17 December, 2017.

Organized by Smile Foundation (a pan India development organization), SIFFCY is the only children and youth film festival that showcases films catering to children and youth. The objective of the initiative is to stimulate discussion among the youth and sensitize them about various issues. Apart from showcasing the films, the festival also supports emerging filmmakers and recognizes the pioneers and leaders of the industry. SIFFCY has received over 2000 entries this year from over 100 countries.

This year, the highlight of this one-of a kind festival will be the Dutch Cinema for which top-10 Dutch films have been curated and will be presented by Gert Herman from the European Children’s Film Association. SIFFCY will also highlight burning issues of cleanliness, environment and climate change through a special selection of films and discussion forums – called SIFFCY goes Green, to create awareness on the environmental issues amongst children and youth.

“Apart from film screenings, every year SIFFCY also organizes film making workshops with an objective to engage, educate and empower our children and youth. SIFFCY has been hosting various workshops in a special section called “Take One”. This year the workshop will be hosted by internationally acclaimed UK based organisation- ‘Films without Borders’ with the idea of engaging and educating children on filmmaking. The other highlight of the festival includes a special delegation from Japan coming to present a film on ‘Love and humanity against war’ (A film on selfless service of mankind post World War II). Also on our board, we have Monica Wohi, a prominent name in the children’s filmfraternity, as the curator of this film festival.” Said Mr. Jitendra Mishra, Festival Director, SIFFCY.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Santanu Mishra, Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation & Chairman – SIFFCY said, “Children and youth are the future of any nation. If sensitized from the very beginning, they can be the best change agents, be it in their family or the community in which they live. But unfortunately, in today’s world, indifference is fast taking over the natural empathetic tendencies of young people. Our aim is to sensitize children and youth through the medium of infotainment and create a lasting impact in their minds.” SIFFCY (Smile International Film Festival for Children & Youth) is a special film platform devoted to a greater appreciation of meaningful cinemas made for children and youth which can bring change in the society by showcasing those films, supporting emerging filmmakers, recognizing the pioneers and leaders of the similar industry and by promoting the diverse perspectives of Good World Cinema.

New Delhi: An NGO has set up a health camp in a flood-affected district of Kerala to reduce the “health-related vulnerabilities of disaster affected people”, it said in a statement.

The camp was set-up earlier this month in Kamanna, Waynad, by the Smile Foundation and has catered to over 186 patients, including 104 women, the NGO said in a statement.

The number of children enrolled at the camp are 61, it said, adding services include routine medical check-up, a glucose test, weight check, blood pressure check-up and medicine distribution.

As many as 38 patients have been directed to government hospitals through a referral system, it said. People came with symptoms such as weakness, anaemia, joint pain, body pain, skin infection, allergies, gastric pain and headache.

Some also complained of urinary tract infection, lower back-ache, dental problems, deworming, neurological issues, thyroid and gynaecological problems, ophthalmology problems and ENT problems, the statement added.

The massive floods in the State claimed over 400 lives, with thousands stranded due to the devastation caused by it.