International children's film fest from Nov 14

The Children's Film Society of India (CFSI), in association with the Andhra Pradesh government, will be organising the 14th edition of 'The Golden Elephant' "� International Children's Film Festival 2005 "� in Hyderabad from November 14. The week-long event, being organised in the pearl city for the sixth consecutive time, will see the participation of 35 countries with the entries numbering 172.

The opening film will be the CFSI-produced Chhutkan Ki Mahabharat, which won the National Award for the best feature film.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Nafisa Ali, chairperson of CFSI, said the film festival comprises five main sections "� International Competition, Asian Panorama, Children's World, Retrospectives and Special Screenings.

"For the International Competition, 47 films (28 short and 19 feature films) have been short-listed while 15 films are selected for the Asian Panorama. The films in both these sections will vie for the Golden and Silver Elephants, which carry cash prizes worth Rs 6 lakh," she said.

On CFSI's proposed permanent building complex in Hyderabad, Nafisa, who was appointed chairperson of CFSI in September 2005, said that CFSI's dream of having a permanent building in the city will be realised in a couple of years.

"The Andhra Pradesh government had, in 2001, allotted 10 acres of land in Madhapur for the purpose. We are currently working on the monetary estimates and will be submitting the feasibility report to the Planning Commission shortly. Once we get an in-principle approval from the commission, we will start the work," she said.

CFSI will also pay tributes to the Indian celluloid villain Amrish Puri and legendary story-teller Hans Christian Andersen during the festival. "There will be a screening of the film "� Ek Ajooba "� to pay tribute to Amrish Puri, and films made from the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen to commemorate his 200th birth anniversary," CFSI chief executive Satish said.

This apart, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the children's film society, films made by CFSI in the last 50 years will be screened, and a commemorative postage stamp will be released, he added.

The major attraction at the festival, Satish said, will be an audio-described movie for the visually-impaired.

"Katt Katt Kad Kaddu, a film produced by CFSI, has been audio described by Delhi-based Saksham, which worked for the Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee-starrer Black. This is the first Indian children's movie to be audio described and will be shown for the first time in India to the visually-impaired in Hyderabad," he said.