The Andhra Pradesh government is partnering with the Telugu film industry to conduct the 18th Children's Film Festival on a grand scale Nov 14-20 amidst the ongoing political turmoil in the state.
"We are taking steps to ensure that the festival doesn't face any hurdles. The government is handing over the responsibility of organising the festival to different chambers of Telugu film industry and we hope to make it a successful event," N.V Prasad, president, AP Film Chamber of Commerce, told IANS.
"Hyderabad has a reputation to keep because since its inception in 1995, the Children's Film Festival is being hosted by the city once in two years. However, due to the ongoing political agitation, lots of questions are being raised. We want to put to rest all those questions," he added.
The festival has already received entries from over 70 countries.
"We are on the verge of chalking out a plan of action. We have received so far over 800 entries from 72 countries. We are also expecting over 100 foreign delegates to grace the event. Over a lakh of school students are expected to attend the film festival," said Prasad.
"With so many children expected to attend the festival, we have to ensure that there is no security breach. Different committees are being set up to overlook hospitality, logistics, media relations and screening for the festival," he added.
As part of the festival, workshops on animation and screen writing are also being planned.
"Since it's a week-long festival, we want the children to make the best use of the opportunity. We are planning to organize workshops on animation, film appreciation and screen writing are likely to included," he said.
