7th International Children’s Film Festival
Children directors take steps into cine world
There can hardly be a limit to the aspirations and dreams of children, particularly those with creativity and artistic talents. A total of 32 enthusiastic children filmmakers have submitted their short films for screening at the 7th International Children’s Film Festival, now being held at four different venues.
Children aged below 18 have come up with films that are humorous, intriguing, thought-provoking and overall praiseworthy.
Two sisters, Nishat Tasneem Oishee and Tasnim Ferdous Chaity, students of class six and class ten respectively, have made a film titled Tomar Jonno. The film depicts a child’s patriotic feelings.
‘This is our first film. We do not have any knowledge on filmmaking, but we hope to know how to make films,’ said Chaity who aspires to become a filmmaker in the future.
Mejba Ahmed and Reyad Mostafa have made a film titled Revolution on a serious issue, that is, women’s rights. In the 10-minute short film, the makers have shown some rope-bound women within an old building as if to suggest that women are still being tied to age-old dogmas of a patriarchal society.
Ashfaqur Rahman, a class XI student at Rajbari Government College, has showed the difference between dream and reality of two street children in his short film titled Jadur Kathi.
‘I have been with the Children Film Society for four years now. Filmmaking has already become my passion. I would like to pursue a career in filmmaking,’ said Sajid Ibne Habib whose short film Guitar has been screened at the festival.
The Children Film Society intends to involve the children of the country into the filmdom and to introduce them with other children’s films across the world so that they can share and shape their dreams and needs, said the festival director, Morshedul Islam, who is also a noted filmmaker.
Besides the annual festival, the society has managed to organise a few workshops and seminars on filmmaking for children. Internationally renowned filmmakers like Daniel Smith, Nancy Trites Brotkin and Philip Chia has conducted workshops in previous years.
The society will also give awards, certificates and prize money to five filmmakers, who will be selected by a five-member jury board consisting of children filmmakers.
Beginning on Saturday, hundreds of children, mostly students, have thronged to watch children made films at the four venues of the festival. The organisers have invited many schools to come to the festival and enjoy the films for free.
‘I watched a Chinese animation called The Dreams of Jinsha. I feel inspired knowing that a child of my age has made the film’, said a happy Nuzhat, student of class seven who visited Shawkat Osman Auditorium of Central Public Library for film screening.
More than one hundred students of Maniknagar Model High School came to watch films with their principal.
‘I felt my students will be happy and inspired seeing that children of their age are making films too, besides pursuing academic studies,’ said the school’s principal Ferdousi Yasmin.
The festival will end tomorrow.
-With New Age input
