Record entries received for International Children's Film Festival

NEW DELHI: The Children's Film Society of India (CFSI) has received a record number of entries from across the world this year for the International Children's Film Festival it is organising in Hyderabad from 14th to 20th November.

CFSI CEO Shravan Kumar said the 19th International Children's Film Festival of India has already received over 1,204 entries. 894 and 748 entries had been received for 18th and 17th ICFFI respectively.

"We have received 1,204 entries this year which includes those for the coveted offering Little Directors section, and this number doesn't include country-focused entries. In the 19th ICFFI, Little Directors section has been expanded to International Level.

"Entries for this section were called from all over the world. For this year's edition, we have received 21 entries from 7 countries including Argentina, UAE, Russia, Taiwan, Belgium, Australia and Slovakia," Kumar said.

In the Little Directors section, the CFSI invites films made by children upto 16 years of age.

The CFSI CEO said that the growing number of entries reflected the increasing popularity and recognition of the festival.

Officials said that the CFSI is also exploring the possibility of marketing Indian children's films abroad. It had recently participated in the Berlin Film Festival with this aim in mind.

They said it was at the Berlin Film Festival where 'Gattu', a CFSI production, was given a Special Mention by an international jury at Generation Berlinale 2012. 'Gattu' was the first commercially released film of CFSI.

CFSI has been making films for the Indian market since its inception in 1955 and continuous efforts are on to reach international markets with cinema that is as entertaining as it is educative, officials said.