DC inaugurates International Film Festival in Mangalore

DC inaugurates International Film Festival in Mangalore

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, November 14: The International Film Festival, the first of its kind in Mangalore, was formally launched on Nov 14 by DC Subodh Yadav. The official inaugural ceremony of this 4-day event was held at Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy (KCA) of Bangalore and the Belli Saakshi and Bellimandala units of DK district.

Award-winning film director Abhaya Simha, in his presidential address, urged the younger generation not to encourage producers and directors who create bad movies. He also spoke of the need for an educated audience with a taste for high quality cinema so that directors can become encouraged to create excellent movies. Lamenting that a number of people hardly come across good cinemas because movie theatres choose to show popular cinemas instead of meaningful cinemas, he urged people to prefer good movies and discard the bad ones if they want the film industry to produce better movies.

 

 

M. S. Gunasheelan, the member of the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy (KCA) said that Belli Sakshi and Belli Mandala are two distinct bodies created by the academy at the district levels. Expressing satisfaction that these organizations are functioning well, he said that the academy plans to set up Campus Film Society (CFS) units in all the colleges across the state. Presently, such societies exist only in Kolar, Bangalore, Tumkur, and Mysore. He also said that the academy will organize international film festival at all its district headquarters the following year in a bid to make high quality cinemas available to the public outside the metropolitan cities.

 

Nityananda Shetty, member of the organizing committee of the film festival, said in his introductory speech that the KCA, a body established in 2009 with the purpose of using the powerful medium of cinema to influence people to appreciate films effectively, is currently considering the idea of launching film clubs in colleges and schools and film societies in all districts. He also said that the academy plans to organize international film festivals in smaller cities, owing to which it is organizing film festivals in small cities such as Bangalore urban, Mangalore, Dharwad, Bijapur, Shimoga, and Belagavi this year from Nov 8 – 20.

The first movie to be screened was the 1968 Kannada classic “Belli Moda.” Besides, 15 other international classics such as Tied Hands, Spring Summer Fall Winter, Turtles Can Fly, Train in the Tenth Floor, Yesterday, Jumping Over the Puddle Again, The Chorus, City Lights, The Battle of Algiers, The Return, Pick Pocket, Pasanga, White Balloon, The President’s Barber, and The Road Home were also screened.