Films are reflection of people of any country: General V.K.Singh

Film Festivals bridges cultural divide, develop cooperation and celebrate friendship amongst nations: Col. Rathore

1^st BRICS Film Festival inaugurated

General V .K. Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs has said that Films were the reflection of people, art and culture of any country. Film Festivals were an important medium for people of different nations across the world to come together and express their imagination and learn from each other. In this context, the Minister said that BRICS Film Festival would play a significant role in bringing together the people of five nations to share their cinematic excellence and emotions. This film Festival was a major event in the run up to the BRICS summit to be held in October.  The Minister stated this here today while inaugurating the 1^st BRICS Film Festival at Siri Fort Auditorium. Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore and Additional Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Smt. Jayashree Mukherjee were also present on the occasion.

Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore at the inaugural function said that films were one of the best medium of taking cultures across the border.  The Film Festivals were a unique platform that bridges the cultural divide, develop cooperation and celebrate friendship amongst nations. He further added that BRICS Film Festival would provide an opportunity for film makers and technicians of the five member nations to share their experiences and learn from each other.

Speaking about the enormous business potential that the film industry had, Col. Rathore said that BRICS group of nations which represented 43% of the world population provides a huge market for the film industries of the five nations. Projecting India as a filming destination, Col. Rathore said that India had already signed co-production agreements with two of the member states Brazil and China.

Smt. Jayashree Mukherjee, Additional Secretary, Ministry of I&B said that the BRICS Film festival would commemorate and showcase the soft power of this group of nations through cinema, art and culture. She said that Movies were an effective medium to bridge nations and people.

Minister of State for External Affairs, General V .K. Singh and Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore felicitated the renowned Indian film personality Shri Rishi Kapoor as well as the Film delegates from member nations.

The inaugural function included the performance by participating countries showcasing their culture, art and the way of living. Brazilian band Beleza Pura performed timeless classic “The Girl from Ipanema”. Russia’s Leningrad Centre Theatre also gave a mesmerizing dance performance. Chinese delegation performed the famous Bian Lian Dance. The South African group gave a spectacular musical performance. Indian delegation gave a marvelous performance of Indian Classical dances led by Dr. Sonal Mansingh, an eminent Indian classical dancer, choreographer and a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan.

Minister of State for External Affairs, General V .K. Singh and Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore felicitated the jury members.  The details of the Jury members for the Film Festival are given below:

• Mr. T S Nagabharana (India) - A Kannada director, writer, actor, pioneers of the Parallel Cinema, served as the Chairman of Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy and founder of a theatre organization called "Benaka”. He has won 9 National Awards and 14 State Awards. Mr Nagabharana is the Chairperson of the Jury for the BRICS Film Festival.
• Mr. Francis Vogner do Reis (Brazil) - A journalist, producer and curator of film shows, professor of theory, history & film criticism and co-founder of the electronic magazine Cine Imperfect.
• Mr. Kirill Razlogov (Russia) - A graduate from the Moscow State University Lomonossov, Historical Faculty, Arts History, holds Ph.D. in arts and cultural studies. He served as a special adviser for 11 years on film history and international affairs to the President of Goskino of the USS.
• Mr. Hou Keming (China) - A professor of the direction department of Beijing Film Academy. He is also the chairperson of the China Children’s Film Association and the president of China International Children’s Film Festival.
•  Ms. Xoliswa Sithole (South Africa) - Founder and director, of Nayanaya Pictures, she is also a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and is the  founding member of Filmmakers against Racis.

The Opening film for the festival was the world premiere of the Malayalam movie, Veeram directed by Shri Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair and starring Kunal Kapoor. The movie is a trans-creation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and flawlessly portrays the greed for power and the extent a person goes to attain them. Shri Jayaraj, is a multiple National Awards Winner who has marked his presence in mainstream as well as art house films. His last film Ottal, won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

The Closing film would be the Chinese movie, Skiptrace, starring Jackie Chan directed by Renny Harlin. The movie is an action-comedy, which revolves around a Chinese detective who teams up with an American Gambler to catch a Chinese Criminal.

The BRICS Film Festival is organized at the Sirifort Auditorium Complex, New Delhi, from September 2^nd to September 6^th, 2016. In the course of 5 days of the event, 20 movies will be screened in the competition section, 4 from each of the countries. The film festival is showcasing an amalgamation of culture, films, song & dance and food of the 5 member countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Exclusive cuisines from all the BRICS nations would also be available at the Food Court, arranged in the festival venue. A Craft Fair is also organized at the Sir Fort auditorium complex with all member countries putting up stalls with souvenirs and other properties for sale.

Beyond films, the Festival also brings to stage spectacular performances by the Chengdu Performing Arts Theatre (China), Theatre Leningrad Centre Dreams of Russia and MBZ Music Production (South Africa).

The films from all the 5 participating countries which are being showcased are listed below:

Courtesy – Press Information Bureau, Government of India