Minister of State (I/C) for Information & Broadcasting and Sports & Youth Affairs, Col Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated the ASEAN India Film Festival here today. Secretary East, Ministry of External Affairs Smt Preeti Saran, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Representative from ASEAN Secretariat, Additional Director General, Directorate of Film Festival Shri Chaitanya Prasad and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. The opening ceremony was followed by the screening of first Jasari language movie “Sinjar”.Speaking on the occasion Col Rajyavardhan Rathore said that this film festival will be an extravaganza showcasing 32 films from 11 countries in ASEAN and India. It will be a potpourri of films. He also said that ASEAN has historically many commonalities with India. He said that the film festivals organized by the Ministry like BRICS Film Festival has become a point of conversation among the diplomats. Film Festivals in foreign countries regularly stream Indian films. These are ways of improving friendship. He emphasized that the Film Facilitation Cell, a single window clearance mechanism created for shooting films in India is helping the foreign film makers in a big way. He said that the Film is an art of story telling and is different from theaters and other forms of story telling. Story from anywhere doesn't matter as emotions and feelings are common across the world.
Background:
ASEAN India Film Festival will build bridges and bring harmony amongst the ASEAN countries, the festival would provide more people-to-people contact between member countries especially youth. As a vehicle of Cultural Exchange, the Directorate of Film Festival aims to provide access to new trends in filmmaking by providing the platform for an exchange of ideas, culture and experiences in the field of cinema. The ASEAN film festival will have countries which have immense and colourful cultural diversity but share common historical thread. This will be showcased through screenings of films, alongside exchange of ideas, discussions between the film personalities and interactive sessions with the audience.Around 32 films from 11 countries are to be screened during the Festival. Beyond films, the Festival will also panel discussions on various aspect of cinema.