Kicking off a dialogue on the environment will be the highlight of the sixth edition of CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Film Festival and Forum beginning Tuesday in Puducherry.
This is the first time that the travelling film festival by the think tank CMS will be hosted here.
Apart from a diverse set of 24 award-winning films, there will be a host of activities, including a film-making workshop, panel discussion, open forum, nature trail, beach cleaning, a slogan writing competition and a green marathon. The selected films are from CMS’ international competitive film festivals. The festival will be held across 18 venues in Puducherry and Auroville, including colleges, schools, restaurants and the police campus in Gorimedu.
The festival will aim at bringing biodiversity to the mainstream. The Forests and Wildlife Department is the principal partner and the event is supported by the Department of Science, Technology and Environment, the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. Organising partners include Auroville and Puducherry-based PondyCAN, while the Pondicherry University is the knowledge partner.
“The idea is to stimulate discussions on the environment and encourage environmental film-making. The festival will provide a platform for networking among policy makers, academicians, film-makers, environmentalists and the public,” said Priya Talwar, head, programmes, CMS Vatavaran. Screenings at educational institutions would be followed by discussions and talks by experts, helping students understand environmental issues.
The festival is scheduled to travel to Amritsar, Agra, Gangtok and Raipur. It would also travel to the Ya'an International Animal and Nature Film Week in October at Ya'an, Sichuan Province, China.
