The 17th International Children's Film Festival (ICFF) to be held between November 14 and 20, will open with a culturally-packed programme at the Global Peace Auditorium on November 14, involving about 100 children from schools in all and a host of celebrities, including well-known singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, lyricist Suddala Ashok Teja, music by Vandemataram Srinivas and more. Mr. Balasubrahmanyam will render the welcome song with schoolchildren dancing to choreography by Kuchipudi exponent Deepika Reddy. The cultural items at the inaugural will conclude with a music programme by percussionist Sivamani.
The week-long ICFF includes ‘Perini Natyam' performance by students of Kala Krishna, Kuchipudi dance by Bhagavatula Sethuram and Vanaja Uday, performances by winners of ‘Zee Saregamapa' and ‘Aata' and magic show by Samala Venu. Chairperson of the cultural committee, Ms. Deepika Reddy, said it was for the first time that 3,000 children were taking part in different programmes throughout the festival.
On the concluding day, programmes include ‘Namaskar India', which will bring five classical Indian dance styles together and performed by Ranjana Gauhar, Ananda Shankar Jayant, Deepika Reddy, Neena Prasad and Vidha Lal, a percussion ensemble by Yella Venkateswara Rao and Bharatanatyam recital on wheel chair by Syed Pasha and a grand finale concert by Indian Idol Sreeramachandra and Usha Uthup.
